6 C O N T E X T 8 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 3 to that of the historic hand-made bricks, but they are more efficient in transporting moisture and solutions than conventional clay bricks. The rapid development of computer technology and computer-aided design has led to advances in measured survey techniques for historic buildings. Ross Dallas explains recent technical progress; heightened client expectations when sophisticated analysis is required for complex schemes; and alternative approaches to procurement. European perspectives are often a valuable mirror in which to reflect on UK practice. Dennis Rodwell concludes his recent series of pieces with a review of approaches to urban conservation in Central and Eastern Europe by evaluating the remarkable survival of historic buildings in the post-war socialist period, largely unaffected by the commercial market forces of theWest. In the post-socialist era this presents responsibilities and opportunities for achieving exemplary practice and a point of reference in our own UK debate about defining the historic environment. A Risk Map of Italian Cultural Heritage is a current major project, starting with GIS to plot the distribution of 62,526 historic monuments within 8,100 Italian municipal districts. It will also coordinate concerns about air pollution, climate change, earthquake, depopulation, tourism pressures and cultural theft. Thematic issues of TheVictorian (July 2003, No 13) continue with articles about South Kensington. Subjects include Prince Albert’s legacy of ‘Albertopolis’ by Hermione Hobhouse; the promotion of architectural tourism in the 1840s by Henry Cole, founding director of the Victoria and Albert Museum; and the ‘exporting of South Kensington’ to Bombay, with an exploration of the rich legacy of terracotta in Bombay, now almost entirely hidden by a century of decay and alteration. Natural Stone Specialist (May 2003) reports on the conservation skills and the work of the National Heritage Skills Training Group, established in June. The July issue reports at length on the conflict between English Heritage, wanting to open up quarries for the small-scale extraction of stone roofing, and opposition by English Nature. It is argued that the balance has moved too far in favour of the latter. The July issue also answers the question: ‘Is it OK to jet-wash my stone paving’? Answer: it all depends... Civic Focus, the newsletter of the Civic Trust (Summer 2003, Issue 43) asks what we can learn from Letchworth, the world’s first garden city, which is celebrating its centenary. The answer may lie in the successful formation in 1979 of a unique Heritage Foundation as an alternative to dispersing the town’s assets on the dissolution of the new town’s organisation. The issue New guidance from English Heritage The whole business of adapting and extending historic churches is particularly difficult, but members of IHBC will be pleased to learn that updated advice from English Heritage is now available. English Heritage’s latest advisory leaflet, entitled NewWork in Historic Places ofWorship, seeks to ensure that alterations to historic churches are carried out with care and understanding, balancing the needs of conservation with those of worship and mission. This is not always easy! English Heritage recognises that the future of these buildings is best assured through continued use, and that continued use sometimes means change. Equally, their special interest can of course be damaged just as much by unsympathetic alteration as by works of demolition. The document sets out the principles we apply when we consider proposals for change. It also provides general guidance on major proposals for re-ordering and extension (which might have come in useful in those Hampshire cases), and more specific advice on matters of everyday concern, such as heating. Free copies of this leaflet can be obtained from English Heritage Customer Services, PO Box 569, Swindon SN2 2YP, tel 0870 333 1181 (email [email protected]), quoting product code 50810. It can also be downloaded from www.englishheritage.org.uk, click on publications. Andrew Derrick, IHBC, co-ordinator English Heritage Places ofWorship Panel also answers the question of what a park needs to win a coveted Green Flag award, and it features small-scale projects funded under the HLF Local Heritage Initiative. The research awards announced in the Newsletter of the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art (June 2003, Issue 16) may lead to future publications which readers may wish to look out for. These include awards to Gavin Stamp to complete his book on British Architecture Between theWars; to Carol Fry to research the dissemination of Palladian architecture in England; to Melanie Hall to carry out research on Thomas Carlyle’s house andWilliam Shakespeare’s birthplace; to Professor Linda Halpern to research the Durham garden designs of Joseph Spence; and to Dr Jill Pearlman to research the Isokon Flats, London. Bob Kindred MBE
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