C O N T E X T 8 6 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 4 1 Context THE INSTITUTE OF HISTORIC BUILDING CONSERVATION www.ihbc.org.uk Registered as a Charity Number 1061593. Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England Number 3333780. Registered Office: 3 Stafford Road,TunbridgeWells, Kent TN2 4QZ. IHBC Officers President: David Lovie email [email protected] Chairman: JohnYates email [email protected] Vice Chair: Dave Chetwyn email [email protected] Secretary: Richard Morrice email [email protected] Treasurer: Michael Knights email [email protected] Membership Secretary: Mike Lea email [email protected] Consultations Secretary: Dave Chetwyn email [email protected] Law & Practice Coordinator: Vacant email [email protected] Education Secretary: John Preston email [email protected] Publicity Secretary: Sarah Buckingham email [email protected] Branch Officers North: John Pendlebury Tel 0191 284 2119 NorthWest: Anthony Blacklay Tel 01270 610050 Yorkshire: Keith Knight Tel 01904 658482 West Midlands: Karen Holyoake Tel 01384 826891 East Midlands: Fiona Newton Tel 01507 601111 South: Gill Butter Tel 02380 285324 SouthWest: Colin Ellis Tel 01305 838334 East Anglia: Mike McConnell Tel 01284 735057 South East: Paul Barker Tel 01825 760705 London: David McDonald Tel 020 8881 6724 Scotland: Charles Strang Tel 01835 822560 Wales: Nathan Blanchard Tel 01824 708048 Northern Ireland: Sharon BrownTel 028 9754 3087 Republic of Ireland: Bernard Dee Tel +353 1 873 7226 Business Office Jubilee House, High Street, Tisbury, Wiltshire SP3 6HA England Tel 01747 873133 Fax 01747 871718 email [email protected] Cover: The clock tower of Lissan House, Cookstown, Northern Ireland, visited by delegates at the IHBC annual school in July. Lissan House was the runner-up in the BBC’s Restoration programme in 2003. So very different – and so very familiar Editorial of much of Northern Ireland’s rural landscape, and of many of its small towns and villages, but this itself may help to impose greater development pressure on larger towns and cities. The necessary understanding of how to achieve balance in managing urban change has yet to be generally learned. Despite all that, many of the participants who came to the 2004 IHBC Annual School from outside Northern Ireland returned home reinvigorated. First, the lack of resources, political will and general understanding is not exactly alien to the experience of conservationists in Great Britain. Second, the energy and enthusiasm – the ‘fiery spirit’ that Karen Latimer (p21) spoke of – of Northern Ireland’s often embattled conservation movement, and the knowledge and expertise of many of its practitioners, can be inspiring to those who may face less blatant opponents. At a time when politicians from England, Scotland andWales are visiting the Irish Republic to find out how to achieve the impossible (banning smoking in pubs), we should not be surprised at how much can be learned from the very different – but in many ways also very similar – conditions across the Irish Sea. What’s in a name? They sometimes call it Stroke City. Originally named Doire, the name was anglicised to Derry and renamed Londonderry by its later London-financed settlers. Nationalists call it Derry, while unionists call it Londonderry. Those not wanting to display a political affiliation call it Derry/Londonderry, or drop the two contentious parts and call it after its non-partisan oblique stroke. So far, so confusing. Understanding conservation in Northern Ireland (or, depending on your politics, the north of Ireland) depends on remembering something of the bitter history that is the background to today’s improving stability and vigorous prosperity. It quickly becomes clear that much of what we take for granted in Great Britain is missing. Conservation does not seem to be deeply embedded in policy or in the minds of decision-makers in Northern Ireland. The value of the repair and reuse of historic buildings to housing, tourism and the local economy – and in terms of making efficient use of resources – has yet to be fully appreciated. Political, economic and social change is in the air, and there are many other priorities apart from conserving buildings. Some progress has been made in highlighting the erosion of the character Briefing 2 Out of Context 4 Letters 5 Periodically 7 Helping people change historic places appropriately Steve Bee 9 Legal Briefing Charles Mynors and Alex Booth 13 IHBC annual school programme Malcolm Lake 16 Lessons from Northern Ireland Jonathan Taylor 17 Sense of place, change of heart, fiery spirits Karen Latimer 21 How planning policy protects our heritage John Linden 24 Plenty of policy, but too little protection Ian McQuiston 26 IHBC education pack David Engall 30 Notes from the chair 32 Membership notes 33 Vox pop 33 Book reviews 34 Products and services 37
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgyMjA=