2 C O N T E X T 8 6 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 4 Context Editor Robert Cowan Editorial Coordinator Nigel Barker, 65Worplesdon Road, Guildford, Surrey GU2 9RT. Tel 01483 562 851 email [email protected] Editorial Board Nigel Barker (chair) Susan Brook (treasurer and IT) Nigel Crowe (main features) Peter de Figueiredo (book reviews) Julia Smith (IHBC branches) Michael Taylor (main features) Cartoons by Robert Cowan Context is distributed to all members of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation. © Institute of Historic Building Conservation 2004 ISSN 0958-2746 Publisher Published for the Institute of Historic Building Conservation by Cathedral Communications Limited, High Street, Tisbury,Wiltshire, England SP3 6HA Tel 01747 871717 Fax 01747 871718 email [email protected] www.buildingconservation.com Non-member subscriptions to Context Context is available to non-members of the IHBC at an annual subscription rate, including postage, of: United Kingdom £50.00 Elsewhere £75.00 Subscription orders, together with remittances payable to Institute of Historic Building Conservation, should be sent to the IHBC Business Office at Jubilee House, High Street, Tisbury, Wiltshire SP3 6HA. The views expressed in Context are not necessarily those held by the IHBC nor the publisher. Neither the publisher nor the IHBC shall be under any liability whatsoever in respect of contributed articles. We gratefully acknowledge the support of firms whose advertisements appear throughout this publication.While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this issue of Context is current and correct, neither the IHBC nor the publisher can be held responsible for any errors or omissions which may occur. Briefing Copy deadlines Context is published five times a year, in March, May, July, September and November. Copy deadlines in 2005 are: Issue Date March, Issue 88 14 January May, Issue 89 18 March July, Issue 90 20 May September, Issue 91 15 July November, Issue 92 16 September Walled Nursery renovations Renovation work on six out of the nine buildings at theWalled Nursery at Hawkhurst, TunbridgeWells, has been completed with the support of the buildings at risk scheme. It is expected that the refurbishment will be complete by December 2005. Built in 1850, theWalled Nursery formed part of a 1,200-acre estate owned by Charles Gunther, founder of the Leipzig Meat Extraction Company (which later became known as OXO). At that time, nine gardeners were employed within the wall. During the second world war the walled garden was looked after by one man on a much smaller scale. After the war the house and gardens were taken over by St Ronan’s School, and eventually leased out to a succession of market gardeners. Having leased the nursery for many years, Peter and Karen Horn bought it in 1995. TheWalled Nursery contains nine glasshouses built by Foster and Pearson, the Nottinghamshire company renowned for its horticultural buildings. In 2000, the Horns applied to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council for support from the buildings at risk scheme to restore their glasshouses. They gathered quotes for the restoration: one of the companies quoted £80,000 to restore one glasshouse alone. So they carried out extensive research into the materials and techniques used to restore such glasshouses. They visited similar restoration projects at Leeds Castle, Maidstone, andWestdean Gardens, Chichester. The Horns submitted four quotes – including one to do the work themselves – and the council approved the grant aid on that basis. The total cost of the repair will be £78,000, split equally between the council and the owners. The existing glasshouses have brickwork on the lower parts using traditional lime mortar. The upper framework is made from pitch pine. The owners have left as much of the old wood as they can. In places where it does need to be replaced, they have used Russian red wood. The glass has a slight curve, a beaver-tail finish. Old glass is reused wherever possible. Mechanisms and guttering are made of cast iron. The buildings at risk scheme began in 1999 after a survey of all 3,000 of the borough’s listed buildings. Only six of the original 36 buildings at risk in the borough remain at risk. Brian Hayward, the council’s senior design and heritage officer, comments: ‘TheWalled Nursery is an important repair project to be grant aided through the buildings at risk scheme. It is great to see the glasshouses in their full glory and as a working nursery, which means anyone can visit. ‘It is a fine example of the borough council’s ongoing commitment to safeguarding the borough’s unique environment. By adopting a partnership approach with the owners we are able to save the time and costs which are associated with taking action against owners through the statutory processes.’ Nadine Squire No joy from spending review Gordon Brown has allocated 2.3 per cent more for DCMS over the period to 2007-8, an increase of £230 million. It seems that none of this is to be devoted to the heritage, which unsurprisingly gets no mention in the four pages of the DCMS chapter of the public spending review.Wither the Heritage Protection Review? Page 154 (18.7) refers to a real terms increase in arts funding, and page 155 (18.12) to front-line opportunities in sports and culture. That’s your lot. Efficiency gains of £260 million are also expected, including £115 million savings, some of which relate to ‘accommodation of sponsored bodies’ (English Heritage?) and £146 million savings on, among other things, local government cultural and leisure services. Bob Kindred The Melon House before and after renovation
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgyMjA=