A Safe Haven in the Hills - Jewish refugees and evacuees in Buxton. The Jewish refugee boys of Buxton College

Julian Cohen

By the early 1930s Hitler and the Nazis were gaining control of Germany. Soon they were to invade neighbouring countries, such as Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland. Discrimination and violence against Jewish people was increasing and would lead to the horrendous reality of the Holocaust and the Nazi death camps. By 1939 Britain was at war with Germany.

Some Jews, who had the means, were able to flee Germany and the occupied countries. In many cases parents got their children out but later perished themselves in the Concentration Camps.

The best known example of the United Kingdom welcoming Jewish refugee children was the ‘Kindertransport’, which is German for ‘children’s transport’. This was an organised rescue effort of children (but not their parents) from Nazicontrolled territory that took place during the nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. The UK took in nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Germany and surrounding countries. The children were placed in British foster homes, hostels, schools, and farms. Often they were the only members of their families who survived the Holocaust.

A few ‘Kindertransport’ children came to live here in Buxton during the Second World War. However, Buxton also had its own, informal scheme to save Jewish children from the Nazis, operated through Buxton College.

Buxton College – part of the building is pictured below - was founded as long ago as 1675. At first it was a boy’s Public School but from 1923 it became a grammar school, with a small number of boys as boarders. In time, the school merged with other Buxton schools to become part of the present comprehensive system of education in Buxton.

From 1923, until 1944, the headmaster of Buxton College was Arthur Mason. According to R. BoltonKing’s, ‘History of Buxton College 1675-1970’, in the 1930s, ‘Mr Mason accepted about 30 …… refugee

German boys of Jewish Extraction .... as boarders. ....For this act of humanity and generosity (in some cases he charged no fees and bore the whole cost himself) he met with a fair amount of local criticism.’

It is not clear whether the local ‘criticism’ of Arthur Mason was anti-Semitic, although one might expect at least some of it was. Mason was clearly an exceptional human being in offering sanctuary to these refugee boys.

Few of the boys remained in Buxton as adults. However, research by David Roberts - to be found in the blogs of his excellent website, robertspublications. com - has discovered that a number of them went on to achieve great things in life. Here are the stories of some of the Jewish refugee boys who attended Buxton College.

In 1933, at the age of 15 years old, Heinz Thannhauser (above) travelled by train from Berlin to Buxton College. He boarded here until 1935. Heinz was, according to the historian of the college, one of the most brilliant boys ever to attend the school. Despite speaking very little English when he arrived in the UK, within a few years Heinz went on to be awarded a first class degree at Cambridge

University in English Literature and Language and gain a Fellowship to Harvard University in America.

When the Americans entered the 2nd World War in 1941 he joined the US Air Force as a radio operator and gunner. In August 1944, the plane that Heinz was flying in crashed into a hill, soon after take-off. Sadly, all eight members of the crew were killed. Heinz is commemorated on the War Memorial on the Slopes in Buxton. Other Jewish refugee boarders at Buxton College went on to have very interesting lives.

E.G. (also known as George Ernest) Kristeller was from Berlin and via Buxton College went on to live in America and work for the World Bank. He died in 2016.

Hans Leo Kleyff, who later changed his name to John Leonard Clive, was born in Berlin and came to Buxton College in 1937. In 1940 he emigrated, with his family, to America. He became a professor of History and Literature at Harvard University and died in 1990.

Hans Bernard Heymann was also born in Berlin and was at Buxton College from 1933 to 1936. He then re-joined his family, who had already emigrated to America. In time, Hans became a senior economic adviser to the American government. He died in 2012.

Peter Edward Glasner was born in Czechoslovakia in 1923 and his family made it to the UK, as refugees, in 1939. After attending Buxton College he joined the Allied Forces and fought for the Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade. After the war, Peter returned to the town in Czechoslovakia where he had been born, only to find that 35 members of his extended family had been killed by the Nazis, many in the death camps.

Peter emigrated to America in 1948. Following further study, he went on to work as a Project Manager at NASA on the Apollo 11 Mission, the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon in 1969. Peter died in 2014.

Horst Pinschewer, who later changed his name to Geoffrey Perry, was born in Berlin in 1922 and came to Buxton College with his elder brother in 1936 to escape Nazi persecution. He was interned here as an enemy alien in 1940 and spent several months behind barbed wire before being released and enlisting in the Pioneer Corps.

The Pioneer Corps was a unit of the British Army that included over 10,000 German, Austrian and Italian men who were living in this country at the outbreak of war. They were initially regarded as

‘enemy aliens’ and many were kept in internment camps for a period before being released and allowed to join the Allied war effort. A large number of young Jewish men were involved.

In 1945 Horst, or Geoffrey, was posted to Germany and with fellow British soldiers entered the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp just days after it was liberated. He never forgot the horrors he saw there. Geoffrey’s unit captured Radio Hamburg and he gave the first Allied broadcast to the German people from the very microphone which days earlier William Joyce (Lord Haw-Haw) had used to deliver his final speech in support of the Nazis. (Haw-Haw was an American born Fascist who had a British passport and made radio broadcasts supporting the Nazis in the Second World War).

Even more amazingly, when William Joyce was attempting to flee near the Danish border, it was Geoffrey who shot and then arrested the notorious wartime traitor. Geoffrey later said, ‘How ironic it was that Joyce was arrested by a man who was essentially a German Jew, albeit in British army uniform’. After a trial, in early 1946, Joyce was hanged for high treason. Geoffrey continued to live in England and became a successful publisher, launching magazines like ‘Family Circle’ for sale in supermarkets. He died in London in 2014.

One of the Jewish refugee boys who boarded at Buxton College did stay in the locality. Herbert Eisner had been born in Berlin in 1921 and fled Germany for Buxton College in 1936. His parents escaped to London in 1939. When war broke out he was interned for a time on the Isle of Man, as a German alien. He later joined the British army and specialised in repairing tanks in India. To play down his origins Eisner changed his name to Evans and his fellow soldiers nicknamed him ‘Taffy’, despite his strong German accent.

In 1951 Herbert returned to Buxton and worked as a scientist at the Safety in Mines Establishment (SME), the precursor to the Health and Safety Laboratory. In 1954 he married Gisela Spanglet, who had come to the UK as a 13 year old Jewish girl on the Kindertransport. Most of her family were killed by the Nazis. Herbert became a world expect on controlling and extinguishing fires and for many years was the director of the SME. He also wrote radio plays that were performed on BBC Radio 4 and authored a children’s book.

Herbert Eisner died in 2011 in Harrogate. His obituary in the Independent newspaper included the following:

‘Eisner seems to have been blessed with good luck all his life. Having escaped the Nazis, and having seen no active conflict during his military years, he later survived a road accident outside his home in Buxton. He was knocked down and taken to hospital, concussed. When he came round, the doctor introduced himself as Dr Moriarty. “I’m Sherlock Holmes,” quipped the barely conscious patient.’

The Buxton Jewish Community in World War 2

As well as the Jewish refugee boys, who came to board at Buxton College, other Jewish families and individuals arrived in Buxton fleeing the Nazis in Europe, both before and during the 2nd World War. The heavy bombing of cities, such as London and Manchester, also led to people, and especially children, being evacuated to safer places. A number of these evacuees were Jewish. In addition, a unit of the Pioneer Corps - part of the British Army mainly used for engineering tasks - were stationed in Buxton during the war, and many of the Corps were Jewish men.

Altogether, it has been suggested that during the 2nd World War there were about 300 Jewish families living in Buxton. I am not sure that it was 300 families. It may have been 300 Jewish individuals. Either way, by the early 1940s, a real Jewish community had emerged in Buxton.

Jewish families came here and rented properties or stayed in boarding houses. A sizeable number of Jewish children, both refugees and evacuees, arrived in Buxton without their parents and were cared for by the Jewish families who had already moved here and also by non-Jewish Buxton families.

I recently asked an elderly woman, who has lived in Fairfield all her life, whether she could remember Jewish children staying in Buxton during the war. Her quick reply went something like, ‘Remember! I had to give up my bedroom so a young Jewish girl could stay with us. I liked her a lot but I was not at all happy about sharing a bedroom with my sister because I didn’t get on with her.’

In her excellent book, ‘Buxtonians – A Hardy Breed’, Yvonne Chalker reproduced testimonies of the experiences of Jewish people who lived in Buxton during the war. The names are interesting in themselves and include: Selwyn Rose, Judith Usiskin, Harold Slutzkin, Joan Sklan, Arthur Weiss, Sabina Sussman, Irene Wineberg and Geoffrey Preger.

What these people say makes it clear that there was an active Jewish community operating in Buxton during the 2nd World War. By 1941 this included regular religious services. Friday evening services took place at 4 Lower Hardwick Street and Saturday morning services at Oddfellows Hall, on Market Street – shown today in the photo above.

A more pious and traditional congregation attended religious services at 36 Dale Road, at the junction with Heath Park Road. Some of the men dressed in fur hats and long frock coats that were more common amongst Jews in East European countries. People say that, for a time, there was not one, but two, synagogues operating in Buxton. The arrangements included a proper rabbi to lead some of the services, a communal organising committee and Jewish religious education classes for the children.

The town’s Jewish community had other facilities. Somerford House, at 13 Terrace Road, is shown above as it is today, and was run as a kosher lodging house, with religious services sometimes taking place there. (Kosher means food that satisfies the requirements of Jewish dietary rules). The Pavilion was a kosher hotel on Hartington Road, backing on to the Broad Walk. There was also a special Jewish store, with kosher foods often bought in from Manchester.

I originally thought that Somerford House and the Pavilion Hotel were the only kosher accommodations in Buxton and that they probably opened in the 1930s, alongside the arrival of the Jewish refugees and evacuees who came to Buxton. However, a search of the archives of the

Jewish Chronicle, a London-based newspaper that exists to this day, revealed evidence of other, and earlier, kosher boarding facilities.

In 1901 a Mrs. A. Sackier was advertising her ‘Strictly Orthodox Jewish Boarding House’ at Lindow House on St. James Terrace. She had been born in Poland in 1859. Her husband, Lazarus, was born in Russia in 1857 and was a cap maker. The Sackiers moved to Buxton, from Prestwich in Manchester. I don’t know when they left.

However, by the time that Somerford House began promoting itself in the Jewish Chronicle in the early 1920s, it claimed to be, ‘The only Jewish boarding house in Buxton.’ The Somerford proprietor in 1925 was a Mrs. S. Freedberg, the wife of Reverend Freedberg of Manchester, presumably a rabbi. The Somerford was soon taken over by the Finkelsteins, whose ads said it was ‘Strictly Kosher’ and that Buxton was, ‘The Finest Health Resort in the Kingdom.’

In the early 1930s, a Mrs Woolfson was advertising her ‘Kosher Boarding House’, first on Avenue Terrace, Corbar Road and then at Lismore Villas, on Devonshire Road. In 1935, a Mrs B. Morris was marketing her Mazal Hotel at 12 Terrace Road, next door to Somerford House. (In Hebrew, mazal means ‘luck’, and ‘mazaltov’ means ‘congratulations’.) Attracting Jewish people from all over the country to enjoy the scenery, and use the spa treatments available in Buxton, obviously predates the 2nd World War.

Buxton hotels and boarding houses continued to advertise in the Jewish Chronicle during the war. The example (previous page) is from March 1941.

You can see that the proprietor of Somerford House was now H. Hofmann. Their ad promotes rheumatism cures at Buxton’s ‘famous spa’ and the fact that the town was a ‘Safety Area’, presumably referring to the relatively safety of Buxton, compared to the bombing of our cities, during the war. Business must have been good because, by 1945, under a new proprietor, F. Leitner, the Somerford was also operating an annexe at Roseneath, on Hardwick Mount. It continued to advertise in the Jewish Chronicle into the 1950s.

In 1941 the ‘Strictly Orthodox’ Pavilion Hotel on Hartington Road was run by Mrs. F. Goldstein. Again, there must have been plenty of business because there were no vacancies over Passover, an important Jewish festival. And there was another boarding house trying to attract Jewish clientele from outside the area, this one at Burbage Hall run by Mrs Elize Leopold, again stressing that, ‘Buxton is a Safety Area.’

During the 2nd World War, in the main, Jewish children in Buxton attended the normal primary and secondary schools, alongside local children. There were also births of Jewish children. One, Michael Dee (previous surname, Ben Yehuda

David), was born in Buxton in 1941. He went on to follow his father to become one of the directors of the Swizzels confectionary company in New Mills, which is famed for making ‘Love Hearts’ and ‘Parma Violets’.

The extent of Jewish community activity is shown by the following exert, from the Jewish Chronicle in 1941, about the founding of Buxton Jewish Youth Association. The number of people attending –about 100 – is surprisingly large, as is the venue – the Cheshire Cheese Hotel. Hotel? There was I thinking it was a pub, or at most an inn!

There were some interesting Jewish visitors to the town. Irene Weinberg’s parents rented a house called ‘Hollingwood’ at 24 Macclesfield Road. She remembers a visit from a young man called Vivian Herzog, who was stationed nearby in Matlock.

Vivian was later to become Chaim. In 1948 Chaim Herzog became the first president of the newly formed State of Israel. Chaim. In 1948 Chaim Herzog became the first president of the newly formed State of Israel.

The Jewish refugees in Buxton came from a number of different European countries, including Germany, Austria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, France, Holland and Belgium. They spoke various languages. Some could hardly speak any English when they first arrived. Being in Buxton must have been a strange experience for them. And their being here must have also been very odd for the local population.

Judith Usiskin arrived as an evacuee from Manchester, aged only 5 years old. Writing in 2022 she said, ‘What even I could recognise was that the grey/white streets of the town were crowded with a great mixture of people – taciturn Buxtonians and, in comparison to the grey atmosphere, crowds of foreigners – louder, more excitable, more colourful, it seemed to me.’

How were relations between these Jewish incomers and local people? Many of the Jewish people, who recount their experiences in Yvonne Chalker’s book, talk of how kind and generous many Buxtonians were towards them. According to Judith Usiskin, ‘I

When the war ended the evacuees returned to the cities they had come from. Most of the Jewish refugees from Europe also left Buxton, mainly to live in cities in this country, but some moved abroad.

By the mid to later 1940s, the Jewish community of Buxton had all but disappeared. It had all been a very temporary affair, almost a ‘pop up’ community, to deal with the horrors of the 2nd World War and the murderous anti-semitism that European Jews had faced.

In a recent talk, Netta Christie, Director of Discover Buxton and a local historian, said, ‘Many people consider Buxton an insular place, cut off and removed from the action of the world stage. Indeed, a place referred to by some historians as ‘sleepy hollow’, it has long been isolated by its geographic position. This is perhaps why, for many during the Second World War, Buxton became a place of safety and it opened its doors and hearts to many refugees and evacuees.’ think some Buxtonians were extra welcoming to us because they realised what was happening to Jews in the rest of Europe. Maybe some were doubtful.’

In Netta’s words, Buxton became, ‘A Safe Haven in the Hills’, for both many Jews and non-Jews alike. She has put together an interesting and inspiring talk about this that can be found on You Tube. Details are given at the end of this chapter.

Some locals were definitely not accepting. Judith also recalls that, when she was at school, other children attempted to crucify her in the playground, saying she was responsible for killing the Messiah. Other children used to follow her on the street and tell her to ‘go home to Palestine.’ Children can be cruel and insensitive but I think we can assume that some adult Buxtonians were not so welcoming of Jewish people either.

Sources

R. Bolton-King ‘History of Buxton College 1675-1970’ 1973

Y. Chalker ‘Buxtonians – A Hardy Breed’ 2015

In December 2021, Netta worked with the Association of Jewish Refugees to celebrate the organisations 80th anniversary. This involved planting a commemorative oak tree in Buxton’s Serpentine Walks - see the photo opposite.

This was one of the 80 trees planted across the country at locations that had provided support to Jewish refugees. The plaque next to our Buxton tree includes the words, ‘with thanks to all the people of Britain who helped Holocaust refugees.’ Yes, surely and securely, in Buxton.

N. Christie ‘Buxton - A Safe Haven in the Hills’. Talk on You Tube at - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqnASQ8FD_c

D. Roberts ‘Mr Mason’s Boys – German Jewish refugee boys at Buxton College in the 1930s’. Blog article at robertspublications. com

G. M. Weisgard ‘The Jewish Community of Buxton in the English Peak District’, 2022. Article on the Jewish Communities and Records website at jewishgen.org

In 1953, Buxton’s Opera House marked its fiftieth birthday. In the same year, I arrived in Buxton, starting a seventyyear association with the building. In the 1950s, I was an occasional visitor to films, pantomimes and amateur plays. One of these, Ivor Novello’s The Dancing Years, was to have a lasting influence – but more of that later. I was a frequent filmgoer until the late 1960s when my work took me away for the next decade. Back in Buxton, I started to take in some of the early Buxton Festival offerings, and followed the Opera House’s revival as a ‘receiving’ theatre. The 1990’s saw the start of the Gilbert and Sullivan Festival – always a personal favourite. In 2003, I became a front-of-house volunteer, something that I enjoyed for the next fourteen years.

V & A archives at Blythe House in Olympia to look through the original Frank Matcham & Co plans and large quantities of other documents. Out of this research came an awareness that many people were part of the story but they are rarely or never mentioned. Therefore, on this occasion, I decided to cast a spotlight onto some of these characters.

Central to the early days of the theatre was, of course, Frank Matcham. His first responsibility as ‘job architect’ was to design Oldway Mansion at Paington for Isaac Singer, of sewing machine fame. Singer wanted a small theatre in his mansion, and, although short-lived, was to influence the rest of Matcham’s career. Before Oldway had been completed Matcham went to work with Jethro T Robinson, London’s leading theatre designer in the 1870s. He soon became acutely aware of the prevailing issue of devastating theatre fires and the pioneering work of London’s first modern fire chief, Captain Eyre Massey Shaw. Matcham settled into his new life, marrying Robinson’s daughter, Maria, and then taking over the business when his father-in-law died suddenly in 1879. Thus started the firm of Frank Matcham & Co. Captain Shaw resolved

If this was not enough, I have been privileged to work on the building in a professional capacity on two occasions. The second of these, between 2005 and 2007, saw the replacement of the Gallery seating, installation of a getin lift backstage, and basic air conditioning. This took me into corners of the building, including the space above the ornate ceiling; the fly gallery - high above the stage, and even the roof, all places normally out of bounds to most. All of this increased my interest in the Opera House and its history. I started to take groups on tours around the theatre, as well as giving talks to interested local groups. The learning process was fascinating, taking me to the Theatre Museum, now part of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, the offices of the Theatres Trust and the library of the Institution of Civil Engineers, where I found a large section devoted to theatre history, and particularly its technicalities and legislation. I also went through the rigorous process of getting into the to address the problems of fires, generally caused by flimsy props and scenery, and the lack of any safety measure. A major fire at Exeter’s Royal Theatre in 1876 led to an investigation by Shaw, resulting in the first Entertainment Licence – still the ‘rule book’ for those designing or operating entertainment venues. Shaw is celebrated in the second part of Iolanthe – listen for ‘Oh Captain Shaw!’ Shaw’s influence can be seen at the Opera House both inside and outside the building. It is situated on a street corner, with plenty of short, wide exit routes. The audience and stage are separated by a fireproof curtain at the proscenium. Today, the curtain must be raised and lowered in front of the audience as proof that it works. Then, in the 1890s, gas started to give way to electricity – another improvement in safety.

What became clear from a study of Matcham’s plans was that they were the work of more than one draughtsman.

Despite an overall similarity, there are significant differences in the style of lettering. The sheets that show structural elements (the projecting balconies, etc.) were undoubtedly produced by Matcham’s structural engineer, Alexander Briggs. The other plans would have been produced by the project’s job architect, a Tasmanian called Francis Graham Moon Chancellor, who was to continue the in the Northeast. It inspired him to look for an easy way to get people out of a building quickly without allowing unwanted people to get in. His solution was what we now refer to as a ‘panic bolt’. Often accompanied by the instruction ‘push bar to open’ its use is self-explanatory. Patented by Briggs and Matcham, when Briggs was in his early twenties, these bolts are to be seen in almost all public and institutional buildings. business after Matcham’s retirement in 1912 and ultimately became executor (along with Felix de Jong) following his death in 1922. Matcham would have overseen the work but would be concentrating on the more prestigious London Coliseum, to be opened by King Edward VII in the same year. Felix de Jong, who was born in Antwerp, should be credited with the detailed design of the fibrous plaster decorations – the shells, cupids etc, that adorn the walls of the auditorium. For expediency, Matcham would have chosen existing designs from de Jong’s extensive pattern book. Before raising the curtain on the opening night, we shall return to Alexander Briggs. As a young man, he had been appalled to read of the deaths of more than a hundred children in a crush at a theatre in the Northeast. It inspired him to look for an easy way to get people out of a

The theatre opened on June 1st 1903 with an evening consisting of two plays performed by Miss Florence St John and Mr Scott Buist, both wellknown late Victorian actors. The first offering was Mrs Willoughby’s Kiss, a nod to the Willoughbys - father and son who managed the Pavilion Gardens and Opera House at the time. Miss St John also performed songs during the evening. What of the audience at that opening night? I’ve no doubt that the Dress Circle was occupied by the town’s great and good, as would the Dress Stalls, the first few rows of seats close to the stage. The posts that mark the divide between these and the wooden Stalls benches behind are still there as a reminder. The benches in the rest of the Stalls and in the Gallery would have been occupied by ordinary people hoping to be transported from what was often a humdrum existence. The social rules were quite draconian. Those of different classes had to be kept apart – they dressed differently, they spoke differently, and, as it has been said, they smelled differently! The rules also applied to entrances, wall finish, floor coverings, and toilets.

The theatre opened on June 1st 1903 with an evening consisting of two plays performed by Miss Florence St John and Mr Scott Buist, both wellknown late Victorian actors. The first offering was Mrs Willoughby’s Kiss, a nod to the Willoughbys - father and son who managed the Pavilion Gardens and Opera House at the time. Miss St John also performed songs during the evening. What of the audience at that opening night? I’ve no doubt that the Dress Circle was occupied by the town’s great and good, as would the Dress Stalls, the first few rows of seats close to the stage. The posts that mark the divide between these and the wooden Stalls benches behind are still there as a reminder. The benches in the rest of the Stalls and in the Gallery would have been occupied by ordinary people hoping to be transported from what was often a humdrum existence. The social rules were quite draconian. Those of different classes had to be kept apart – they dressed differently, they spoke differently, and, as it has been said, they smelled differently! The rules also applied to entrances, wall finish, floor coverings, and toilets.

Women were given special treatment. They were not allowed into the bars, even if accompanied by a man. At first, there were two bars, at Dress Circle level and at the rear of the Stalls. Where you can now find the Upper Circle bar, there was a seated area. This was for women to sit and consume their drinks. In the ladies’ toilet next door, there is a dumb waiter which was used to send drinks up to the Upper Circle ladies’ as well as down to the ladies toilets at the Dress Circle landing level. The dumb waiter is no longer used for its original purpose, but at Upper Circle level, it is used as a convenient place for storing toilet rolls!

The Opera House was not granted a licence for alcoholic drinks until 1925. This was because theatres were still considered vulgar and it perhaps offers an explanation of why we have an ‘Opera House’ and not an everyday theatre. The theatre now known as the Pavilion Arts Centre opened in 1898. The chairman, Doctor Robertson, of the Buxton Improvements Company insisted that the word ‘theatre’ should not be used because of its vulgar connections, so it started life as ‘The Entertainment Stage’. Nevertheless, a theatre licence had to be obtained. A decade later, it was perhaps thought that an Opera House would be more fitting to a popular spa resort than a mere ‘theatre’. A few years later, the world was to change dramatically with the first mechanised war. However, social change had already started and the Opera House seemed to be in decline as soon as it had opened. The decline continued into the 1920s. In 1925, dancer Anna Pavlova was on the stage while the silent film star Mary Pickford was in the audience. To me, this symbolises the changing times – a few years later the building was converted into a cinema. At the start of the 1930s it was further converted to show the new ‘talkies’, and Pickford found herself side-lined. She reacted by directing films for others.

In 1937, Lillian Baylis was asked to arrange a festival of plays. She was well known as a feminist, fiercely independent and the owner of both the Old Vic and Saddlers Wells Ballet in London. The three-week Festival included Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, Shaw’s Pygmalion and Ibsen’s Ghosts. On stage were up and coming stars from the Old Vic such as Alex Guinness, Anthony Quale, Andrew Cruickshank, Robert Morley and Sybil Thorndike. The Festival was a success but, sadly, Baylis died just a few weeks later. The Festival continued for several years until, by 1942, it had lost its popularity as wartime audiences looked for lighter entertainment. You can see a bronze plaque commemorating her life on the Dress Circle landing, right at the top of the stairs.

After the war, the Opera House settled down into a pattern that was to last for the next thirty years or so and comprising mostly films with the annual panto and occasional musical or light operas. My own memories of this time include some of the Hollywood blockbusters of the fifies – Oklahoma, South Pacific, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and the Sound of Music. Wartime films, many based on real operations, were also a feature –Reach for the Sky, Ice Cold in Alex, the Dambusters, and many others. The sixties saw more down to earth films – Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Psycho. One Buxton Opera Group production that sticks in my memory was Lionel Monkton’s The Arcadians. The seventies saw declining cinema audiences as television sets became more widespread – and in colour. The building suffered as cinema income dried up. By now, many amateur productions had been transferred to the Playhouse Theatre next door. (In 2010 transformed into the Pavilion Arts Centre).

When the Opera House finally closed its cinematic doors in 1976 local thespians stepped forward. In the forefront was June Dunleavy. Assisted by solicitor Michael Williams and championed by Cllr Margaret Millican and

Cllr Ray Walter they began to look at ways of taking over the building. It was at this point that they were joined by Malcolm Fraser (later Professor), lecturer in opera at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.

On his very first visit to the town, he had seen the potential of the venues and surroundings to support a major Arts Festival. Despite some incredulity from several of the national dailies, Fraser, was proved right. The first Buxton Festival took to the stage in 1979, in a theatre that had just had the minimum repairs and improvements to meet the requirements. New carpet was woven to match an original scrap found in a box. The orchestra pit was enlarged and deepened, disturbing the spring that still flows and has sometimes resulted in musicians wearing their wellies! After his death in 2012 a framed photograph of Malcolm, now Professor, was unveiled by Dame Janet Smith, Buxton Festival Chair. It is on the Dress Circle Landing, next to a photograph of Cllr Margaret Millican.

The 1980s saw the Opera House develop as a ‘receiving theatre’, which has no resident company but relies on receiving or attracting performers in an increasingly busy and competitive environment. It would take a long and boring article to list every performer since 1979. I can only single out my personal favourite – Stephane Grapelly, the violinist who first came to prominence accompanying jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt during the war years. Take your personal pick from the plethora of opera and ballet companies, tribute bands and bands, big bands and choirs. Did you sit through one of Ken Dodd’s marathons?

The Playhouse Theatre had initiated the idea of the establishment being supported by unpaid volunteers. It had all started when partners of those on stage made drinks in the interval. The idea was developed at the newly opened Opera House with a full complement of front of house and bar staff. In fact, the volunteers were an important part of the applications for grant funding. These dedicated people arrive at the theatre between one and two hours before curtain up to check that all is well. This includes bar stocks, clear fire exit doors and general readiness. At its peak, the numbers have exceeded two hundred. Although generally retired the volunteers come from all walks of life, including younger people gaining work experience. The theatre just would not function without them.

Every story has its villain and ours is no exception. In the summer of 2013 it was found that a large sum of money had gone missing. The accountant, trusted with looking after the books had set up false suppliers and was transferring money to his own pocket via these accounts. Over fourteen months he stole nearly a quarter of a million pounds! He was subsequently dealt with by Derby Court and jailed. The long process of recovering some of the money started, generating substantial legal bills. His house and car could be sold, but a used Manchester United season ticket has little value!

One of the lessons learned from this sad episode

was that an emergency reserve fund was needed. In 2022, when the world was effectively closed down by the pandemic, that accumulated reserve helped the Opera House through a difficult period. At the first lockdown, the doors closed and even the annual Festival was cancelled. The theatre was brought back to life gradually as the pandemic started to recede in the face of vaccinations. The building was turned red, along with many other theatres, in June 2020 in a desperate message to the government. Only one event took place during the time that should have been the 2020 Buxton Festival. It was on the Opera House forecourt and featured a string quartet drawn from the Festival pit orchestra, the Northern Chamber Orchestra. Nicholas Ward, its leader, has now retired after leading the pit orchestra for over 25 years.

What of the future? The Opera House was obviously built for a different era – and attitudes. Over the years, several changes have been made to suit prevailing conditions.

Smoking is now banned in the building and a designated staff smoking area, including a wall-mounted box for stubs, is next to the Water Street entrances to the Stalls and Gallery. In 2000 the wheelchair access was moved from the Water Street Stalls entrance to the other side of the building, with a narrow access passage created between the building and the conservatory. There are now three wheelchair spaces in the Stalls, two at the rear and one towards the front. The Stalls Ladies’ toilet was altered to achieve this as well as finding the space for a disabled toilet. The Gallery benches were replaced by theatre seats (with a back!) in 2007. At the same time a scissors lift was installed backstage to help with the task of getting stage equipment from Water Street level down to the stage, around three metres below. This replaced a dubious portable ramp that had previously been used. Some air-conditioning was also installed, but a full system would have entailed taking large diameter pipework through the building to deliver the cooled air. This would have done little to enhance the ambiance and décor of the auditorium! In the event, the main unit was installed on the roof, in a well above the front of the stalls which had been allocated by Matcham for water tanks had they been needed – they were probably rendered unnecessary by the introduction of electric lighting and a reduced fire risk. The ducts were routed above the ornate ceiling to six outlets above the Gallery. Great care was needed above the ornate ceiling! Secondary ducts take the air to both sides of the apron (the projecting part of the stage in front of the proscenium. A small unit was installed behind the rear of the stage to cool the stage manager’s office.

To support the complex operations of a modern theatre offices were acquired across the road at The Square. Backstage facilities, however, have changed little in the past 120 years. Only three dressing rooms have a toilet –1 and 2, next to the stage and the most frequently used, this works. The initial proposal was to replace the Gallery benches with seats replicating those at lower levels. The Theatre Trust asked that they should be a simpler design to reflect their lower status. Their advice was accepted – they were probably cheaper – and the upholstery was chosen to match the colour of the existing seats. as well as the largest dressing room on the top floor, only used during shows with a large cast.

There is a perennial conflict between the owners of buildings and the conservation bodies. In many instances, it would be cheaper to demolish and rebuild with modern standards. This is currently happening with a theatre at Oldham. I think that my position is somewhere between the two extremes. It is clear to me that even a listed building must earn its keep in order to fund essential maintenance. A theatre is unique in its design – it is difficult to imagine alternative uses, except perhaps a cinema.

There have been times when alternative uses have been found. In the 1980s the Opera House was used occasionally for film and television. The Good Old Days and Hinge and Bracket attracted audiences that filled the theatre to capacity. A Christmas edition of Only Fools and Horses in 1986 saw the Trotter brothers sitting in the Stalls with Del being admonished by the conductor on stage for being disruptive. Around the same time, Lawrence Olivier and Colin Firth took part in Lost Empires, a film about the decline of theatres. All of these took advantage of the building’s unique selling point of the ornate auditorium. Other television companies have used just the stage, with its large uninterrupted space with the facilities for placing lights and scenery where they were required.

The Opera House is a building ‘listed’ as being of special architectural interest. With such a building, any changes are carefully scrutinised and severely limited. Every small improvement has to be sanctioned by the local authorities’ conservation officer, English Heritage and the Theatres Trust, who have a statutory right to be notified of planning applications involving theatres. The 2007 refurbishment provides one example of the way

Current proposals have highlighted the need to be able to attract modern productions with their modern technical needs. The work proposed includes improvements to the process of ‘flying’ scenery, replacing most of the existing hemp ropes with more modern materials. More back stage support space might be obtained by building up between the stages of both the Opera House and Pavilion Arts Centre. This would be above the Pavilion Gardens restaurant kitchens, and echoes a proposal in the mid-nineties to build at the rear of the stage above a space occupied by the Pavilion Gardens toilets. The fire escape staircase from the dressing room area was realigned in preparation but the work didn’t materialise.

It has been suggested that a level stage would attract more performers, but it would be difficult and upset the sight lines so carefully worked out by Matcham and his team. The stage slopes forwards at a rake of 1 in 24, similar to the opposing rake in the stalls.

A similar extension to that proposed was built at Belfast’s Opera House a few years ago, but this was positioned to include front of house entrance and circulation space. Another, bold and expensive, possibility might be to build under the forecourt. This has been done successfully at London’s Royal Court Theatre and the Royal Albert Hall At the start of this account, I mentioned the effect that The Dancing Years had had on my life. It was set in the Tyrol and explored the tensions in Austria in the years before the Nazi takeover in 1938 – a theme later used in The Sound of Music. It sparked my interest in Austria, and particularly its culture and music, leading to a visit to Innsbruck with a Derbyshire Youth Service group in 1961. Three decades later the Vienna Boys’ Choir visited the Opera House on two occasions, and through their visits, I learned of the Anglo Austrian Society, based in London but dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges between the people of the two countries. I soon became a member and a few years later became a director and trustee. My proposal that we sponsor Austrian items at musical festivals in the UK was accepted, and after looking at numerous events, we settled on the Buxton Festival as the most appropriate. Over five years between 2008 and 2012, the sponsorship resulted in thousands of pounds going towards operas, recitals and talks at the Opera House and other venues.

In Conclusion

An Opera House has been described as somewhere that you can experience the best entertainment, both comedy and drama; the best music, and the best surroundings. Buxton Opera House fully meets this anonymous definition. What will be your lasting memories of Buxton’s Opera House?

Sources

Guide to British Theatres, Earl & Sell, Theatre Trust, S & C Black, London, 2000

The Buxton Stage, Colin Wells, Millrace, Disley, 1998 Theatre in the Hills, Ros McCoola, Caron Publications, Chapel en le Frith, 1984/1993

Frank Matcham & Co, edit David Wilmore, Theatreshire Books, Dacre, 2008

Frank Matcham, Theatre Architect, edit Brian Walker, Blackstage Press, 1980

Buxton – an English Festival, Michael Kennedy, published by Buxton Festival, 2004

COPYRIGHT

Text copyright Trevor Gilman 2023

Acknowledgements

The Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The Institution of Civil Engineers’ Library, London

The Theatres Trust, London

The Daily Mail, online edition

Colin Wells

Frances Allen, for her patience!

The early postcard haS been deemed to be in the public domain due to publication in the early years of the 20th century.

The Grand Opera House Belfast photograph is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International - https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Opera_House,_Belfast#/ media/File:The_Grand_Opera_House_Belfast.jpg

The remaining photographs copyright Trevor Gilman 2023, taken with the permission of the Opera House management.

currentStudy

How do we best protect Buxton’s Swift population?

Simon Fussell & Lindsey Wakefield

Swifts (Apus apus) are almost entirely dependent on the built environment for nesting, captivating observers with their acrobatic flight and distinctive calls as they share our towns and cities for just three months of the year. Arrival in the UK in May to breed follows a migration from Africa of between 7000 and 11000km, but fewer than 60,000 pairs now return, their population having declined by 60% between 1995 and 2020, warranting a red-listed conservation status.

Causes of decline include

• Reductions in insect abundance and availability

• Changing weather patterns

• Loss of nest sites due to building modifications and restoration

Swifts survive on a diet of airborne insects, comprised of over 500 species. The decline in insect abundance, distribution, and availability is frequently cited as a significant contributor to the decrease in Swift populations and breeding success. Factors such as in the tower of the Oxford Museum of Natural History links variation in numbers of fledged young to prevailing weather conditions. During the breeding season, Swifts fly up to 100km to forage, exploiting thermals which accumulate aphids and hoverflies, an adaptation that allows mitigation for mass insect decline.

Loss of nest sites is viewed by many as the most significant factor in Swift decline in the UK, and is certainly the factor most easily addressed in the short term by conservation measures.

Gaps of just a few centimetres in buildings can be used by Swifts to access small nesting spaces, but modern roofing methods, upgrades to buildings to improve insulation and new builds exclude Swifts since buildings are sealed. The small entrances required by swifts may not adversely affect a building, and Swifts make little or no mess when nesting, but unless identified and protected the sites are likely to be lost through building maintenance and roofing work including insulation and addition of soffits.

Nests can be found in the following locations within a building:

• Eaves – in open eaves just inside the roof space or under the bottom row of tiles

• Holes – where pointing is missing, in voids behind masonry

• Inside gables – behind barge boards, on brick ends

• Under tiles – on the roof timbers or felt

• Behind flashings – on brick ends or in holes on chimneys and skylights disrupted weather patterns, pesticide use, chemical pollution, and habitat fragmentation have adversely affected insect numbers. A Buglife study of car number plates found a 64% decline of insects in the UK since 2004.

A recent British Trust for Ornithology study associates nest failure and smaller brood sizes with wetter summers which reduce foraging opportunities and aphid biomass, whilst not finding a direct link between swift decline and aphid abundance per se. Similarly, the long running study

A Swift’s typical lifespan is 9 years, breeding from 4 years old. Swifts exhibit fidelity to their nest sites, so the loss of a site can result in a lost breeding season (and even death of birds as they repeatedly attempt to enter an inaccessible nest). Comprehending the key factors in nest site selection is vital for conservation efforts.

Throughout the UK, volunteer Swift groups work to locate and protect nest sites, locally forming sub groups of the Derbyshire Swift Conservation Project. It is only though good local knowledge that communities can be informed of the importance of their buildings as nest locations, and effective efforts made to protect and increase nest sites. Derbyshire Swift Conservation collates all nest data for the county, making it accessible to local authorities and available to inform planning decisions.

Swift Study in Buxton

Whilst a screaming party of Swifts rushing between buildings is unmissable, nest locations can be difficult to find since there is little outward evidence and birds can enter at speed and varying intervals. In Buxton, coordinated nest survey work began in 2022, with 50 nests located during the breeding season, highlighting the importance as a breeding area. Nests are usually in small groups in a terrace or area of a street, with the largest recorded colony at Rockbank, Harpur Hill where at least 10 entrances in the eaves of one terrace were identified. Important areas for nesting also include Haslin Road, Kents Bank and Crowestones, Compton Road, Market Street, Hartington Road, Hogshaw Villas, Victoria Park Road , New High Street and Dukes Drive viaduct.

Surveys continue this year, to locate sites not covered in 2022, and revisiting sites to compare data. Several visits to each location are required to locate all nests, evening often being the best time to see swifts entering.

The point of entry is recorded, along with details of access, height above ground, aspect, building type and potential obstructions such as overhanging trees. At the end of the breeding season, locations are mapped with linked photos showing entry points. Other nesting species are also recorded, with House Sparrows often occupying the same eaves as Swifts.

boxed eaves can be converted to nest chambers, and open eaves nests can be formalised by adding a partition within the loft.

At present in Buxton, specially designed Swift nest boxes are the most accessible option to mitigate loss of sites within buildings, but uptake by Swifts can be slow. There are a number of nest boxes for Swifts on properties in Buxton: the locations are recorded as part of the survey work and Swift activity noted, although currently we are not aware of any active nests within boxes.

In Buxton, the majority of Swift nests are in late 19th or early 20th Century dwellings, ranging from terraced cottages to 3 storey semi and detached properties, with a colony also nesting in the late 19th century viaduct on Dukes Drive. The only nests so far known in post war buildings are in the Ecclesbourne Drive/Errwood Avenue area. Within a property type, there appear to be preferences, for example entrances above the centre of several windows on Haslin Road terrace, or nests accessed in the apexes of properties on Compton Road. Aspect can be important, and whilst there is no single preferred direction, southerly facing sites seem to be avoided, presumably due to the risk of nests overheating. Most located nests are in or under the eaves, with some examples of nests in holes between masonry such as Dukes Drive Viaduct. Heights of nests in dwellings range from 4.5m on Lightwood Road, and 5m at Rockbank (although the terrace is in an elevated position) to 9.5m at Compton Road, with nests on Dukes Drive up to 25m high.

Targeted advice can be offered to residents prior to work taking place when locations of nests have been identified. Where nest sites are at risk from additions of soffits, making holes in the new soffits is preferable to installing nest boxes. Plastic soffits can be fitted with internal partitions, with access through small entrance holes drilled on the underside. Timber, metal or plastic

The lack of uptake so far in Buxton should not deter: there are examples of successful uptake of boxes in Derbyshire on a variety of property types, both as compensatory installations and new sites. Nest surveys inform decisions on the siting of nest boxes which are more likely to be occupied if located close to areas with active nests, mimicking exiting nests sites as closely as possible, and ensuring a clear flight path to the entrance. Young birds return to the UK and start to seek out nest sites in their pre-breeding seasons, and it is these birds which are most likely to use ‘new’ nest sites. A call system played morning and evening during May and July can speed up occupation considerably. BCA has previously funded a number of boxes, and future funding can be best targeted with increased understanding of existing nest sites.

Swift Conservation’s recommended good practice for renovating buildings and for new builds:

1. Wherever possible, leave existing nest places undisturbed.

2. When fitting new soffits over existing nests, make holes in the same locations.

3. Fit universal nest bricks in all new builds 5m or higher.

4. If 1-3 are not possible, fit external nest boxes.

Legislation

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 provides legal protection for wild birds and their eggs, making it illegal to intentionally damage or destroy nests, but this legislation only covers active nests during the breeding season (nest sites do not have continuous protection), and there is often poor awareness of hidden Swift nests or guidance may be ignored.

Strengthening legislation would likely be of significant benefit to Swifts, particularly through requirements in planning policy for the inclusion of universal nest bricks in new build properties, and year round protection of nest sites.

Universal nest bricks are hollow structures which allow nesting chambers to be integrated within buildings. They can be matched externally to building materials or rendered over, with just the small entrance holes discernable. They are described as ‘universal’ since they attract a number of bird species including several which are Red Listed (House Sparrow, Starling and House Martin in addition to Swift) and therefore remove the need for multiple nest box types.

The Swifts Local Network recently produced a paper which advocates the benefits of integrated universal nest bricks compared to external nest boxes:

• longer lasting, low maintenance and low cost (around £30 per unit)

• better temperature regulation, so can be sited on any aspect of a building

• nests are isolated from interior of building

• discrete since they are integrated into building

• higher and quicker uptake by Swifts

• used by other Red Listed bird species

There is huge potential in the UK to increase nest sites with a target of 300,000 new homes per year. National Policy guidance appears to already support universal nest bricks through various documents and statements, but inclusion in new builds is not mandatory:

Government Guidance – Natural Environment, updated July 2019, states that:

‘Relatively small features can often achieve important benefits for wildlife, such as incorporating ‘Swift bricks’ ….... in developments’

National Planning Policy Framework 2019

170. Planning policies and decisions should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by: d) minimising impacts on and providing net gains for biodiversity, including by establishing coherent ecological networks that are more resilient to current and future pressures;

174. To protect and enhance biodiversity and geodiversity, plans should: b) promote the conservation, restoration and enhancement of priority habitats, ecological networks and the protection and recovery of priority species; and identify and pursue opportunities for securing measurable net gains for biodiversity.

Government press release – Brokenshire orders house builders to protect wildlife (July 2019)

- Swifts and other wildlife to coexist with new homes

The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 contains a statutory duty:

‘Every public authority must, in exercising its functions, have regard, so far as is consistent with the proper exercise of those functions, to the purpose of conserving biodiversity’

Certain councils and developers have already committed through policy to Swift conservation, but despite campaigner Hannah Bourne’s Feather Speech petition gaining over 100,000 signatures in support of mandatory nest bricks and triggering a debate in parliament, government remains uncommitted to national planning policy to protect swifts.

Examples of good practice in UK and EU Brighton and Hove City Council’s (BHCC) Local Biodiversity Action Plan 2012 identified Swifts as one of 20 species (from the UK BAP priority species list) that have specialist requirements that cannot be addressed through habitat action plans. To protect Swift nest sites from building maintenance, BHCC produced material on their needs and ecology for householders and developers. In March 2020, BHCC passed planning rules that require new developments to contain a minimum of 3 nest bricks per dwelling, and new commercial developments must have one nest brick per 50sq m of floor space. The rule applies to all new buildings above 5m high, and is attached to all planning permissions.

Nest bricks in Brighton General Hospital buildings have 80% occupancy, and represent successful protection of one of the largest Swift colonies in the south of England, through retrofitting during required maintenance.

1000 nest bricks have been built into Duchy of Cornwall housing schemes, with commitment to install 2500 bricks across future developments. In 2022, around 40% of nest boxes were occupied, mainly by House Sparrows, Starlings and House Martins. While Swifts are yet to occupy, they have been seen prospecting around nest bricks, and there is evidence that the calls of House Sparrows can attract Swifts.

In Germany, The Netherlands and Slovakia, the nest sites of Swifts are protected year round. New nest sites must be created to mitigate for any losses during renovation or reconstruction works.

The main aim of the LIFE10 NAT/SK/00079 project (2012-2015) was to halt recent declines in Swifts and Noctule Bats in urban areas of Slovakia where a high proportion of nest sites were in prefabricated buildings requiring upgrading. The project focused on raising awareness among stakeholders, preserving existing nesting and roosting sites, implementing conservation methods to protect species during reconstruction work, and installing nesting boxes for Swifts on buildings.

2400 Swift boxes were installed across 400 sites, and 14,000 existing sites for the two species were preserved through installation of plastic grids over ventilation holes allowing continued access. Legislation mandated surveys to identify nest sites in buildings undergoing renovation or retrofitting. Amendments to the Act on Nature and Landscape Protection gave additional protection to species in buildings.

Engaging with organisations & communities

20 years ago, at the request of the RSPB, Swift Conservation was launched by Edward Mayer who has pioneered the approach of inspiring to protect Swifts through advice, talks and coordinated volunteer action, later extending the project to cover Europe. Training sessions are delivered to organisations, and advice provided for specific projects.

Action for Swifts is headed by Dick Newell, who has applied his experience as an engineer and software designer to the problem of Swift decline, including the development of the integrated S Brick.

Both groups support and facilitate the Swift Local Network, and there are now over 100 local Swift groups across the UK. Each year in June or July, Swift Awareness Week raises the profile of Swifts in local communities through events and showcasing the work of groups.

The RSPB describes Swifts as ‘one of the best examples of a bird species where positive conservation action can be driven by dedicated individuals and volunteers’.

There is scope in Buxton to improve community engagement through celebrations of Swifts, and to further converse with the fortunate residents who host swifts within their dwellings. We cannot expect protection of Swifts if they are misunderstood or unnoticed.

In Macclesfield, a mural by artist Peachzz celebrates both Swifts and the work of Charles Tunnicliffe, in prominent position on the railway station lift tower. Large Swift puppets swoop above the carnival in Sheffield, ceated by artist Patrick Amber and Sheffield Swift Network. Interest has been expressed by schools in Buxton to a Swift prelude to Wild Weeks: inspired by Amber’s work, a large Swift puppet would travel around primary schools on ‘migration’, progressively constructed by different groups, Signs to denote ‘Swift Streets’, and banners to ‘Welcome Back Swifts’ in May at the entrances to town would create a feeling of pride and connectedness, and spark interest and engagement.

Conclusion

To achieve long term population stability, factors contributing to the decline of Swifts, such as insect prey availability and climate change, must be addressed. However, at a local level, surveys are key to protecting existing nest sites, and informing the siting of nest boxes and bricks. Maximising the potential of mitigation measures requires local and national legislation. but communities are often central to the protection of Swifts, and engagement and celebration at a local level are important factors in the conservation of this remarkable bird. Swifts have shared our buildings and our summers for centuries so to lose their daredevil acrobatics and their screams as they navigate our streets and the skies above is unthinkable. We can and must commit to saving them, and it starts with each one of us taking action.

Sources

Action for Swifts The S Brick: A Solution for Swifts Accessed 10/7/23 https://www.actionforswifts.com/#:~:text=The%20 S%20Brick%20is%20a,simple%20and%20lightweight%20S%20 Brick.

Barlow C, Priaulx M (2022) Swifts Local Network – Swift Bricks the ‘universal’ nest brick

Brighton & Hove City Council Planning Policy and Development Managment Teams (2020) Guidance note for provision of swift boxes (including swift bricks) in new development

British Trust for Ornithology Birdfacts: Swift. Accessed 10/7/23 https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/swift

Finch T, Bell J R, Robinson R A and Peach W J (2022) Demography of Common Swifts Apus apus breeding in the UK associated with local weather but not aphid biomass.

Mayer E (2018) Swift Conservation: Swift Nest Places in Soffits and Eaves.

Nansledan (2023) Duchy nest box boost for endangered wild birds. Accessed 10/7/23 https://nansledan.com/duchy-nestbox-boost-for-endangered-wild-birds/

Overall R (2010) Guardian of the Swifts in the Tower of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History

Regional Association for Nature Conservation and Sustainable Development (2012-2015) Project LIFE10/NAT/ SK/000079 Protection of the Common Swift and bats in buildings in Slovakia, Layman’s Report

Scottish Natural Heritage Swift Best Practice Advice Note Sheffield Swift Network Make ‘Swift Bricks’ mandatory for all new build and extensions in Sheffield

Common Swift (Apus apus) flying to the nest photograph is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Common_Swift_ Apus_apus.jpg