SPAB Magazine Autumn 2023

Welcome

Proud to have helped restore and conserve Ancient Buildings and Monuments for over 130 Years

Hibbitt & Sons (Masonr y) Ltd was established in 1890

We are one of the oldest and most trusted companies in Cambridge employing and direc ted by S.P.A.B fellows. Pride and qualit y is in ever ything we do.

Traditional stonemasonr y sk ills passed down through nine generations in the craf t, are combined with cutting edge technology to better enable us to carry on look ing af ter the masonr y fabrics of our historic buildings

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We take our glazed windows for granted these days, but this love affair with glass comes at a cost. As well as its transportation, the production of glass consumes large amounts of energy in manufacture. Although this energy requirement is much less than for steel or aluminium, it is roughly double that of cement. Glass can be readily recycled, but this in turn requires energy and much window glass still ends up in landfill. Building conservationists used to press for window conservation on grounds of history and aesthetics alone; we should now add to this sustainability arguments.

Maintaining and repairing existing windows and their glass should be the starting point in all our thinking. A range of supplementary methods can be used to improve single-glazed windows’ energy performance – some quite costly but others cheap and simple. Strong evidence from research exists to show that upgrading existing windows, through such things as secondary glazing and shutters, can equal or improve upon the effects of modern double-glazing.

The case for keeping old windows has been strengthened by this year’s landmark planning appeal case involving Marks and Spencer’s store in London’s Oxford Street. The case revolved around demolition versus retrofit, and the carbon-case for redevelopment. The Planning Inspectorate accepted that the carbon-payback time for demolition and replacement was 17 years or less. They felt this sufficient, but Secretary of State Michael Gove disagreed and rejected the appeal. An updating of guidance is now needed, but sustainable planning has taken a step forward.

Much scope exists for further research into the whole-life carbon benefits of retaining buildings and their architectural components, but putting serviceable old windows in skips, where sympathetic upgrading is possible, must become a thing of the past.

SPAB STAFF

Matthew Slocombe Director

Jonathan Garlick Special Operations Manager

Chi-Wei Clifford-Frith

Director’s & Projects Team Assistant

Douglas Kent Head of Technical & Research

Mary Henn Technical Officer

David John Technical Officer

Catherine Peacock Technical Assistant

Christina Emerson Head of Casework

Joanne Needham Caseworker

Rachel Broomfield Caseworker

Elgan Jones Wales Caseworker

Merlin Lewis Casework Support Officer

Elaine Byrne Head of Education & Training

Philippa Soodeen Fellowship Officer

Catharine Bull Scholarship Officer

Skye Stevenson Education Officer

Catherine Rose Training Officer

Rohwana Ogunbiyi Archive Officer

Richard Mullis Head of Operations

Margaret Daly Office Manager

Shahina Begum IT Manager Neil Faulks IT Advisor

Kate Streeter Head of Development & Communications

Rachel Stoplar Communications Manager

Lauren Wilson Digital Communications Officer

Louise Simson Property List Officer

Michael Nelles Membership Manager

Sophie Clay Membership Assistant

Kimberley Gordon Grants Officer

Silvia McMenamin Mills Officer

Lucy Stewart SPAB Scotland Officer

Deirdre Keeley SPAB Ireland Officer

EDITORIAL

Tessa Wild Editor

Matthew Slocombe, Rachel Stoplar

Denise Burrows Sub-editor, Cabbells

SPAB

The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, 37 Spital Square, London, E1 6DY T. 020 7377 1644 E. info@spab.org.uk

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ISSN 2051-4239

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SENIOR DESIGNER

Daniel Swainsbury E. daniel.swainsbury@cplone.co.uk

Matthew Slocombe, Director

Building conservationists used to press for window conservation on grounds of history and aesthetics alone; we should now add to this sustainability arguments

GOVERNANCE

An introduction from new trustee, Morwenna Slade

An early fascination with history led me to a degree in Archaeology, where I discovered my love for both building archaeology and how we interpret historic sites and communicate value and significance.

As part of my Masters in Historic Building conservation from Bath University my dissertation considered how we communicate and engage audiences with building conservation and construction work at historic sites.

I have worked for a range of organisations, including the National Trust (NT) and the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), both in estate and building surveyor roles and in policy and communications. Energy efficiency, sustainability and climate change have been a common theme in my work and opportunities at the NT led me to specialise in energy efficiency in traditional buildings.

My current role as Head of Historic Buildings Climate Change Adaptation at Historic England (HE) is based in the National Specialist Services’ Technical Conservation Department.

As a new role at HE, I developed and lead a multidisciplinary team that provides specialist services and strategic guidance on the technical aspects of care, repair, maintenance and adaptation of the historic built environment. We develop and promote research, training and evidence based technical policy and best practice for the adaptation to climate change in the built environment.

As a long-time supporter of the SPAB was pleased to see the inclusion of sustainability in the Society’s strategy along with diversity and inclusion. When the Trustee role was advertised, I was keen to offer my skills and experience to support the SPAB to build on its current strategy, history of campaigning and extensive knowledge base to establish itself as

an influential voice central to climate and sustainability action. This area of intense national focus and critical activity is an opportunity for us to reach a wider audience and be more inclusive in our membership and activities.

I am looking forward to supporting the SPAB, to champion the cause and respond to the challenge of conservation in a time of climate change. Just as the SPAB was founded

to respond to and push back on the enthusiasm for restoration that caused irretrievable damage and loss, so now there is a need for the same strong response to insensitive, damaging and poorly understood reactions to climate mitigation and adaptation. The central tenet of ‘stave off decay through daily care’ has never been more applicable as maintenance is the first step to climate resilience.

FUNDING Boost for heritage skills training

The Hamish Ogston Foundation has pledged almost £29m to heritage skills training in the UK and across Commonwealth nations to combat a global skills shortage. The funding is divided between English Heritage, Historic Environment Scotland, Commonwealth Heritage Forum and Cathedrals’ Working Fellowship and will support up to 2700 apprenticeships.

CAMPAIGNING

Successful legal challenge by the SPABWilloughby Almshouses

We’re delighted to report that the High Court ruled in our favour in the Willoughby Almshouses case, covered in the last issue of the SPAB Magazine. We took Broxtowe Council to court over its failure to notify us before granting listed building consent to the developers of these Grade II* listed almshouses. The High Court determined that the council had acted unlawfully and overturned the consent.

We welcome this decision and hope it will act as an important reminder to other councils of their statutory duty to notify the National Amenity Societies where applications involve the total or partial demolition of listed buildings and to consider our advice.

We have written to Broxtowe Council and the applicant to offer to discuss

AWARD

constructive ways forward. We hope to work with all parties to find a sensitive scheme that can bring these locally treasured and nationally important buildings back into use.

The Willoughby Almshouses are an

exceptionally fine example of 17th century almshouse buildings and an integral part of Cossall’s historic conservation area. Their Grade II* listing means they are in the top 8% of listed buildings in England and Wales.

Former SPAB Chair Iain Boyd Awarded MBE

Our congratulations go to Iain Boyd, Chair of the SPAB from 2014 to 2020, who was awarded an MBE for services to heritage in the King’s first Birthday Honours.

Iain has served the organisation, and the wider heritage sector, in many

ways. A SPAB member since 1983, Iain was a mainstay of multiple SPAB committees and Vice Chair under David Heath before becoming Chair himself. But Iain’s just as happy ‘on the tools’ as in the boardroom and he has played a critical role at numerous Working

Parties. “I’ll always be ready to break out the hawk and trowel for a Working Party,” he told us.

Perhaps Iain’s greatest contribution to us was co-authoring New Design for Old Buildings with Roger Hunt – a crucial but formidable topic to tackle. The book has become a RIBA bestseller and Iain has generously donated all proceeds from it to the SPAB.

Iain was also a trustee at ICON, the Institute of Conservation, is on Bristol’s Conservation Advisory Panel and is hard at work campaigning for Bristol Zoo Gardens, as well as sensitively repairing his own Grade II* listed Georgian house. He continues his SPAB association, filling our appointed place on the National Trust Council. “SPAB has and will always have a special place in my heart, both for its approach and leadership in the conservation world, but also for the many fine people that staff the organisation or volunteer to further its work,” says Iain.

Photo Gavin Gillespie

Photo Alice Boyd

Photo Morwenna Slade

Willoughby Almshouses

The Barbican salvage store

The Barbican Estate is renowned for its striking concrete towers and distinct aesthetic. The towers were meticulously designed down to the smallest detail by the architects Chamberlin, Powell and Bon who created a cohesive and harmonious housing scheme, carefully considering and drawing every connection. Even the most functional of elements, such as door handles, hinges, bathroom and kitchen fittings, tiles and light fittings, were detailed by the architects’ team and produced by specialised companies like Twyford.

Since 2001, the Barbican Estate has held Grade II listed status and is widely celebrated for its architectural interest. However, the listing description doesn’t detail the significance of its functional internal fittings. These fittings are often replaced by contractors during

SEASONAL MAINTENANCE

Above

refurbishment, and this results in the loss of an essential element of the character of the flats.

Is your building ready for winter?

To combat this issue, the Barbican Salvage Store volunteers have been working since 2005 to collect original fittings when they are removed from flats undergoing renovation. They then redistribute these fittings to residents who need them. Recent sample surveys indicate that over half of the 2,000 plus flats still retain their original kitchen and bathroom fittings. The work of the volunteers in raising awareness and the value of a designated store in which to keep discarded pieces is increasingly important as fashions change and many new residents commission renovation work.

Anyone interested in the campaign to protect and preserve the details and fittings of the Barbican Estate is invited to become a friend of the Barbican’s Salvage Store –www.barbicansalvage.org

NICK

A gutter in need of on-going maintenance

stories with us on social media

@spab1877

Recommended maintenance tasks in the autumn:

n Cut back over-enthusiastic vegetation. Sometimes plants will protect a wall or even soak up extra moisture from its base. However, prevent plants such as ivy from growing into drains and gutters and under timberwork such as bargeboards.

n Clear any plants, leaves and silt from gutters and rainwater pipes. Make sure gullies are not blocked at their base.

Ongoing maintenance is an important part of the SPAB Approach to old buildings.

Maintaining a building involves simple, regular checks which can make a huge difference to its condition, lifespan and energy efficiency. Identifying repairs required sooner rather than later can also save you money.

When carrying out any maintenance tasks, wear protective gloves and, if necessary, a mask. If you’re climbing ladders, accessing high places or confined spaces make sure to have someone with you.

Our annual awareness-raising campaign Maintenance Week runs from 17–24 November. Share your maintenance

n Check roofs for signs of damage. You may be able to see missing slates or broken tiles or mortar debris on the ground which indicates a problem.

n If you have any sections of flat roof or lead valley gutters which are easily accessible check that they are clear of debris, unblocked and there is no obvious visible damage.

n If you can look in the loft, check if there

Photo Laura Bellamy

Photo SPAB

A selection of original fittings in the Barbican Salvage Store

are signs of daylight or water leaks. If your loft is insulated, is it in place properly and are the eaves clear to allow ventilation?

Make sure there is insulation over the cold-water tank and not beneath it to prevent freezing. Ensure exposed water pipes here and throughout the house are protected against frost.

n Check that the heating system is working properly – sometimes radiators need bleeding to get rid of an air lock which makes them inefficient. Boilers must be checked by a qualified person annually for safety and efficiency.

n Ensure any airbricks or under floor ventilators are free from obstruction.

n Check that windows and doors open properly; check for damage, rot or rust. Do they need repair or repainting in the spring?

n Check cast iron gutters and downpipes for signs of rust, cracking or leaking. They may need repainting in the spring. When repainting, don’t forget the backs of downpipes and the fixings.

n Check masonry brickwork and rendered and unrendered stonework for signs of damage or damp. Seek advice on any deeply eroded mortar joints, damaged bricks or stones or if there are signs of movement.

n If you have a timber framed property check for gaps between the frame and the infill panels, check the condition of the panels for any signs of movement.

n Check inside the house for signs of damp or cracking and seek further advice if necessary.

n Note where spiders make their webs –normally in front of sources of draught –and stop up any small gaps. This will help prevent unnecessary heat loss.

n Get your chimney swept by a properly registered chimney sweep before you start to use it in the winter.

n Get involved in #MaintenanceWeek and #GuttersDay (25 November) on social media. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn @spab1877

Need more information?

Search our online resources at spab.org.uk/advice or call our free helpline on weekday mornings

020 7456 0916 to speak to our experts. Our advice line is generously supported by Historic England.

Solving the thatching spar supply shortage

We have launched a new initiative aimed at addressing the shortage of home-produced hazel thatching spars – pointed staple-like fixings that hold straw or reed in place on roofs.

Hazel spars are a by-product of coppicing hazel as part of traditional woodland management.

In recent years, spar-making in the UK has declined and thatchers have relied heavily on spars imported from Poland. The supply of Polish spars has dwindled for a variety of reasons, including increased transport costs, and has become unreliable and intermittent.

Although plastic spars are available, they are non-traditional and environmentally unsound, and we do not advocate their use. Without spars, thatchers cannot

thatch so there is a pressing need to revitalise the production of homegrown hazel spars.

We aim to work with the National Trust, the National Coppice Federation, groups representing thatchers and the Institute of Historic Building Conservation to recruit the support of conservation officers for this initiative. We are keen to receive details of UK-based traditional spar-makers and suppliers ahead of running a number of spar-making courses over the next few years.

We are also interested in knowing where woodland products are or could be made available for spar-making. Please send any relevant information to Douglas Kent, SPAB Technical and Research Director, douglas.kent@spab.org.uk.

CORRECTION

In our piece on the anniversary of the fire at Windsor Castle in 1992, featured in the last issue of the SPAB Magazine we gave the incorrect cause of the fire and offer our sincere apologies. The investigation of the fire concluded that it started in the Private Chapel, where old and dry curtains were too close to the tungsten spotlights, fixed high up within the altar recess, and the material of the curtains ignited.

Mark Treadwell thatching with hazel spars in Cambridgeshire

SCHOLARS

Adapt and survive – SPAB Scholars and the CCT in action

Laura Brain, one of the four 2023 Scholars, considers the importance of churches to communities and applauds the work of the Churches Conservation Trust.

Prior to embarking on the SPAB Scholarship this year, was unaware of the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), a charitable organisation that takes on the considerable task of caring for churches which are no longer self-sustaining as places of worship. The CCT looks after over 350 of the most significant ‘at risk’ churches, maintaining the building fabric and doing what it can to bring them back into use within communities.

Throughout the Scholarship we have visited dozens of these buildings and learnt from the professionals working with them about the challenges they face keeping them maintained and in use. In this article I wanted to examine some of the ways that churches are adapting to survive in today’s world.

No account of Britain’s architectural history would be complete without reference to religious buildings. Whatever our relationship with faith, it is undeniable that churches and cathedrals represent some of our finest examples of craft and design and can tell us much about the lives of our ancestors and the development of our culture.

While for centuries our religious infrastructure has – for better or worse – been the beneficiary of an enormous amount of funding, skilled labour and material resources, since the end of the 19th century cultural priorities have shifted and as such the maintenance and repair of church buildings have suffered. As congregations decline and communities change, more and more of these buildings face an uncertain future.

One of the CCT churches which sticks in my mind is St Peter’s Church in Northampton. The little Norman church is Grade I listed and splitting at the seams with incredible stone carvings, many half-human, half- beast, which hark back to a pre-Christian spirituality. The carvings were painstakingly uncovered by a local antiquarian, Anne Elizabeth

Above St Peter’s, Northampton

Baker, over a period of more than a decade in the early 19th century. We attended the church on St Peter’s Day when the building was host to an evensong service featuring a local choir. It was a privilege to see the building used for the purpose for which it was designed.

However, St Peter’s is no longer a place of regular worship and while its calendar is by no means empty – recent events include a touring theatre performing Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing –

these events, religious and otherwise, do not generate the income needed to support the upkeep of this special church. The scope of what can happen here is also limited by its lack of facilities – without toilets or running water the church struggles to accommodate its visitors to expected modern standards. The CCT has therefore taken the bold decision to purchase the adjacent pub to provide these services and to generate an income for the maintenance of the church.

Specialis tConservator s

Architectur al Stone work

Statuaryand Monuments

Architectur al Cer amics

Decor ativ ePlas terwork

Mosaics

SKILL IN GTONS

The Old Black Lion is a Grade II listed pub that forms part of Northamptonshire’s Heritage Gateway, sitting across from the railway station on the main route from the town centre, close to the remains of the castle. With fabric dating from the 16th century, the building has been derelict since 2018 and is undergoing extensive works to restore its former function. The CCT plans to include offices, meeting rooms, coworking spaces, accommodation and potentially practise spaces for bellringers within the design for the Old Black Lion.

Elsewhere, CCT churches have generated income via ‘champing’ or church camping. This function is appealing in its echoes of the church as a place of sanctuary, and as a hiker I’m always keen for there to be more opportunities for affordable, safe places to stay in rural areas. Of course, this use does require the church to have the facilities to accommodate overnight stays. Other churches are available for hire as venues for various activities including weddings, photo and film shoots, art exhibitions, concerts, markets, workshops and bat walks. While researching the uses of CCT

churches I began to reflect on how I have experienced churches throughout my own life. I didn’t grow up in a religious family, yet a lot of my childhood was spent in them. They are the backdrop to some of my earliest memories – my playgroup was based in our local church, and I remember scribbling my first drawings of buildings sat on the parquet floor of the hall. Through ballet classes and Brownies, Christmas pantomimes and car boot sales, the local church was the go-to space for community events, big and small.

In my adult life, my main connection with churches has been through architecture, but a few other memories stand out. I do a lot of hiking, and rural churches have often acted as a welcome refuge from the rain or sun, an excuse to rest tired legs and sometimes even a source of refreshment. I’ve been to concerts and DJ sets in inner city churches and will always remember the spectacular light displays that St Mary’s in Nottingham put on as part of the city’s annual light night.

A large proportion of the CCT churches that we have visited are in rural villages

which often have little in the way of cultural and community spaces. The CCT’s programme of events is admirable, yet I began to wonder if there isn’t more opportunity to reinvigorate these buildings by viewing them as a network rather than in isolation. The idea of a CCT touring theatre visiting churches across the country would utilise their design as places for performance, and perhaps this idea could be expanded to touring exhibitions and concerts too. Could there also be potential to set up walking routes between CCT churches, encouraging their use for overnight stays and echoing historic pilgrimages?

Fundamentally, these churches need our engagement to remain relevant and justify their ongoing maintenance and repair. Where they have become redundant as places of worship, we need to find new ways to bring people through their doors. But we need to also view them as a valuable resource to their communities. These are special, beautifully designed and crafted buildings which have the potential to play host to a huge variety of activities and provide opportunities to bring communities together for generations to come.

The ne wlyres tored Shrine of St Amphibalus at St Albans Cathedr al. Recons tructed from sections of the original 14thcentury one withnew carving to fill thegaps, by Skillingtons team 2019-21.

Laura Brain, Architectural Assistant and 2023 SPAB Scholar

Above The Old Black Lion, Northampton

Left and inset St Peter and St Paul’s, Albury

Photo Kristian Foster

Photo Laura Brain

A new chapter

Left The Great Hall – the centre cross beam shows evidence of alteration, where two braces have been removed, possibly after a heavier thatched roof was replaced with pantiles

Below The kitchen cupboards enclose a replacement electricpowered Aga

FOR ME AND MY WIFE JANE, AN

East Anglian timber frame represents the full circle of a house journey that began when I was a student over 50 years ago. Back then, three undergraduate friends and I decided to make an extramural life in the Cambridgeshire countryside, in two separate rented cottages. I ended up in a Pevsner-listed former gravedigger’s house gifted to the local church in the mid-16th century, meaning it was almost certainly built in the 1400s.

That adventure drew me into the SPAB and a lifetime of repairing and conserving homes. We spent nearly three decades in the Cotswolds, much of the time supporting heritage projects and specifically skills training for young people and interacting with the SPAB.

But eventually came the most basic of life’s challenges in sustainability –the dreaded downsizing, which should now be listed with death and taxes as one of life’s ineluctable confrontations. We roamed widely, including abroad, and viewed more than 120 properties before finding the timber-framed Sawyers Barn on the Suffolk-Norfolk border. A former timber-converting barn to the neighbouring Wortham Manor, our new home had the kerbside appeal of a roadside shed. But it was a Tardis of a house, and offered dramatic

interior spaces as only barn conversions and palazzos can. Thanks perhaps to planning regulations, the dramatic central void, three storeys high, had been preserved.

THE TASK AHEAD

An unusual single-aisle structure, with clear evidence of structural modifications, much of the original framing was of top quality. Accurate dating remains elusive as with all vernacular structures. The thatched dairy, now my office, was given a ridge in locally-grown long straw, but there was a fresh sustainability challenge awaiting; Sawyers was desperately in need of a thorough refit, rather as a leaking long boat might be found in a neglected

anchorage with rot creeping in. Downsizing from eight bedrooms and four acres of grounds at Bownham Grange meant space was at a premium, especially for a book (and guitar) hoarder, so it was time to get ‘on the tools’, as the skills trainers have it. My craft skills were negligible, though I’d been an educated onlooker for decades. I found a nearby cabinetmaker who took on occasional pupils: Roger Berwick proved to have a gift for teaching as great as for making.

GETTING TO WORK

Sawyers had been done on the cheap. Pine doors were warped caustic tank survivors, about as robust as old cigar boxes. Much MDF and ply had been expended on kitchen units and shelving, plumbing and heating were obsolete and wiring was no longer fit for purpose, though much of its

purpose seems to have been derived from a military sabotage course, rendering the house uninsurable.

The double garage gave itself up as a professionally-equipped joinery shop and work began off the back (metaphorically) of an oak cabinet built as an apprentice piece. When I’d wondered out loud what to do next, Roger’s robust reply was that I build a kitchen.

Mostly I’ve worked in oak, bought in cubic metre volumes, but for the kitchen carcassing I discovered the joys of tulip wood, a poplar that is indeed popular, but usually painted over because of its colour variations. Its variations were, for me, its joy, resonating against the toast tones of an existing floor laid with salvaged maltings tiles. Roger suggested a wenge worktop – a timber I’d only encountered when buying two little

mirrors at Parnham House in the 1980s, all we could then afford of Makepeace work.

REUSE AND RECYCLE

I’m still busy replacing the dozen or so caustic tank survivors with oak ledged doors (no braces), with hinges forged by David Butler, a local craft blacksmith. I’ve used ash for a ladder shelf with arching braces and screw plugs left proud to echo the surrounding timber framing. Cherry, elm and walnut boards are waiting in the wood store. Where new timber isn’t demanded, I upcycle all I find. I’ll use the dismantled pine for a housekeeper’s cupboard – to be painted – and I’m upcycling the Victorian kneelers recently made redundant by the village church. The recycling, upcycling and new builds together create a new narrative that echoes much of our lives. I’m still using timber given to us 46 years ago as a wedding present from Jane’s family joinery firm – my father-in-law was a third generation Manchester builder who became President of the British and European builders’ federations. Jane tells me my new vocation would have made him proud, and that’s good enough for me, and hopefully good enough for Sawyers Barn.

SPAB member Stephen Davis was Chairman of Woodchester Mansion Trust, a member of the National Trust South West Committee, chaired the Craft Scholars Scheme for The Prince’s Foundation and established the National Heritage Training Academy South West.

Stephen Davis on repairing and enhancing his home on the Suffolk-Norfolk border

Above Sawyers Barn from the south – the thatched extension on the west was originally built as an estate

COURSES & EVENTS

We’re adding new courses and events all the time so visit the What’s On section of our website for more information. To receive regular updates about our new courses and events direct to your inbox, sign up:

The Repair of Old Buildings Course

ONLINE COURSE

Date: 13– 17 November 2023

Price: £805 per person

The SPAB’s flagship course, run since the 1950s, will be taking place online once again this autumn. Run over five days, the course offers a combination of recorded and live presentations, virtual site visits, live speaker Q&As and downloadable resources. Presented by leading building conservation professionals, this popular course considers British and international approaches to the conservation of old buildings. The SPAB philosophy of repair and maintenance – established by William Morris in 1877 – underpins its programme of case studies, presentations and site visits. We welcome students and professionals interested in deepening their understanding of old buildings, and who may be interested in developing work in this area.

Understanding Your Old Building Course

ONLINE COURSE

Date: October – November 2023

Price: £115 per person

The SPAB presents this popular introduction to the care and maintenance of period properties. This modular, self-paced online course is a combination of six pre-recorded talks and a live Q&A session. It introduces the SPAB conservation approach and offers guidance on how best to tackle common problems and maintain the character and value of your home.

A beginner’s guide to lime will explain its use in the construction and repair of old buildings. Practical advice for maintenance, dealing with damp and improving your old building for energy efficiency will also be provided. The course also aims to demystify the legal framework that building owners and custodians need to be aware of when carrying out work to their property and will

offer advice on working with professionals and local authorities. This course is relevant to anyone who lives in or looks after a period

property, and for professionals who may need to brief their clients on understanding their old building.

Photo Bobby Allen, Unsplash

Photo Ralph Hodgson

Old House Project Pay-to-View Talks

ONLINE TALK

Price: £5 per person per talk

Watch the recordings of this year’s online talks about the SPAB’s Old House Project – former St Andrew’s Chapel, a Grade II* ‘building at risk’ in Kent, which stood empty for 50 years. When the SPAB bought the building in November 2018 it was hidden behind an overgrown garden, vandal damage had left the site vulnerable and parts of the roof were leaking.

An Introduction to the Old House Project

This lecture introduces the fascinating history of the former chapel – it once housed a relic of St Andrew, was owned by Tudor poet Thomas Wyatt and acted as a local post office in the 20th century.

Find out why the SPAB bought this ‘sleeping

An Introduction to Plain Lime Plastering Course

Date: 6–7 October 2023

Venue: Heritage & Rural Skills Centre (National Trust), Coleshill Home Farm, near Swindon

Price: £495 per person

FULLY BOOKED

beauty’ to embark on a repair project greater than the Society has worked on before. SPAB Director, Matthew Slocombe, and Special Operations Manager, Jonny Garlick, talk about the steps involved in getting the project off the ground, describe the early remedies required to secure the medieval building and reveal some of the site’s long-forgotten secrets.

Archaeology at the Old House Project

Presented by archaeologist Graham Keevill, this recorded talk is an illustrated introduction to the archaeological work at SPAB’s Old House Project. Second in the collection of online talks about the project, this lecture introduces the archaeological work undertaken at St Andrew’s Chapel from 2019 to 2022, starting with a series of small test pits dug around the perimeter of the building. Graham explains how early finds have fed into the SPAB’s

interpretation of the building’s history and its connection to nearby Boxley Abbey.

Research, Repairs and Restrictions at the Old House Project

The third in this collection of online talks, this recording highlights how the SPAB made progress on the project during the height of the Covid pandemic and overcame other early problems and restrictions.

Special Operations Manager, Jonny Garlick, and SPAB Director, Matthew Slocombe, discuss the approach to tackling the vital roof and chimney repairs to this unique building, as well as the structural stabilisation of the west wall. They also introduce the research applied by the project team to better understand local lime which was used in the early repairs to the site.

pricking up and base coats, float coats and setting coats. It provides a brief introduction to running a cornice in-situ. Ideally, course participants should have practical plastering skills, and experienced plasterers used to working in gypsum will particularly benefit from the course. We also welcome anyone interested in learning about plain lime plastering for their home or old building(s) in their care. The tutors are knowledgeable lime plasterers with decades of onsite experience. CONSERVING TRADITIONAL BUILDINGS

Photo Paul Godfrey

Photo

Ralph Hodgson

CASEWORK CAMPAIGNING

In its casework the SPAB gives advice to planning authorities, owners and professionals. Cases arise from information received about neglected buildings or planning proposals. Councils in England and Wales are obliged to notify the SPAB of applications involving demolition work to listed buildings. We also hear from parishes, dioceses and cathedrals when certain works to listed churches are proposed. Casework is one of the key ways the SPAB campaigns for the future of historic buildings.

ALL SAINTS CHURCH, LYDIARD MILLICENT, WILTSHIRE

Rachel Broomfield

The Grade II* listed church of All Saints is believed to have originated in the late 11th century, but much of that building has been lost, although some early carving survives in the vestry and the font is late 12th century. The church was re-modelled in the 14th century when the south aisle and tower were added – roof timbers from the south aisle date to the 1340s. The 15th century saw the nave reroofed and new windows installed in the north wall but there is little evidence of further significant works until the 18th century when a gallery and new pews were installed.

In 1847-48 the lord of the manor, Reverend Henry Thomas Streeten, re-seated the church, and the same pews remain today. At the time they were installed, a local paper described them as ‘handsome and commodious open benches’. The internal lobby around the south door, with its carved-over panel by the Rev McKnight, was added in 1857. Further works were undertaken by Victorian architect George Edmund Street, a leading proponent of the Gothic Revival. He was tasked with re-building the chancel

and adding the choir stalls, vestry and organ chamber. The result is a characterful interior with a largely Victorian feel, primarily due to the pews and organ. Earlier fabric and fixtures can still be seen including a Jacobean pulpit, the 12th century font, an 18th century chest and a fine carved reading desk of 1862, converted to a vestment chest.

As with many churches, the parish is keen to make the best use of the available space and broaden the activities on offer. While we are supportive of this, we also think that it is important that the re-ordering is not at the expense of what makes the church special and worthy of its Grade II* listing.

The proposals are to reorder the interior to provide a second toilet (the first is accessed externally) and a new kitchenette, replace the pews with chairs, install underfloor heating, improve storage, create a new draught lobby and replace the organ. While we support some of the proposed works, we are not entirely happy with everything and we remain of the opinion that further improvements could be made while retaining the character of the interior. We welcome the compromises that the parish are making. However, there are still some areas where further justification is needed, for example the proposed underfloor heating system, which requires the complete replacement of the church floor. We are unconvinced that the church will be used frequently enough to make this viable for the parish to run in the long term. Although the parish has been working on this re-ordering scheme for several years, it is unfortunate they were not advised that early consultation with the statutory consultees can be very beneficial. We can work with parishes to make the process easier, save money by explaining the significance of the space and its furnishings, establish what is likely to be supported and how to make the best use of the space available. It is also essential that the Statements of Significance and Need, vital parts of all Faculty applications, work together and inform each other. We hope to continue working with the parish to find acceptable solutions which will both meet their needs and respect the significance of this attractive church.

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All Saints Church

PLAS LLANARMON, LLANARMON-YN-IAL, DENBIGHSHIRE

Elgan Jones

Plas Llanarmon originated as an important minor gentry house of the 17th century. Later it became a farmhouse and, in the 19th century, it was remodelled with projecting ranges of unequal size added to the front and rear. Despite these modifications, the house retains an interesting plan form which is a variation of the lobby entry plan with right-angle cross wings to the original range. The interior also has several earlier details, such as the oak dog-leg stair in the west cross-wing, decorated plaster ceilings with vine trail and floral motifs in the south cross-wing.

During the late 19th century, Plas Llanarmon was tenanted by John Parry, a carpenter, shepherd, writer and poet who led the Anti-Tithe movement from 1886. Tithes were payments made by parishioners to the established church, equating to a tenth of annual income. This payment was demanded whether or not the parishioner attended church. In a predominantly non-conformist country, this caused resentment amongst farmers and resulted in civil disturbance during the 1880s knowns as ‘The Tithe War’. It has been described as the most violent civil disobedience campaign in Wales.

Sadly, a collection of historic structures to the north of the current house was removed in the 20th century and this, together with the changes to the landscape and levels, means that the house has lost its context and its agricultural character.

The site was recently purchased by a new owner who sought to refurbish, upgrade and extend Plas Llanarmon to be used as a family home. Whilst we are in principle supportive of an appropriate programme of repairs to bring the redundant building back into use, significant aspects of this application raised concerns.

The drawings and documentation included very little information on the external and internal historic finishes, surfaces and features, how they might be repaired or upgraded and the impact of the proposed works. Drawing annotations included proposals to ‘replace the entire ground floor and introduce a modern, insulated concrete slab with damp proof course’ and the use of sandblasting to clean the building.

This approach extended to the proposal to replace all the windows of the building with a single uniform design. It was apparent that the proposals had been developed without a proper understanding of the harm which could result from such interventions.

The application also included a substantial extension on the site of the lost structures to accommodate a garage and additional first floor living accommodation. While we understand that a traditional pitched roof structure once abutted this northern elevation, we expressed strong concerns about the scale, massing, architectural style and material palette of the new addition and its impact on the existing house.

We have strongly recommended that the current application is withdrawn, and that the applicant develops a scheme which better respects the character and significance of the listed building.

WALPOLE OLD CHAPEL, HALESWORTH, SUFFOLK

Christina Emerson and Kirstie Robbins

The simple rendered exterior of Grade II* listed Walpole Old Chapel belies its highly atmospheric interior. One is immediately struck by the three monumental circular timber columns, said to be ships’ masts, which support the valley roof. A tiered gallery runs around three sides of the chapel, supported on square columns and barley sugar wrought iron posts. There is a characterful brick floor and panelled entrance lobbies.

The furnishings and fittings are largely late 18th or early 19th century. A hexagonal pulpit has a tester with an ogee roof and ball finial. The original building is believed to be early 17th century with its use for non-conformist worship beginning around 1649. Since 1995 the building has been in the care of the Historic Chapels Trust (HCT), and they are now working to find a long-term sustainable future for this exceptional heritage asset.

This is an important and special building but sadly the render

Happily, the current owners have employed an experienced firm of conservation architects to tackle the building’s ongoing deterioration

that largely conceals the timber frame has a long history of failure. Some fascinating papers in the SPAB Archive show that there was an appeal for funds for ‘restoration’ in a 1930 edition of The Times: ‘A sum of £80 to £90 is needed to make the old chapel weatherproof, structurally sound, and its appearance both externally and internally, worthy of its historic past and present mission.’ This prompted us to write asking to ‘have particulars of the work’. The reply, that ‘the restoration will be literally adhered to’ but that no architect would be involved, was perhaps not as reassuring as we might have hoped. In any event, a file note records that only minor works were carried out, and we were consulted again in 1950, this time at the behest of the local council.

Happily, the current owners have employed an experienced firm of conservation architects to tackle the building’s ongoing deterioration (it has been on the Heritage at Risk Register since 2021). A number of detailed studies have been carried out, firstly looking at the condition of the external envelope and investigating the reasons for its continuing failure, and now looking at repair options for it. This year’s SPAB Scholars and Fellows were generously afforded the opportunity to make an extended visit and were able to try a range of techniques under the guidance of a local

craftsperson and 2020-21 Fellow Thom Taylor.

The experiments were intended to help determine the best course of action for the ongoing repair and maintenance of the chapel and current Scholar Laura Brain describes the debates that ensued in a blog that can be found on the News section of our website. Should the chapel be lime plastered and limewashed, retaining its current appearance? Or does this apparently straightforward solution create a burden of regular maintenance for those who care for it? Would weatherboarding be a more sustainable long-term solution that would justify the change in appearance? Weatherboarding is, after all, a fairly typical vernacular treatment in the region. We will report back as this fascinating project develops. For more information about the Chapel and the fundraising campaign for its repair, please visit www.walpoleoldchapel.org

NB: As with all the chapels owned by the HCT, Walpole will soon have to be transferred to new beneficial ownership as lack of long-term funding forces the Trust’s closure. This process is to happen in a structured way, supported by the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Historic England. New owners will certainly need assurances that the Walpole’s fabric is secured and its maintenance affordable.

Interior, Walpole Old Chapel

Exterior, Walpole Old Chapel

BUILDINGS AT RISK UPDATE

Laura Polgase

Since the beginning of this year, we have researched over 35 buildings at risk in response to concerns raised by members and the general public. In some cases, members have driven past a particular building for months or years, watching it slowly decay. In others, the member may have been trying for some time to bring the building’s plight to wider attention. Sometimes, the building has been hidden, owners long gone and no one, neither the local authority nor Historic England, has known of its existence.

It can be easy to feel discouraged when passing yet another dilapidated farm building or a closed, boarded-up pub. Where these properties are on prominent sites, a junction of two streets for example, or a wide corner plot, the degradation of these buildings has even more impact.

We do our best to look into all cases which are referred to us.

Please do let us know if there is a building you would like us to investigate further. It helps us greatly if you can provide as much information as possible about the building. An accurate location is the starting point, although we are quite used to detective work if you do not know the address. Photos of the current state of the building are also essential, as is any information about the history of the site if you have it.

The challenging economic climate can make it hard for owners and authorities alike to find the resources to deal with historic buildings when they have got to the ‘at risk’ stage. We are a conduit between frustrated members of the public and local conservation teams – drawing the authorities’ attention to a particular building or explaining what action is being taken on its behalf. Where a building is being offered for sale, we can bring it to wider attention through the Property List. Bringing a historic building back into use is one of the best ways of ensuring its continued existence for future generations.

Are you concerned about a building near you? Please email Buildings at Risk Officer, Laura Polglase, at casework2@spab.org.uk

VERNACULAR DWELLING ON MAIN STREET, NAUL, IRELAND

Livia Artibani, Architect and SPAB Ireland Committee Member

The first medieval settlement at Naul, originally clustered around a church and a castle, has extended over the centuries at the foot of the hill where the roads to Dublin, Balbriggan and Drogheda meet in a large square. Each one of the buildings forming the square constitutes a focal point from whichever direction the town is approached. Their uniformity, except for some modern alterations, gives them a strong visual relationship.

Earlier this year, we were notified of an application for the demolition of a vernacular building in the heart of the village, and its replacement with a three-storey mixed-use building. The original 18th century two-storey fabric proposed for demolition forms one of the striking focal points at the north end of Main Street. Part of the historic building used to serve as a shop and retains the character-defining openings associated with a historic shopfront. The other openings, although replaced with modern casement windows, retain their attractive Georgian proportions. The size, layout and appearance of the existing building abide by genius loci – the spirit of place – which the new development completely disregarded.

We found the documentation submitted with the application to be limited and contradictory. The applicant did not furnish the Planning Authority with sufficient material to make an informed decision, appropriate to the heritage value of the structure, and no justification for the demolition of the building was provided even though it lies within an Architectural Conservation Area. Claims of structural issues with the building were not supported by any evidence. The language used to design the volume and its external elevations was borrowed from standardised case studies and bore no connections with the existing buildings or the surrounding environment. The proposed demolition also contravened the Local Area Plan and Development Framework Plan.

We opposed the development, in the form of an observation submitted to the Local Authority, highlighting the needless loss of significant historic fabric and drew attention to the value of the context of old buildings, as they have a connection with the locality and contribute to the sense of identity and community. Similar observations were submitted by other organisations interested in

the preservation of historic buildings, and by the local community which expressed its heartfelt concern, conscious that while progression is key to any local area, this must be done with respect to its historical value.

The Local Authority consultations with public bodies and the local Conservation Officer and An Taisce National Trust re-iterated such principles and planning permission was subsequently refused.

SPAB Ireland is always keen to learn of a planning application or listed building consent application that might negatively affect an old or historic building in Ireland. Unlike in England, we are not statutory consultees, so please alert us to cases via a casework submission form. This can be found at www.spab.org.uk/content/spab-irelandcasework-submission-form

The size, layout and appearance of the existing building abide by a genius loci – the spirit of place – which the new development, despite the principles and purposes listed in the design statement, completely disregarded

The Beeches Farmhouse in Dickleburgh Moor in 2014 – we brought this Grade II listed farmhouse to the attention of South Norfolk Council and understand that it may now be for sale

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St Andrew’s, Boxley – the SPAB’s Old House Project

As work on St Andrew’s enters its final stages, Matthew Slocombe reflects on the drive to acquire a property, the vital work undertaken and the legacy for the building and all who have been involved in training, research, volunteer participation and community engagement

THE SPAB IS THE UK’S OLDEST building conservation body and over its long history has acquired and repaired many historic structures, including Montacute House in Somerset (now National Trust) and Eynsford Castle in Kent (now under English Heritage guardianship). For some decades it even had a specialist offshoot called the Ancient Buildings Trust, which was a proto-building preservation trust, set up to acquire and repair buildings ‘at risk’. By the late 20th century, with listed building controls more effective and other building preservation trusts operating successfully across the country, we shifted our focus towards educational and advisory work. This gave us a strategic direction more manageable for a modestly-sized charity, but this change of policy

ACQUISITION AND APPROACH

In 2016 this policy was reviewed and our shift in strategic direction led to a plan to acquire a building ‘at risk’ as a demonstration project. The aim was not merely to carry out a repair, but to use the project as the basis for training, learning, investigation and research. Several attempted purchases proved fruitless, but the search finally led to St Andrew’s, a medieval chapel turned house, at Boxley in Kent. We were already familiar with neighbouring Boxley Abbey, a medieval monastic site and country house, where we had held events and had given a small grant, but were completely oblivious to the existence of St Andrew’s. This Grade II* listed building was on Historic

England’s (HE) national ‘at risk’ register, having been disused for 50 years and swallowed up by vegetation. HE’s officer David John brought the building to our attention and helped facilitate a negotiated purchase from the private owner, for a mutually agreed sum of £60,000.

Although it had suffered vandal damage and roof leaks and had even lost the right in planning terms to be a dwelling, its interest, character, range of materials, challenging repair problems and readily accessible location by road and rail, made it ideal as our project building.

THE OLD HOUSE PROJECT

Our work at St Andrew’s, known as the ‘Old House Project’ (OHP), is now in the final phase of its five-year programme, and has already won a Museums and

somewhat detached us from the ‘hands on’ ethos of our Arts & Crafts roots.

Detail from The Colquhoun Chapel, Brookwood Cemetery: During 2019 SSHC undertook a full programme of conservation cleaning repairs, replacement masonry, re-plastering and fabrications – internal and external.

Photo Matthew Slocombe

Jonny Garlick shows the Sussex group round St Andrew’s, May 2023

Heritage Award for its community engagement and digital dimension. This has taken us into new territory, but perhaps most rewarding for us have been the relationships forged with professional bodies and community groups. For this, much credit must go to our Special Operations Manager Jonny Garlick. His ‘open door’ policy and keenness to engage with everyone interested in the site has been the key to productive partnerships with local and professional bodies, academic institutions and those simply passing by.

Before the vegetation was even cleared, it was evident that St Andrew’s was an element of a wider historic landscape centred on nearby Boxley Abbey. We started to explore this relationship as part of our investigation

into its history, assisted by Deborah Goacher of Kent Archaeological Society (KAS), who used local and national resources to piece together the building’s complex story. This helped inform our educational work and Statement of Significance for the building. Malcolm Fryer Architects was appointed as our main professional adviser after a competitive process which included an assessment of willingness to engage with educational activities. Mal Fryer, and others within his team, have undertaken our Scholarship training programme, and he also has experience as an academic tutor.

Our purchase of St Andrew’s gave us a ¾ acre plot which was suitable for small events and courses, but given our

Left In January 2019, after standing empty for 50 years

Below Michele Contini demonstrating thermal insulation, July 2023

Right The chapel roof structure with the post-Dissolution extension visible to the upper left

Our search finally led to St Andrew’s, a medieval chapel turned house, at Boxley in Kent. This Grade II* listed building with its interest, character, range of materials, challenging repair problems and location made it ideal as our project building

intention to maximise learning and engagement, more space was required for larger groups – particularly those interested in ‘hands-on’ activities. We’re extremely fortunate that our neighbours at Boxley Abbey, the Best-Shaw family, have been supportive of our work and happy to help, allowing up to 150 people to camp in their garden during our summer working parties.

Access to Boxley Abbey has allowed professionals and special interest groups onto an important historic site which had been relatively little explored previously. These have included the KAS as well as the Maidstone Area Archaeological Group (MAAG), Hasting Area Archaeological Research Group (HAARG) and Kent

Underground Research Group (KURG). Their input has substantially improved understanding of the site, assisted learning for all involved and taken us beyond our familiar territory of practical building conservation. Much help has also been received from Graham Keevill, who is the consultant archaeologist to the OHP but who has also shared his considerable experience of ecclesiastical sites with those investigating the Abbey.

RESEARCH AND UNDERSTANDING

The Cistercian abbey of Boxley was founded in 1143-46 as a daughter house of Clairvaux. It was dissolved in 1538 and sold by the Crown in 1540 to courtier Sir Thomas Wyatt, whose family owned nearby Allington Castle. Boxley Abbey has remained in private, secular hands since the middle of the 16th century. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the abbey site today owes most of its appearance to these centuries of domestic use – but its monastic origin can still be readily appreciated, not least because of its enclosing inner precinct wall and the survival of a great barn-like structure whose medieval origin is evident. This structure was known as the ‘Hospitium’ (a lodging for abbey visitors, especially pilgrims) but has been re-assessed by monastic

specialist Dr David Stocker as a multipurpose building including substantial brewhouse and maltings. The roof of this colossal structure (approximately 186ft/57m long) has been dendrodated by Dr Martin Bridge, for HE, to the 1380s. This date probably relates to a development and enlargement of the building in the late 14th century to cater for an upsurge of interest in pilgrimage to Boxley after the Black Death.

A PhD thesis by Elizabeth Eastlake demonstrates how Boxley Abbey’s revenue from pilgrimage substantially increased in the late 14th century and provided the means to build on a grand scale. St Andrew’s was constructed a century after the brewhouse/maltings structures but is also likely to have been linked to pilgrimage. Standing on the western approach to the abbey site, it seems to have served as a reliquary chapel – possibly housing a finger of St Andrew, which the Abbey is known to have held before the Dissolution. St Andrew’s is a complex, multi-phased building, but dendrochronological dating of the main roof structure by Martin Bridge has placed the chapel in the 1480s. However, dendrochronology has also indicated a date in the first half of the 15th century for a small, timber-framed part of the building,

Photo Ralph Hodgson

Photo Rachel Stoplar

Photo Daniel Bridge

suggesting that the present chapel was not the first structure on the site.

Graham Keevill’s archaeological work has included the monitoring of excavations related to a new site access and overseeing test pits linked to the structural exploration of foundations and geology. Discoveries include a Georgian teapot and a flint-cobbled courtyard surface to the south of the chapel, likely to be of medieval date.

The best find so far has come from just above the cobbles, where an intact medieval encaustic floor tile was discovered. This is much smaller than the usual patterned tiles and probably dates to the 13th century. Kent’s Historic Environment Record (HER) notes that a tile kiln, which was probably the source of our tile, was excavated nearby in the 1920s. Boxley Abbey is known to be a centre for ceramic floor tile production.

INVESTIGATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

The first stages of work to the OHP, from 2019, involved investigation, planning and exploration to develop understanding. Various surveys were undertaken, including ones covering drains and asbestos. There was also an analysis of internal surfaces by Catherine Hassall, and a full digital scan by Terra Measurement Ltd. For physical protection, broken windows

were secured and roof holes repaired. A passive structural prop was constructed at the building’s fragile west end, with the voluntary help of trainee army engineers from the nearby Maidstone barracks, to remove any risk of collapse while a structural monitoring regime was established. A security system was also introduced (requiring power and broadband installation). This allowed us to monitor the site, capturing a visit by teenage intruders within the first few days of its installation. Rather than erecting fences to keep people out we felt a better policy was to try to bring them in. Emphasis was therefore placed on providing information and generating community support from the parish council and residents. This has helped enormously in providing safety and security for the building, while allowing local people to have a stake in the project. So far, we have suffered no further vandalism or break-in.

IDENTIFYING ISSUES AND DEVISING REPAIRS

The next step towards longer term conservation and re-use of the building was roof repair. In a conventional project, the roof would have been fully re-covered, and this would have followed structural repair of walls. After much discussion with conservation

roofing consultant Richard Jordan, we opted instead for repair. This decision resulted from the conclusion that the main roof’s condition was not at all bad and that it had considerable character. Only an addition from around 1900, constructed when St Andrew’s was used as the community post office and grocery shop, needed to be stripped and re-covered – and this was chiefly due to its bituminous underfelt which had trapped moisture against the underside of modern tiles.

The work we’ve done to the building is repair not restoration. The project demonstrates the SPAB Approach to building conservation based on the protection of building fabric and its conservative repair

Above Jim Roberts from Owlsworth working on the south east corner

Top right The newly-discovered mass sundial

Photo Matthew Slocombe

Photo Matthew Slocombe

For the main roof’s repair, we designed a special scaffold which allowed ladders to be laid above the roof plane so that localised work could occur without causing fresh damage. Three thousand new tiles were handmade for us by the William Blyth tile company, with many tiles sponsored by our supporters. Most new tiles were used on the post office addition, with some replacements for damaged tiles on the main roof. Work was carried out by local firm Ashford and Cranbrook Roofing. Any repair necessary to roof timbers was undertaken by specialist carpenter John Russell and his team. At the west end, they extended the gable verge with an additional timber plate screwed to the barge board. This allowed a specially made tile-and-a-half to be used at the verge, extending the roof slightly so that it could properly overhang the bulging wall below, resolving a problem of water ingress.

Maidstone Council and HE agreed that the roof work was a repair and so did not need listed building consent. It has resulted in a roof that is perfectly sound but retains its character. The work has left us – consciously – with the need to insulate from below with lime-plastered wood fibre board rather than from above, but this has ensured the external roof line and the roof’s character remain unchanged. While roofing work occurred, we were able pursue pre-application discussions

about full repair and re-use with HE and Maidstone Council.

In view of the building’s ‘at risk’ status, HE was able to offer a grant of about £35,000 towards the development of a structural repair solution for the building’s problematic west wall.

Proposals were developed by Mal Fryer Architects, with conservationaccredited structural engineer Ed Morton, and others including Graham Keevill, soil and monitoring specialists SOCOTEC and contractors Owlsworth IJP.

After listed building consent had been obtained, work at the OHP in 2022–23 involved structural strengthening to the west wall as well as general repair to masonry and timber framing elsewhere. Owlsworth IJP was appointed after competitive tender to carry out the work. The team have done this with great skill and enthusiasm, and can be seen in the quality of the new brickwork pier and oak frame which has formed part of the structural repair at the building’s west end. This repair, devised by Ed Morton, has tied the west wall into St Andrew’s chapel’s substantial masonry, stabilising the longstanding bulge in the west wall. The complexities of diagnosing the structural issues and prescribing a repair provided much material for an engineering training day in November 2022.

While new stones have been

Below left Mike Roberts explaining the relationship between trees and old buildings at Boxley Abbey

Right Recycling earth plaster for repairs at the OHP

Below Repairs by contractors Owlsworth to windows at the east end of the OHP

introduced where the decay has been severe or there is structural need, much of the work has involved selective repointing, mortar repairs and shelter coating of friable surfaces. In all these applications, the lime we have burnt on site in a small field kiln, using local chalk from the nearby Oxted quarry, has been crucial.

Help from expert Stafford Holmes and supporters including Hugh ConwayMorris and Mark Murthwaite-Price has been vital to the success of this experimental work. Our grey chalk-lime is feebly hydraulic and eminently suitable for the work, being closely based on the limes used at the site since the Middle Ages. Our mortar is subtly different to those from the past, incorporating ragstone dust as well as local sand, but the mix – at close to 1:1 lime binder to aggregate – is little different to the historic mortars in all areas of Boxley Abbey.

We have brought our own signature to the project in the form of tile repairs. This technique has a very long tradition within SPAB circles. It involves layers of clay plain tiles laid within beds of mortar. Its advantage is in allowing the tiles to be shaped to the worn contours of the building. This technique also allows the work to be additive and easily ‘read’. Tile repairs have been used on the building’s masonry and timber framing and have worked well where something more than mortar consolidation was required. We have also taken the opportunity to date-mark new timber and – perhaps a little cheekily – the new pattress plates to tie bars at the west end spell out the initials S.P.A.B.

NEW DISCOVERIES AND FRESH THINKING

Repairs in 2022–23 yielded many new discoveries. Our aim, in line with the SPAB Approach, is to restrict interventions to those that are essential, but where change has been unavoidable some surprises have emerged. Most notable have been the discoveries at the building’s east end, in the tiny timber framed addition that predates the masonry chapel by around 50 years. Assuming it is in situ and was not

taken from elsewhere and reassembled, this makes the timber framed part the earliest standing building on the OHP site. The walls of this structure are slender, and it has always been our intention to line them out internally with a wood fibre board and lime plaster to improve thermal performance. The small casualty of this change has been the need to remove existing, damaged plaster from around 1900. This decision was not taken lightly, but the thermal upgrade is felt more important to the building’s long-term occupation and sustainable use.

In a similar vein, our listed building consent allowed us to create a new opening from the timber framed block into the garden through the east wall. Plaster removal here showed the studs and infill panels of the timber frame to be far more intact and of higher quality than we had anticipated. A re-think therefore became necessary. Options were to abandon the idea of a new opening, or to move it to a new position on the east wall. The former would have undermined many of the objectives of the re-use scheme. The latter required creating a new opening through the base of a 19th century chimney stack. This rather radical idea of turning the chimney into a doorway divided opinion within the project team until the surrounding plaster was removed. Then, to everyone’s great surprise, a lost medieval doorway proved to exist within the later chimney stack. We are now looking at means of retaining the stack above ground floor while creating an opening through its base. Although we have had to remove plaster, we have also taken forward its expert reinstatement.

Its legacy is tangible and its reach considerable, and we are immensely proud of all that has been achieved

Photo Matthew Slocombe

Photo Matthew Slocombe

Photo Rachel Stoplar

HIVE OF ACTIVITY

2023–24 is the final year of work at the OHP. This spring and early summer, work moved forward steadily – but gently – in the hands of very capable craftspeople from Owlsworth IJP. Jim Roberts continued masonry repairs and Callum McCaffrey applied his skills to window joinery. Mark Murthwaite-Price oversaw the production of significant quantities of quicklime for mortar, including that to be used for our Boxley Abbey working party week. During this week, with scores of specialists and participants on site, the pace of work at the OHP suddenly changed and the project went into overdrive. Another welcome participant was social media star Alice Loxton (@history_alice) whose Instagram Story about our work was sent out to her 1.1 million followers.

In a busy week of activity by so many, the site took a great leap forward and the project’s end is now becoming a reality. Specialist Rob Croudace assisted with re-glazing and captivated many participants with the skills he displayed. Lime and earth plasters were repaired with the help of specialist Michael O’Reilly. Expert James Ayres of Lime Green produced sample panels of internal woodfibre board insulation, which will greatly improve the building’s energy performance.

The biggest change to the site occurred with the construction of a new 3m-high wall of rammed earth. Under the supervision of expert Rowland Keeble, carefully prepared subsoil from the site was rammed into place within shuttering. The wall will support a covered walkway with solar panels above, but it also offers a sustainable solution by acoustically buffering noise from the nearby M20. Paul Mallion of Conker Conservation advised on insulation and heating systems and considerable thought has been given to ground water management and drainage since the site has suffered from surface water issues in the past. Our aim is that St Andrew’s should have sustainability credentials as good as those it holds for building conservation. New discoveries and surprises continue to emerge. Under Graham Keevill’s supervision, further evidence

has materialised that the site was perhaps once a western gatehouse to Boxley Abbey. Most attention-grabbing was the unexpected discovery of a mass dial. These simple sundials, scribed into masonry, are believed to have indicated, before mechanical timekeeping was common, the points in the day when religious rites took place.

OUR IMPACT AND LEGACY

On completion, St Andrew’s should not only be exemplary in terms of conservation and sustainability but also appealing and comfortable as a place to live. Its sale will enable us to repay an Architectural Heritage Fund: Heritage Impact Fund loan which has partfunded the project. This loan was the first in a new stream which incentivises community engagement. Further project funding has been generously provided by the Pilgrim Trust and has also come from our own members and charitable resources. We are now seeking someone to purchase the freehold of the house and very much hope they are a historic buildings enthusiast who appreciates St Andrew’s fascinating history and our thoughtful repair.

Our long-established heritage team provides afullrange of conservation engineering services covering the inspection, assessment and repair of historic structure and infrastructure of all periods.

With national coverage we can help you manage the special challenges presented by historic buildings and maximise opportunities for their future use. Our team includes chartered structural &civil engineers, conservation accredited building surveyors and members of the conservation accreditation register for engineers (CAR E) whichidentifies specialist engineers skilled in the appraisal and repair of historic structures and sites.

The work we’ve done to the building is repair not restoration. The project demonstrates the SPAB Approach to building conservation based on the protection of building fabric and its conservative repair. Had we scrubbed, straightened and renewed St Andrew’s, our objectives would have failed. Instead, the eroded contours of the ragstone and sarsen walls have been retained. Problems have been remedied but the blemishes and blunted corners remain. St Andrew’s has kept its ancientness intact – albeit in a form that can be used and enjoyed for centuries to come.

It has been a wonderful demonstration project that has enthused the local community and been a rich training ground for hundreds of people to learn new or develop existing skills. Its legacy is tangible and its reach considerable, and we are immensely proud of all that has been achieved.

Expressions of interest in purchase can be made to director@spab.org.uk For more information about the Old House Project visit www.spab.org.uk

design@conisbee.co.uk www.conisbee.co.uk

Clay daub used at the Working Party, July 2023

Photo Rachel Stoplar

The long swim

THE CLEVELAND POOLS PROJECT is an exceptional achievement: reclaiming the 200-year-old bathing pools, bringing them back to their original use and adapting them to suit 21st century tastes, promoting health and wellbeing. The Pools are the earliest

surviving example of an open-air public bathing facility in the UK and western Europe. This conservation project has saved these unique historic buildings. Capital funding totalling over £8.7m, reflecting the significance and complexity of this heritage asset, has

been raised. Yet the Cleveland Pools Trust is still community-based, honouring a 19-year campaign with huge public support and substantial award-winning volunteer involvement, focussed on repairing this lost gem.

BACKGROUND

When an old building is in a parlous state but highly visible, it is not forgotten and is lodged in the mind of those who care for its future. If a listed building is tucked away, well out of sight of anyone other than a few near neighbours who

take its presence for granted, it is difficult to keep it at the forefront of people’s concerns and it can all too easily be lost to memory.

Such was the case of Cleveland Pools, set within the World Heritage City of Bath on the banks of the river Avon and on what was Historic England’s (HE) national Heritage at Risk register. Closed since the 1970s, apart from a brief revival in 1983-84, the pools were out of sight and out of mind – that was until a new Unitary Authority discovered that it owned the site and put it up for sale in 2004.

The local community’s memory was awakened, past swimmers’ emotions were stirred and the start of a campaign to ‘save our pools’ began and prevented the sale and disposal into private hands. With the major conservation project now complete the Trust continues to fundraise and work on issues of accessibility and community engagement as the operational phase begins.

HISTORY AND TIMELINE

The popularity of bathing in rivers, lakes and latterly the sea, grew throughout the 18th century. Invariably the only participants were naked men and boys which began to offend the sensitivities and respectable standards of society. No more so than in the spa city of Bath where naked boys were often seen diving

into the thermal baths to retrieve coins thrown in by onlookers and were observed by the riverside pleasure grounds along the banks of the Avon. This led to the introduction in 1801 of the Bathwick Water Act which banned nude bathing in the river. By this time the Georgian city had expanded east, over Pulteney Bridge and along Great Pulteney Street to Sydney Pleasure Gardens. This speculative building was, however, brought to a sudden stop by the Napoleonic Wars and the failure of several prominent banks. Beyond this developed area was the small hamlet of Bathwick which followed the land along the river. This area had been purchased by William Pulteney in 1727 for the ambitious Bathwick New Town expansion and was subsequently inherited by William Vane, 3rd Earl of Darlington and later the 1st Duke of Cleveland. The land was still in use as market gardens supplying the city with fresh produce.

The male professional and artisan classes of the city wished to continue the popular pastime of cold-water swimming and a local subscription scheme, launched in 1815, raised sufficient funds to lease a site on the south bank of the river on which to construct new ‘Pleasure Baths’. These were duly built and opened on 11 May 1817.

The Pool’s original layout follows a gentle curved diversion of the river which prior to construction may have been a pond or earlier marl pit. This area was prone to flooding and still is. The gentle curve happily influenced the design of the pool buildings and Bath’s

Paul Thomas Richard Simons, 1975 SPAB Scholar and Chair of Cleveland Pools Trust, charts the story of Cleveland Pools’ remarkable renaissance

The local community’s memory was awakened, past swimmers’ emotions were stirred and the start of a campaign to ‘save our pools’ began and prevented the sale and disposal into private hands

Above Cleveland Pools now Right Extract from Barratts map of Bath, 1818. The Pools demarcated as ‘Baths’ are located alongside the River Avon and close to Sydney Gardens

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smallest crescent was created with a central superintendent’s cottage with arched access, flanked symmetrically by six changing rooms to each side. The pool was approximately 60m long and was partially contained by a masonry structure with steps into the water. Between the pool and the river was a planted bank with bridge access and a lost circular pavilion. The pool waters were also topped up by the constant flow of freshwater springs running down from Bathhampton Down.

By 1827 a small ‘Ladies Pool’, open air but behind a 3m-high wall for modesty, was in use and included a perpetual shower bath of cold spring water. It appears that in this period, men swam but ladies bathed, and that further research is necessary to understand the patterns of use, the emerging traditions of swimming and the social activity around the Pools. Certainly, early records exist of swimming lessons being available for men and boys in an attempt to stem the high level of drownings recorded. It would not be until 1913 that mixed bathing sessions were permitted and then only at certain highly

regulated times, much to the protests of the Wesleyan Church.

In 1852 an additional pool was built at a higher level, probably fed by a spring rather than the river, with a deep end which became known as the ‘kiddies pool’ where swimming lessons took place. This in itself is a very early outdoor pool and although not retained in the current scheme for swimming the footprint is maintained for site interpretation. By 1886 maps show the addition of sluice gates installed to allow controlled management of the river to regulate the level and quality of the pool waters.

The Pools went through many changes in ownership and management until purchased by the local authority, Bath Corporation, in 1901. By 1910 the main pool had been completely tanked in a new masonry structure. It is likely that at this time the two pools were also connected to a mains water supply. During the 1950s, and possibly earlier, a gas-fired boiler was added in a futile attempt to raise the temperature of the pool water above that of the ambient air temperature.

By 1975 Bath City Council had built a new sports and leisure centre in the city centre, fed by the famous thermal springs, and in a programme of rationalisation closed the Cleveland Pools in 1978. However, due to the discovery of a pathogenic amoebae (naegleria fowleri ) which naturally occurs in the thermal waters of Bath, in 1978 the new leisure centre was closed and eventually converted from hot springs to mains water. This led to the unexpected re-opening of the Cleveland Pools in 1983 for two summer seasons. They finally closed in 1984 to be virtually forgotten despite their Grade I listing. Use as a trout farm which also served

Photo Casey Ryder

Above Aerial view of Cleveland Pools showing the River Avon, upper pool and Hampton Row houses to the rear

The Pools went through many changes in ownership and management until purchased by the local authority, Bath Corporation, in 1901

HIC HE S TER S TO NEWO RKS

cream teas kept some interest and maintenance of the site, but this was eventually closed in 2002.

THE ARCHITECT

The architect for the Pools was John Pinch (1770-1827) known as a builderarchitect until hit by bankruptcy in 1800. He acted as surveyor to the Pulteney Estate and to the Earl of Darlington’s Bathwick Estate. Howard Colvin notes that his terraces are marked by great elegance and refinement, representing the final phase

of Georgian building in Bath. The design of the Pools, Bath’s smallest crescent, is basically a symmetrical, utilitarian form; a central two-storey cottage with six single-storey changing rooms to either side. This reflects the budgetary constraints of the original project. Part of the architect’s fee was paid with free swimming for life.

The 21st century conservation team was led by Donald Insall Associates and the Trust’s dear friend and 1977 SPAB Scholar Peter Carey of the Bath office, now sadly missed by all who knew him.

THE EXCEPTIONAL DIFFICULTY OF SITE LOGISTICS

The Cleveland Pools site has no vehicular access, being served by a narrow steeply sloping ginnel before dropping down to river level. Since construction, houses have been built along Hampton Row above the Pools with no gap left for access any wider than 1.75 metres. Neighbours on the Bathwick Estate were very nervous about site logistics and traffic disruption as the whole area is residents’ parking only. A Construction Management Plan

Above Cleveland Pools prior to conservation work

Above There is a step-free access path to the two pools, ticket office and changing rooms. The children’s pool is upper right

Photo Sally Helvey

Photo Historic England Archive

identified that the only viable option to access the site was via the river with eventually 85% of all materials being delivered by floating pontoon, the exception being wet concrete, and 100% of waste being removed to a recycling depot. Materials for the project were delivered to Avon Rugby 1.5 miles away upriver, lifted off by crane to a pontoon pushed by a barge, and after a 35-minute journey, delivered to site and then craned off for immediate use as there was very little

storage area at the Pools. This required two cranes, a barge, a pontoon and six personnel to deliver one load. Over 15 months this military-style operation added £1.3m to project overheads. This unique logistical exercise has featured prominently in the construction press.

THE IMPACT OF COVID

During autumn 2019 the Trust selected Beard Construction as the main contractor and were set to sign a

contract in February 2020 for £4.7m to commence works in April 2020. If the Trust had done so it would have, in all likelihood, been insolvent by the summer as Covid would have brought the works to a complete standstill with preliminaries, contactor overheads and profit being due. An emergency grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) kept the small project team of three staff directly employed while the Trust continued to explore

ways to keep the project alive. By December, all parties agreed that with escalating costs, lack of competition and lack of specialist labour and subcontractors, it was now or never. The project was fully re-priced and a staggering increase of £1.7m was identified and justified in the exceptional circumstances. Emergency funding was provided from the NLHF, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s ‘Kickstart’ fund and HE, provided that a fixed-price

contract was agreed and a start on site achieved by 1 April 2021. All involved were duly nervous but a start was made and the two site bases established.

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY

Unbeknown to the Trust – a heritage trust after all – was the existence of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund which when investigated was able to provide 100% of the capital costs of a sustainable energy system for heating the pool water. Over 90% of public swimming pools in the UK are heated with gas boilers so the discovery of a funding source for a water source heat pump connected to the river was a great addition to the project and ultimately Salix Finance contributed £557,000 to finance the system. There is no gas on the site and now the free source of energy from the River Avon will keep 150 tonnes of carbon out of the Bath atmosphere each year. Another USP for the project.

WHERE DID THE MONEY COME FROM?

Project finance has been a shifting quicksand from 2018 to the present. The major contributors are:

n The National Lottery Heritage Fund

n Bath & North East Somerset

n Historic England

n Salix Finance

n Fusion Lifestyle

n West of England Combined Authority

n Grant-giving trusts

n Private benefactors

n Crowdfunding

CRUCIAL VOLUNTARY EFFORT

“This large scale, cross-generational group of volunteers successfully reached diverse members of the wider community, managing to bring the joy of the pools to a much wider audience.”

Marsh Awards 2022

The best projects are about people and the Pools could never have happened without the immense effort of numerous volunteers who have done everything from gardening to grant application writing, historical research, innovative branding and working with schools and disadvantaged group. They have been the life and soul of the project, never doubting that success

would eventually be achieved. They are what this project is about and are eager for the future activity plan to be implemented. They remain at the heart of the successful management of the Pools for the community of Bath and beyond. This voluntary effort has been recognised with the following significant awards:

1. Marsh Award 2022 – regional and national winner to celebrate the outstanding contribution of volunteers to social, cultural and environmental causes.

2. Museum & Heritage Awards 2022 – national award for the ‘Volunteers of the Year’.

3. Museum & Heritage Awards 2023 – national award for the ‘Restoration project of the Year’.

4. Europa Nostra/European Heritage Awards 2023 – One of 10 awards across the whole of Europe for conservation and adaptive re-use.

FUTURE USE AND THE HISTORIC POOLS OF BRITAIN

In the most challenging of circumstances and an (almost) impossible situation, Cleveland Pools has been saved at a time when outdoor swimming is receiving an enormous swell in popularity, recognised for its physical and well-being benefits. The response to Covid has further stimulated this need and Cleveland Pools has found itself in the vanguard of the movement to save many historic pools, both indoor and outdoor, through the work of the ‘Historic Pools of Britain’. Your local pool needs you!

www.clevelandpools.org.uk

www.historicpools.org.uk

The best projects are about people and the Pools could never have happened without the immense effort of numerous volunteers who have done everything from gardening to grant application writing

Happy swimmers

Transforming Building 4

In November 2022, the Ridge Foundations’ project, Building 4, Black Bull Close, Dunbar, won the inaugural SPAB Sustainable Heritage Award sponsored by Keymer Tiles. Kate Darrah from The Ridge, and Roger Curtis from the SPAB’s Sustainable Heritage Award Judging Panel, discuss this inspirational project

THE RIDGE

The Ridge was set up in East Lothian in 2012 with a focus on social engagement, rehabilitation and outreach through the medium of gardening and horticultural training. Through a Community Asset Transfer from East Lothian Council, a plot of ground in Dunbar was obtained where the work of The Ridge Foundations began. This area was several former rigg gardens – strips of ground running at right angles from the main street – a standard feature of medieval burgh town layouts in Scotland, accessed from the High Street via an alleyway called Black Bull Close.

Starting with the derelict garden at the end of the close, The Ridge moved into traditional skills training with the repair and reconstruction of the boundary walls of the riggs.

Since then, The Ridge has become a significant stakeholder in the southeast of Scotland and continues its vision of inspiring transformational change through skills training. Our aim is to create jobs and training opportunities in and around Dunbar, using the historic environment as a springboard to enrich lives and improve wellbeing.

The Ridge believes in the value of local heritage, in terms of both the natural and built environment, and wants to make sure that current and future generations can appreciate and care for it. After successfully rebuilding the walls, our attention turned to what to do with the extensive remains of dwellings and former workshops on Black Bull Close. As the services provided by The Ridge grew, we recognised there was a need for training and storage space, and revitalising and re-using the four

The SPAB Heritage Awards launched last year with the express purpose of championing excellence in traditional crafts skills and building conservation projects across the UK and Ireland, celebrating both historic building repairs and the people behind them. The judging panel for the Sustainable Heritage Award looked for entries showcasing best practice in the sympathetic repair of historic fabric; good new design in a historic context; and the sensitive use of appropriate materials and techniques to upgrade or improve a building. Fifty-two entries were whittled down to a shortlist of three projects. Following site visits and detailed discussion, it was evident that Building 4 encompassed everything that the SPAB wished to celebrate: crafts skills and exemplary execution.

derelict buildings, abandoned since the 1950s, seemed the obvious solution.

BLACK BULL CLOSE

As with most projects, we began with research to understand the site and funds were raised for archaeological investigations and clearance of the debris, starting with a former two-storey tenement on the close, known as Building 4.

The focus of the project was to train local people who would otherwise struggle to access or sustain apprenticeships in the traditional skills of lime work, stonemasonry and joinery so that we could save this important piece of our local built heritage and bring it back into use for the community.

Some local people were sceptical about our plans to repair a roofless building that had a 20ft sycamore growing from one wall and was filled with rubbish and rubble up to first floor level. However, the Local Authority was supportive and granted Listed Building Consent and a change of use to non-domestic.

As funds for the work could only be raised in stages, and we had other ongoing objectives and training activities, the work was carried out in phases. Firstly, access was enabled to make the walls safe, and clearance of the ground floor followed. This yielded extensive strata of material and told the story of the building’s use, decline and abandonment.

Our focus on reusing existing materials, replicating methods from residual evidence and sourcing new materials as locally as possible to create an authentic low-carbon and mostly plastic-free re-build has been very successful

Building 4 now

Many internal features and fragments of joinery were recovered or removed and were set aside as patterns or for setting back into place. One window survived, showing an interesting variant of the typical Scottish sash and case window. From the discernible evidence it seems that Building 4 was probably two flats or a tenement, dating from the mid-18th century with later modifications in the mid-19th century.

OUR SUSTAINABLE APPROACH

Repairs were done on a like-for-like basis, with quicklime and earth-based mortars to match the build. Both proved easy to use and work was undertaken throughout the year. Our Training Manager developed the mixes on site with input from Historic Environment Scotland. Much of the earth and clay material was re-batched. Most areas of masonry were firm and secure, but to remove the sycamore tree stump and the roots, a large section of the north wall was taken down and rebuilt. All the rubble needed for the rebuilding came from site and most replacement dressings were re-cut from salvaged local material, although some new sandstone was ordered in for the new copes and chimney.

The rebuilding of the chimney was

probably the most significant piece of work, partly due to its height and the careful protection needed to do this work in the winter. Examination of the walls showed a flush point of lime with evidence of multiple layers of limewash surviving in sheltered areas. This flush point was replicated on all rebuilt and repaired areas, and three coats of limewash were applied on the external elevations. This was not only for reasons of authenticity, but to provide a resilient finish to meet the effects of climate change, notably increased rainfall.

The floor of Building 4 had been partially excavated for archaeological work, and this gave us the opportunity to improve its thermal efficiency. Old concrete and other materials were removed to approximately 300mm below ground level, and a layer of foamed glass was laid. We laid a lime concrete layer on top of this, with a jute cloth to separate and prevent bleeding through. The setting time for the floor was about four weeks and it was protected in the interim with hardboard sheets. This approach has

produced a breathable floor slab suitable for its new use as a joinery workshop.

Structural timber work was also approached on a like-for-like basis using Douglas fir sections from a local sawmill. Timber lintels and joists were re-instated and bedded in clay or lime. Interestingly original timbers from the floor joists were well-preserved in the masonry pockets, giving accurate dimensions for the replacements. This also supported our decision not to introduce a damp-proof course, as it showed that lime and clay bonded walls naturally draw moisture away from timber, even in a roofless building. A lime and sawdust mix was made up for the deafening layer between the new floor joists and floorboards that were salvaged from a 19th century property on the High Street that was being re-fitted.

The roof was possibly the most demanding area of work on the project. While the joiner worked out a simple design based on surviving evidence, the lengths of timber needed were still

New roof structure in Douglas fir

Proud to maintain their Sash Windows

Proud to support the

substantial. The rafters were long, and the hips (the long diagonal sections) were longer still. The local sawmill was able to supply rafter lengths, but anything over 2.6m had to come from further afield and the hips had to be made in a sawmill in England. Careful handling of the lengths, along with a controlled system of harness and restraints, allowed four people to build the roof structure safely and efficiently. The roof covering comprises 1600 traditional fired clay pantiles and 60 ridge tiles salvaged from a local council depot where they had been lying unused for some time.

Plaster finishes were re-instated to retain the feel and idiom of the original interior. After structural repair, the internal faces of the walls were plastered with an insulated lime-hemp mix made up on site from a quicklime mortar base and cut hemp called ‘shiv’. This plaster was applied in two layers of 30-40mm, with a week or so in between applications. It firmed up quickly and was dry to the touch in four weeks. Two coats of tinted limewash were then applied to finish. The thermal performance of this will be a considerable improvement on the baseline, and better than the minimum required by building control.

The ceiling of the first floor was finished with lath and plaster applied in the traditional way with a hair mix for the base coat. Wood fibre bats were used to insulate between the new joists. The salvaged pieces of finishing joinery were reinstated, including a corner cupboard, a mantle and a press cupboard door. The surviving window was repaired and put back, and two new sash and case windows were made and glazed with hand blown glass. The ground floor entrance door was repaired and a new door to the first-floor rooms was made up to a similar pattern using ironmongery found during the excavations. New joinery items used cedar wood, sections for which came from a windblown tree from a farm nearby. Its close and straight grain, as well as its low cost, made it the preferred option for use by the joiner.

As a basic reconstruction of a simple two-roomed property, the building

The SPAB judging panel also found the project inspiring for the wider societal factors: community cohesion, empowerment, urban regeneration, development and training, and the principles of the circular economy

Above Lath and plaster ceiling work

Above Limewashed interior

Photo The Ridge

Photo Historic Environment Scotland

The roof now comprises 1600 traditional fired clay pantiles and 60 ridge tiles salvaged from a local council depot where they had been lying unused for some time

services side was simple, with only a lighting circuit required. Heating is provided by a woodburning stove on each floor, fired by the waste wood from the joinery shop on the ground floor. Some electrical power is provided by an eight-panel solar array sited along one of the boundary walls.

BUILDING 4’S NEW PURPOSE

All now agree that this has been a transformational process for those involved resulting in a wonderful, functional community building. Our focus on reusing existing materials, replicating methods from residual evidence and sourcing new materials as locally as possible to create an authentic low-carbon and mostly plastic-free re-build has been very successful.

Building 4 now houses a busy joinery workshop where school pupils who are not engaging well with learning at school undertake the National Progression Award in Construction Skills. Above this, a beautiful multipurpose room is used by local groups for dance and martial arts training as well as meetings and social events.

With technical and other lessons learnt from the reconstruction of Building 4, work is now progressing on two other buildings in Black Bull Close as well as one in adjacent Fleshers Close. Both these current projects are using apprentices and semi-skilled labourers who started their training on Building 4, supervised by more experienced staff. This multi-trade team is now able to offer construction services to others in the town and district, delivering harling, plastering, masonry and joinery repairs for

traditional buildings.

The SPAB judging panel found the Black Bull Close project inspiring for the careful technical approach to the building fabric and the important messages that were demonstrated on building repair and upgrade, and for the wider societal factors that were at the heart of the project: community cohesion and empowerment, urban regeneration, development and training, and the principles of the circular economy. It is a project which resonates on every level. www.the-ridge.org.uk

The Sustainable Heritage Award celebrates projects that take a ‘whole building’ approach when tackling sustainability.

Advocating the SPAB Approach, the award recognises that the repair and upgrading of existing buildings for continued use, and bringing neglected historic buildings back into use, are inherently sustainable activities that deserve greater recognition. Applications for the 2024 award will open in Spring 2024.

Above First floor entrance

Above Ground floor workshop

Photo Historic Environment Scotland

IF THE POPULARITY OF

Old House Handbook is anything to go by, there is an incredible thirst for knowledge when it comes to understanding how to care for old buildings. The book has been a bestseller since it was first published in 2008, has been reprinted multiple times and has achieved worldwide sales. It has helped guide an ever-increasing number of homeowners, building professionals, craftspeople and local authority staff working on numerous projects, big and small. Flatteringly, according to at least one online review, 'it’s the SPAB bible’.

When Marianne Suhr and I originally set out to write Old House Handbook in association with the SPAB, our goal was to provide a highly practical approach with simple ‘nuts and bolts’ guidance based on experience. We were keen to help readers get it right the first time around rather than having to live with the consequences of potentially irreversible mistakes that prove damaging to both their pockets and the building.

From the SPAB’s perspective, Old House Handbook sits alongside and complements other key resources such as the Society’s more detailed guides, a growing number of short videos and the technical advice line. In addition, it provides a starting point for SPAB lectures and social media interaction while being a popular bookshop item.

Old House Handbook is a promotional asset. It helps the SPAB reach a diverse audience through high-street bookshops, online sellers and exhibition stands. It is stocked by lime suppliers and merchants who recommend it to those using their products for the first time. Often, purchasers of the book have never heard of the SPAB; many go on to find

A new Old House Handbook

out more, joining SPAB courses and accessing further information through the Society’s website.

TIME FOR A REFRESH

Both the SPAB and Frances Lincoln, our wonderful publisher, encouraged and enthusiastically embraced the idea of a second edition. Despite the book’s success, 15 years is a long time in

underestimate the amount of work involved!

Initially, we thoroughly reviewed the text of the first edition to assess its relevance to current practice and today’s audience. We then began researching and checking the content and seeking the advice of experts in each field before revising and writing chapter by chapter. We sourced new images and commissioned illustrations from our talented illustrator Libby Fellingham, a SPAB Scholar with whom we had worked on the first edition. The process naturally involved close collaboration with our SPAB colleagues at every stage to ensure technical accuracy and appropriate content. With 52 extra pages, a new chapter structure, close to 600 images and illustrations and much of the book completely rewritten, we have managed to pack in more than we had expected. The new edition builds on the methods and techniques we originally outlined. Importantly, it also benefits from the vast amount of further, first-hand experience that we have gained in the last decade or so, as well as fresh insights from the countless building professionals, craftspeople and other experts whom we have come

to know. They have generously helped inform us, corrected our text and, above all, encouraged us along the way. As with the first edition, the simple aim is to offer a highly practical approach to the repair of old buildings – ancient or relatively young – whether dealing with simple maintenance tasks or a wreck in need of major work.

SUSTAINABLE CONSIDERATIONS

There is another important aspect of the new edition. Old buildings are a precious and finite resource that need to be seen as part of the solution to the climate emergency. Producing a new edition of Old House Handbook gave us the chance to create a fully integrated companion volume to Old House Eco Handbook . Together, the books allow us to comprehensively detail the important steps that can be taken not only to repair and maintain old

Below The traditional hazel spars used to secure the thatch are far superior to modern plastic alternatives. Always ensure your thatcher is using them

buildings but to sympathetically retrofit them so that they are sustainable and fit for the future.

It is worth remembering that sustainability does not rely on bolt-on technology. Regular maintenance, along with the use of local, natural and traditional materials and building crafts, offers the most practical and sustainable means of caring for a building and ensuring its future. We deal specifically with the repair details that the SPAB has always championed, focusing on ‘reuse’ and ‘repair’, rather than ‘replacement’, supporting carbon reduction and the contribution building conservation (rather than restoration) makes to it. We make one point clear from the start. Whether early stone structures, thatched cottages, manor houses, Georgian townhouses, Victorian terraces or tenements, old buildings

publishing, not to mention in the world of building conservation and repair. Amazingly, except for a new jacket design, Old House Handbook had remained unchanged. The time had come to create a fully revised and updated edition. Having already done this with companion volume Old House Eco Handbook , we knew something of the task ahead, but it is easy to

Co-author Roger Hunt on updating the original bestseller to reflect current materials and techniques that underpin the SPAB Approach

Photo Max Varvill

Conservation Protection

PIER RA

have a quality quite different from anything built today. Any prospective buyer should ask themselves whether they can cope with uneven plasterwork, sloping floors and potentially draughty doors and windows. For those preferring perfect surfaces and level lines, an old house may not be a good choice.

Those that do take on the challenges, the work and excitement of carefully maintaining, repairing and sometimes adding to an old building means they often see themselves as guardians rather than owners. We hope that they will embrace the SPAB Approach, the thread that runs through every page of the book and is based on the idea that an old building’s ‘fabric’ – the material from which it is constructed – is precious. Importantly, the fabric of old buildings provides a record of the past and often acquires beauty through the passage of time. These qualities cannot be recreated once lost.

IN THE LIMELIGHT

It is easy to imagine that the techniques and materials used to maintain and repair old buildings never change. This is far from the case and one of the reasons why we felt it was so important to produce a new edition of Old House Handbook . Perhaps the most radical new thinking is to do with lime, that most essential old building constituent. Until recently, most craftspeople who have re-learnt the skills of mortar mixing have slaked lime to form a putty and stored it for a period of time to ‘mature’ before mixing in a suitable sand to produce a mortar. While this has produced a material of good and reliable quality, it does have its limitations and we now understand this is not an authentic way of mixing for most applications – mortars were traditionally almost always mixed ‘hot’. This means combining the quicklime and the aggregate first before adding water to slake. Mortars made this way are thought to be more resilient, more frost resistant and less likely to shrink. Non-hydraulic, hot-mixed lime mortars are proven to have the greatest breathability and flexibility and are ideal for use with weak, porous materials. They also have outstanding

Right An earthbased backing coat is prepared from lime putty, sand and clay-based earth, with hay fibre added

qualities of adhesion that are useful for bedding and pointing.

Local hydraulic limes were also traditionally hot mixed, but these started to set shortly after water was added and therefore were generally used soon after mixing. As hydraulic quicklimes are difficult to source in the UK and Ireland, when we talk about hot mixing today, we are usually referring to the use of non-hydraulic quicklime.

The new chapter on traditional mortars and masonry structures explains hot-mixing and other techniques in detail and, we hope, demystifies the wider properties and use of lime. The chapter also explains the potential problems associated with stone and brickwork and how to undertake repairs and repointing.

The simple aim is to offer a highly practical approach to the repair of old buildings – ancient or relatively young –whether dealing with simple maintenance tasks or a wreck in need of major work

MATERIAL SOLUTIONS

No issues related to old buildings raise more questions than breathability, damp and timber decay. In the new edition of Old House Handbook , we have devoted an entire chapter to explaining how these mechanisms work, why issues arise and how they can be dealt with. A vital point to remember is that it is essential to tackle the source of the problem rather than simply treating the symptoms. Buildings that are allowed to work as intended remain in equilibrium and largely free from damp and consequent rot, beetle infestation and mould. Poor detailing, lack of maintenance leading to water ingress and the use of incompatible, non-breathable materials are frequently the starting points for things to go wrong.

The book embraces the wide regional diversity of the UK and Ireland. Timber and earth were once the building materials of choice for many houses, and we dedicate a chapter to repairing structures constructed of these materials. We deal with everything from repairing timber frames, sole plate replacement and reinstating wattle and daub infill panels to cladding and working with mass wall construction, including the ancient traditions of cob, clom, mud and wychert.

No one professional, contractor or craftsperson can hope to have the knowledge to deal with every type of building, material or technique. Old House Handbook aims to give an overview of the things to think about, whether you are the person employed to do the work or the homeowner wanting to understand the issues, so you are more able to ask the right questions when seeking help. One review notes: “This book should be recommended by all the agencies handling old/listed buildings as it explains the dos and don’ts clearly.” Gratifyingly, it is not uncommon to see sections lifted from the book by architects and included in their specifications.

Top This timber frame has moved outwards, and the joist is barely bearing on the frame

The old adage that images speak louder than words is true, and they help illustrate the book’s step-by-step sequences that range from installing a flexible flue liner and running a cornice to re-cording a sash window and repairing floorboards. Selecting the images was just as challenging as writing the words. We are incredibly grateful to the builders, craftspeople and homeowners who allowed us to photograph them and their buildings and supplied us with images. Many are extraordinarily beautiful due to the buildings and materials they depict.

FINISHING TOUCHES

The final three chapters of the book deal with areas that can present significant challenges when working with old buildings. The paints and finishes chapter includes a thoroughly updated section on the thorny problems relating to removing coatings

Photo Marianne Suhr

It is easy to imagine that the techniques and materials used to maintain and repair old buildings never change. This is far from the case

and cleaning. As those who have considered either of these issues will know, there are many methods and points to think about. We have sought to provide a useful guide outlining the substrates involved and the systems that might be used.

Today’s expectations of comfort and convenience demand building services that were unheard of when most old houses were built so introducing them presents challenges. Everything from rainwater goods to electrical installations and technology must now be integrated with the building so we provide ideas, warnings and explanations in the penultimate chapter.

Old House Handbook’s last chapter deals with the important subject of living for today and tomorrow. Good design is key so we have included some wonderful examples of what can be achieved with a little imagination when undertaking alterations or adaptations. Such work is a natural part of the

Left Large and complex roofs incorporate a range of details that require careful design to maximise their longevity

history of a house and ensures its continuing sustainability. Caring for a house appropriately, using traditional materials and techniques, minimises its impact on the environment. We also return to maintenance, the subject that underpins the SPAB Approach, with a useful checklist of the things to think about. Old buildings of all types are a finite resource and face increasing dangers. Maintaining and understanding them is ever more important as the effects of climate change are felt. Extreme weather events are increasingly likely, with strong winds, intense rainfall and overheating directly impacting our built heritage. We must be vigilant and ready to act. Dealing with these issues is far from impossible and we hope that the new edition of Old House Handbook – along with Old House Eco Handbook – will provide a starting point and help steer projects along a path based on the SPAB’s guiding principles of gentle, sympathetic repair.

As Marianne and I know from our own experiences, there can be potential challenges, setbacks and difficult decisions at every turn. We also know that the rewards are immense when it comes to the satisfaction of a job properly done.

We are incredibly grateful to builders, craftspeople and homeowners who allowed us to photograph them and their buildings

Photo Roger Hunt

Welsh Saints from Welsh Churches

By Martin Crampin Ylolfa. £35

As a scholar, art historian, artist, photographer and designer, Martin Crampin has a unique ability to create books which are greatly informative, wonderful to look at and magnificently easy to use. In his new book on Welsh saints, each page is generously illustrated with multiple pictures to match the text and enhanced with detailed side notes (much better than footnotes). This is a welcome pattern set in his earlier book, Stained Glass from Welsh Churches , an absolute mainstay for those of us concerned with churches in Wales.

Although much of the imagery here does come from stained glass, the scope of this book is wider and includes other media including statuary, carvings, engravings, paintings and mosaics. A map shows the nearly 250 churches where the images can be found, covering every part of Wales. The author presents his material from two angles. The main part of the book identifies the saints of Wales, explaining sources, unearthing their history as far as is known, tracing their roles in religious culture, illustrating their imagery through the centuries and including differences in perception over time, even into the 21st century. A second section, alphabetically arranged, provides a focus on each saint, particularly illustrating their traditional iconographic features and noting geographical dedications. The book is not only enriching and informative, but on a practical level will be helpful to those of us

less knowledgeable in identifying untitled figures we see in Welsh church art. It will also benefit modern artists contributing to Welsh church buildings who will find here a basis for the imagery to which they will be contributing.

JUDITH LEIGH FORMER SPAB WALES OFFICER

London’s ‘Golden Mile’ – The Great Houses of The Strand, 1550-1650

By Manolo Guerci Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. £50

This beautiful book, lavishly illustrated with incredibly detailed research, tells the stories of the 11 great houses and palaces that were built along The Strand from the 1200s until the 1700s. From 15501650 this area was known as the ‘Golden Mile’ and was the home to London’s wealthiest and most elite citizens who built and developed these incredible properties. Guerci’s comprehensive research was undertaken over many years and a significant amount comes from unpublished sources and private archives. Some of the houses obviously have far more surviving records than others, but nevertheless, the author makes excellent use of all the information available to him.

The Strand was an extremely important route as it linked the City to Westminster and provided direct access to the Thames, which was used far more for travelling than many of the potholed roads. It was therefore a logical choice for the wealthy and powerful, and the locations of their houses were important in terms of the status of their owners. These properties were primarily visible from the Thames. In most cases very little could be seen from the street, so they effectively turned their backs on The Strand and their river frontage was their most important and visible element. Many had beautiful gardens laid out running down the river with water gates to welcome visitors. Essex House, Arundel House, Somerset House, The Savoy, Burghley House, Bedford House, Worcester House, Salisbury House, Durham House, York House and Northumberland House are all covered in detail. Each chapter focuses on a different property, where it was located and how its position related to its neighbours, the seat of government and the Royal Palaces.

Although much of the imagery does come from stained glass, the scope of this book is wider and includes other media including statuary, carvings, engravings, paintings and mosaics. A map shows the nearly 250 churches where the images can be found, covering every part of Wales

It relates their construction and redevelopment over the years, the architects involved (some very well known), the owners and how each made alterations as fashions changed and continuously tried to outdo each other in the lavishness of their creations and their internal furnishings. These houses cleverly mixed the vernacular English style and continental features to create some of the greatest houses of the day. The style was distinct and can still be seen reflected in surviving Elizabethan and Jacobean country houses.

Regrettably all these properties have now been demolished, albeit some of their names survive in more modern buildings such as The Savoy. Although the well-known Somerset House remains, this is not the original house that was started in 1547. Having been used by the Royal family for many years, it was demolished in 1775 after a long period of neglect. Today’s Somerset House was rebuilt immediately after the demolition of its predecessor and in 1779, the Royal Academy of Arts became its first resident. The last of The Strand’s houses to be demolished was Northumberland House. It was seriously affected by the building of Charing Cross Station in the 1860s and it eventually underwent compulsory purchase in 1874. Sadly, the contents were sold off and the house was gone within three days to make way for a new street connecting Trafalgar Square with the newly created Victoria Embankment. For anyone with an interest in the hidden history of central London or the development of English country house architecture, this wonderful book is a must.

RACHEL BROOMFIELD CASEWORK OFFICER

These houses cleverly mixed the vernacular English style and continental features to create some of the greatest houses of the day. The style was distinct and can still be seen reflected in surviving Elizabethan and Jacobean country houses

St Gwenfrewy, late 15th or early 16th century, Church of St Tyrnog, Llandyrnog

Photo Martin Crampin

NOTES

The SPAB’s technical activities are at the heart of its work to protect old buildings. These activities embrace, among much else, telephone advice, publications and courses, as well as our supporting research. Douglas Kent, SPAB Technical and Research Director, highlights our technical and related news

RE-RENDERING THE GABLE AT ACTON COURT, IRON ACTON, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

FROM MANOR HOUSE TO FARMHOUSE

The views of the SPAB Technical and Research Committee have been sought on the proposed re-rendering of the east range south gable at Acton Court, near Bristol. This is one of the bestpreserved Tudor houses in England with a magnificent east wing added in 1535 to accommodate a visit by Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. The design of its south window, featuring a central oriel, bears similarities to fenestration in the former Holbein Gate at Whitehall, the temporary English palace at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, and in royal lodgings created at Hampton Court during the 1530s.

Acton Court was sold in 1683; soon afterwards it was reduced in size and converted to a tenanted farmhouse. The south window of the east range was partially infilled and adapted with smaller six-light fenestration. The partly surviving render on this gable may be contemporary with the rebuild. Due to neglect, the house fell gradually into a dilapidated state. By the end of the 20th century, essentially only the east wing and part of the north wing survived. While this neglect helped keep a rare example of Tudor royal state apartments preserved virtually intact, it also left the building facing some serious challenges.

DAMPNESS ISSUES

The east range has rubble walls built of local Pennant sandstone with Cotswold limestone dressings. The rubble façades were rendered when constructed. The remnants of the later render that survive today, from the late 17th or early 18th century, are pale buff or white in colour and consist predominantly of lime and chalk with small amounts of sand and hair.

Investigations into the plasterwork by Odgers Conservation have identified the condition of the south gable end as a particular concern. Despite a previous intervention to insert a lead membrane below the coping stones along the gable top, appreciable levels of moisture were recorded in the fabric by infra-red thermography, moisture measurement instruments and visual observation. Environmental monitoring has also provided data comparing internal and external conditions to give an understanding of the buffer the building envelope is providing against the outside elements. Ongoing moisture ingress is clearly evident on the internal wall, part of the highly significant royal apartments.

Causes of moisture ingress have been diagnosed as the incomplete external render on the gable

elevation, the condition of the remaining render, the poor-quality infill material used during the installation of the smaller six-light window, and sizable voids and long vertical joints created during and after construction.

Photographs from the turn of the 20th century suggest the render has not been maintained for some considerable time. There were proposals to re-render the rubblewall façades in the 1990s, but it was decided instead to consolidate the elevations by repointing to fill open mortar joints. This exercise ultimately proved to be difficult and timeconsuming, while failing to stop water penetration. It was intended that one section of the building would be rerendered for comparison, but there is no evidence of this having been done.

PROPOSAL TO RE-RENDER

The key recommendation arising from the plasterwork investigations was to remove the limited amount of remaining historic but precarious render from the east range south gable elevation and re-render it with a suitable lime-based mix. Dressed stone features that have never been rendered would remain exposed. Other elevations not suffering moisture penetration would also stay unrendered.

Early c19 Car tShed, Lancashire

South elevation of east range with vestiges of surviving render

We visited the site to discuss the proposals with conservation architect and 1994 SPAB Scholar Simon Cartlidge, historic building and heritage adviser Nicholas Ellis, Historic England and South Gloucestershire Council, and we have confirmed our support for the proposed work. Sample panels have been created on an outbuilding so that a consensus for the specification of the new render and limewash can be reached prior to an application for listed building consent and planning permission. Should approval be granted, the long-term effects of the re-rendering will be monitored to

inform future remedial work. While reinstatement of the render could be seen as ‘restoration’, we consider that in this case there is sound technical justification for our stance. Re-rendering will improve the façade’s ability to shed water and manage moisture within the fabric. While the late 20th century decision not to replace the render respected its unintentional loss through neglect, this placed subjective sensibilities, antiquarianism and the picturesque above the technical needs of the building. Continuing gradual erosion of the render has also created an imbalance in the aesthetic values of the interior, particularly with the ‘polite’ royal apartments displaying fine early English Renaissance frieze painting, and the pronounced ‘vernacular’ exterior, which the proposed work will address.

The provenance of the render is inconclusive, so its importance in assisting an understanding of the reconstruction of the façade and evolution of the building is less significant than the altered window. Other, more significant, historic render also survives elsewhere on the building. We look forward to assessing the results of the reinstatement of the lost render in due course.

The views expressed on these pages should be seen as contributions to ongoing debates and we welcome comments. Please email any feedback on the technical issues covered to Douglas Kent at douglas.kent@spab.org.uk

To contact us about other technical matters, please call our free dedicated advice line. This operates between 9.30am to 12.30pm, Mondays to Fridays, on 020 7456 0916. Thanks to Historic England for its generous financial assistance to help us run this service.

While reinstatement of the render could be seen as ‘restoration’, we consider that in this case there is sound technical justification for our stance

St Philip’s Cathedral

As the third smallest cathedral in the UK, St Philip’s Cathedral in Birmingham has an artistic and architectural merit which far exceeds its diminutive stature.

The building, which dates from 1709, was designed by Thomas Archer in the short-lived English Baroque style and was built under the supervision of William Smith of Warwick. In the late 19th century, the chancel was extended by J A Chatwin, creating the setting for the internationally renowned stained glass windows, designed by Edward Burne-Jones, and made by Morris & Co. Originally Birmingham’s second parish church, St Philip’s only became the cathedral in 1905, when Bishop Gore sensibly decided to save money by using an existing building rather than building a new cathedral. His choice of St Philip’s was inspired: Archer’s design forms a jewel box set in the heart of the city, with four stained glass windows which animate the interior and tell the story of the Nativity, Crucifixion, Ascension and Last Judgement with great beauty.

The installation began with the east window of the eastern triptych, depicting the Ascension, and was completed with The Last Judgement in the great west window, where the density of colour and fluency of the design creates an extraordinary impact in the confined space of the tower base.

THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Burne-Jones was born in Birmingham and went to school there before studying Theology at Oxford, where he became friends with William Morris. Although Burne-Jones once had ambitions to join the clergy, he pursued art instead and collaborated with William Morris in the production of decorative arts and stained glass.

Dr Suzanne Fagence Cooper, describes the importance of the windows in the context of Burne-Jones’ career:

“His designs for Birmingham Cathedral were the culmination of decades of experimentation, in his studio and in the Morris & Co.

workshop, weaving together rich colours and networks of leading. The results were uncompromising, abstract, drawing attention to the fragmentation of figures and the landscape... They reinforce Burne-Jones’s place as an avant-garde artist. Like his friend Morris, BurneJones used his immersion in the art of the past as a jumping-off point for his own radical imagery.”

Despite the masterful realisation of the windows, the artistic process was fraught with differences of opinion between designer and patron. Miss E C Villers Wilkes was paying for the windows so she felt comfortable relaying her opinions to the architect, J A Chatwin, who in turn would relate them to William Morris for discussion with his friend and collaborator Burne-Jones.

One such comment, Miss Wilkes’ wish that the glass should show “the Nativity of our Lord, not a Cattle-Show,” perhaps didn’t fit Burne-Jones’ own naturalistic vision for the design. Despite any resulting compromise, Burne-Jones was pleased with the finished windows, rather immodestly referring to them as “masterpieces marking the culmination of my powers”. Unfortunately, he was not so pleased with the “pittance so contemptible” he was paid.

ART TO APPRECIATE

Although the windows are one of the city’s principal works of art, their survival has not been a foregone conclusion. Luckily, the city had the foresight to remove them for safekeeping in 1939, as the incendiary bomb which fell on the cathedral during the war would have destroyed them.

In 2021, a survey by Recclesia Conservation described their condition as being in danger of irretrievable loss, or death by a thousand cuts, due to the many small failure points which, combined, threatened these internationally significant windows. Thanks to the hard work of the cathedral staff, the four windows were awarded a grant by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and together with

ongoing generous donations to the cathedral, this has sponsored the current programme of conservation by Holy Well Glass in its workshop and on site.

The recent removal of the reredos panel at the base of the east window led to the discovery of a hidden panel composed of fragments of glass from Morris & Co’s workshop. These offer tantalising glimpses of other projects, linking the cathedral to a network of other churches with Morris & Co glass.

Other joys have been viewing the stained glass on the scaffolding, seeing the hand of different painters in the faces and learning what techniques give the windows their intense depth of colour.

Stained glass can be an underappreciated art form when compared to

the extraordinary fame of Pre-Raphaelite paintings by Burne-Jones and others. However, Burne-Jones knew that his paintings may fall out of fashion, his drawings could be mislaid, but that these windows would stay the course of time and remain in the public sphere. As artworks sponsored by a daughter of the city, designed by a son of the city and constructed specifically for this special building at the heart of the city, they are one of the glories of Birmingham, freely available for all to enjoy.

Scaffolding tours to see the conservation of the windows in action are available until November 2023 and can be booked online: birminghamcathedral.com/divinebeauty-project/

Kathryn Harris, Cathedral Architect for Birmingham Cathedral, celebrates the ethereal beauty of its stained glass windows

Top Members of the project team discuss the Ascension window (the east window) with Jack Clare, Director of Holy Well Glass

Above The figure of Christ being conserved is from the Last Judgement (the west window)

Left (main) The interior of Birmingham Cathedral, looking into the chancel extension designed by J A Chatwin, framing the Ascension window above the high altar

Top Kevin Wallbridge, stained glass conservator, and Kathryn Harris, Nick Cox Architects, look at ongoing conservation of the windows in the Holy Well Glass studio in Wells

Above The panel from the Ascension window in situ, prior to conservation

Panel found behind the reredos

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