BOOK REVIEWS AND ARTICLES

 

ASCHB AT 50: INFLUENTIAL BOOKS

Despite the difficulties thrown up by Transport for London, the meeting at the Gallery on 21st November proved entertaining and informative for all. The final result of the voting showed that Pevsner’s Buildings of England was resoundingly the most influential publication for our members.

  1. Pevsner, Nikolaus   Buildings of England series
  2. Brunskill, R W  The Illustrated Handbook of Vernacular Architecture
  3. Colvin, Howard  Biographical Dictionary of English Architects 1660-1840 
  4. Clifton-Taylor, Alec  The Pattern Of English Building
  5. English Heritage  Practical Conservation Series (1st edition)
  6. Binney, Marcus and Emma Milne  Vanishing Houses of England – A Pictorial Documentary of Lost Country Houses
  7. Insall, Donald  The Care of Old Buildings Today: A Practical Guide
  8. ICOMOS  The Burra Charter (1979 and later editions)
  9. Powys, A R  Repair of Ancient Buildings
  10. Cullen, Gordon  Townscape
  11. Fletcher, Banister  Sir Banister Fletcher’s A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method
  12. English Heritage  Conservation Principles, Policies and Guidance
  13. Feilden, Bernard  Conservation of Historic Buildings
  14. Caroe, Alban and Martin  Stonework: Maintenance and Surface Repair
  15. Cantacuzino, Sherban  New Uses for Old Buildings
  16. Heyman, Jacques  The Stone Skeleton: Structural Engineering of Masonry Architecture
  17. Worskett, Roy  The Character of Towns 
  18. Fawcett, Jane Ed. The Future of the Past
  19. Charles, Frederick WB, and Mary Charles  Conservation of Timber Buildings
  20. Harvey, John  Conservation of Buildings

Members talked about their nominations: Ian Bristow on Pevsner, Jenny Freeman on Brunskill, Hugh Feilden championed Heyman’s Stone Skeleton, Alasdair Glass spoke on Sir Donald Insall’s Care of Old Buildings, and Robyn Pender on Practical Building Conservation. Richard Woolf made a plea for revisiting Banister Fletcher and Sherry Bates supported the construction books of Rivington and McKay. Charles Wagner pointed out the importance of the Burra Charter and EH Conservation Principles in setting frameworks for assessing the values of conservation, and Helen Axworthy paid tribute to Ian Bristow’s volumes on architectural colours and their analysis. Malcolm Dickson recommended the Historic Scotland publications and the works of the Survey of London, and Karen Butti told of her introduction to conservation through John Ashurst’s  Mortars, Plasters and Renders. Sir Donald Insall summed up with the authors that had influenced him.

In the course of putting together the list, Jean Letherby noted that many of the books were out of print and that there was a shrinking number of publishers. People tended to look to the internet and YouTube for guidance, which raised the question ‘Where will we find authoritative guidance in the future?’

ASCHB AT 50: INFLUENTIAL BOOKS -VOTE NOW

The top 20 of your nominations have been listed and voting forms circulated by email. If you have had difficulty voting online, there are further instructions here and voting form here. Please vote by close of day, Sunday 19th November, and join us on Tuesday 21st November at the The Gallery to debate the top five.

The top 20 books are:

Binney, Marcus and Emma MilneVanishing Houses of England – A Pictorial Documentary of Lost Country Houses
Brunskill, R WThe Illustrated Handbook of Vernacular Architecture
Cantacuzino, SherbanNew Uses for Old Buildings
Caroe, Alban and MartinStonework: Maintenance and Surface Repair
Charles, Frederick WB, and Mary CharlesConservation of Timber Buildings
Clifton-Taylor, AlecThe Pattern Of English Building
Colvin, HowardBiographical Dictionary of English Architects 1660-1840 (1954)
Cullen, GordonTownscape (Issued as The Concise Townscape in 1971, omitting the studies of specific towns and with a new foreword and conclusion)
English HeritagePractical Conservation Series (1st edition)
English HeritageConservation Principles, Policies and Guidance
Fawcett, Jane Ed.The Future of the Past
Feilden, BernardConservation of Historic Buildings
Fletcher, BanisterSir Banister Fletcher’s A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method
Harvey, JohnConservation of Buildings
Heyman, JacquesThe Stone Skeleton: Structural Engineering of Masonry Architecture
ICOMOSThe Burra Charter (1979 and later editions)
Insall, DonaldThe Care of Old Buildings Today: A Practical Guide
Pevsner, NikolausPevsner’s Buildings of England series
Powys, A RRepair of Ancient Buildings
Worskett, RoyThe Character of Towns (1969)

We will be publishing a list with all the nominations, including those that arrived later, and publishing a report of the debate in Transactions.

ASCHB AT 50: INFLUENTIAL BOOKS

ASCHB has recognised that over the past 50 years there have been certain books which have influenced the practice and philosophy of the conservation of buildings and places. The influence may have been for good or ill, but they have left their mark.

ASCHB invites you to nominate the five books you think are the most influential, with your reasons, in not more than 50 words. We will draw up a list of the fifty most nominated books, publish it on our website, and ask for your votes for the best.

We will debate the merits of the top five at our meeting on 21st November.

Please submit your nominations by email through the contacts page on our website, or by post to 70 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6EJ

Nominated Books, in alphabetical order of author, as at 3rd November 2017:

Binney Marcus and Emma MilneVanishing Houses of England – a Pictorial Documentary of Lost Country Houses
Brereton, ChristopherThe Repair of Historic Buildings: Advice on Principles and Methods (Aspects of Conservation)
Bristow, Ian CArchitectural Colour in British Interiors 1615-1840, and Interior House-Painting Colours and Technology 1615-1840
Brunskill, R WThe Illustrated Handbook of Vernacular Architecture
Butterworth, John WarrenConservation of Brick
Cantacuzino, SherbanNew Uses for Old Buildings
Caroe, Alban and MartinStonework: Maintenance and Surface Repair
Charles, Frederick WB and Mary CharlesConservation of Timber Buildings
Clark, KateInformed Conservation: Understanding Historic Buildings and their Landscapes for Conservation
Clifton-Taylor, AlecThe Cathedrals of England
Clifton-Taylor, AlecThe Pattern Of English Building
Colvin, HowardBiographical Dictionary of English Architects 1660-1840 (1954)
Cullen, GordonTownscape (later editions The Concise Townscape)
Curl, James StevensDeath and Architecture
Curl, James StevensThe Victorian Celebration of Death
Davey, Andy and Heath, Hodges, Ketchin, MilneThe Care and Conservation of Georgian Houses: a maintenance manual for Edinburgh New Town
Dixon Hunt, John (ed.) and Peter WillisThe Genius of the Place
English HeritagePractical Conservation Series (1st edition)
English HeritageConservation Principles, Policies and Guidance
Fawcett, JaneThe Future of the Past
Feilden, BernardConservation of Historic Buildings
Fletcher, BanisterSir Banister Fletcher’s A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method
Fowler, John and John CornforthEnglish Decoration in the 18th century
Gibbs, JamesRules for Drawing the Several Parts of Architecture
Giedion, SigfriedSpace Time and Architecture: The Growth of a New Tradition
Girouard, MarkThe Victorian Country House
Girouard, MarkLife in the English Country House (1978)
Girouard, MarkRobert Smythson and the Elizabethan Country House
Harvey, JohnConservation of Buildings                                 
Hewett, CecilThe Development of Carpentry, 1200-1700, an Essex Study (1969)
Hewett, CecilEnglish Historic Carpentry (1980)
Heyman, JacquesThe Stone Skeleton
Historic ScotlandTechnical Advice Notes
ICOMOSThe Burra Charter (1979 and later editions)
Insall, DonaldThe Care of Old Buildings Report (1958) 
Insall, DonaldThe Care of Old Buildings Today: A Practical Guide
Jacobs, JaneDeath and Life of Great American Cities
Kennett, WaylandPreservation
Le CorbusierVers Une Architecture (Towards a New Architecture)
Lees-Milne, JamesThe Earls of Creation
Lethaby, William and A Powell, F L GriggsErnest Gimson, his life and work
Lynch, GerardGauged Brickwork
MacLeod, RobertStyle and Society: Architectural Ideology in Britain, 1835-1914
McCarter, RobertCarlo Scarpa (monograph 2013)
McKay, W BMcKay’s Building Construction
Pevsner, NikolausPevsner’s Buildings of England series
Pevsner, NikolausBuildings of England, Cornwall (1951) – the first to be published
Powys, A RRepair of Ancient Buildings
RivingtonsNotes on Building Construction (1875)
Ruskin, JohnThe Nature of Gothic from The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849)
Ruskin, JohnThe Stones of Venice (1851)
SPABTechnical Pamphlets and Guides
Sturt, GeorgeThe Wheelwright’s Shop
Survey of LondonSurvey of London, currently 52 volumes
Thomas ParsonsHistorical Colours
Watt, DavidSurveying Historic Buildings
VitruviusThe Ten Books on Architecture circa 27 BCE
Watt, DavidSurveying Historic Buildings
Worskett, RoyThe Character of Towns (1969)
Zumthor,Peter and Thomas Durish (ed.)Peter Zumthor : Buildings and Projects 1985-2013

The publications of the Architectural Press in the late 1970s, e.g. Three Centuries of British Craftsmanship, were also nominated as a group.

 


Book: “Hidden Histories: A Spotter’s Guide to the British Landscape”

Hidden Histories; A Spotters Guide to The British Landscape

Author: Mary-Ann Ochota

Published by Frances Lincoln Ltd, London 2016 RRP £20.00

This book was presented as a tome that would interest families, but it is far more than that. Admittedly in areas where one has expertise it can seem a bit patronising, but the sheer breadth of subjects covered makes this an invaluable book to take on trips around the British Isles and to have at home, both as a reference book and a book you can just dip into when you have a few moments of peace.

It starts off looking a ‘lumps and bumps’ which covers all forms of prehistoric earthworks from forts to burials, to hedges and ridge and furrow. It looks at ‘stones’ from standing stones to stone carvings to finding flint tools. It continues with ‘lines’ covering road and field boundary alignments to ancient woodland and trees. Its longest section is ‘in the village’ where it covers placenames, buildings and materials and all sorts of other structures and features.

Dip into a section and you may think you know about a particular area of, say, the history of roads but there are always facts you did not know about lurking in the text.

This is a highly readable book containing so much information for both families on outings and the professional involved in the building, development and transport world. I would highly recommend it as reference book for every home and office. It is an excellent accompaniment to earlier publications by Common Ground, founded in 1983 by Sue Clifford, Angela King and Roger Deakin to seek imaginative ways to engage people with their local environment. It champions the idea of local distinctiveness, and without saying as much, this book does the same in an engaging and intelligent way. A must have.

Reviewed By: Charles Wagner, President of ASCHB and Planning & Heritage Consultant