Why preserve our past?

[Goose01]

hey

thanks for the response. Firstly I'd like to say that I will be citing and referencing any views that I have read here, I have already done a substantial amount of research from other sources, looking into the economic and cultural advantages of preserving our past, as well as many other aspects. I just thought that it would be a good idea to ask people who are actually living and working in old buildings to get a more human view.

From what I've already read you guys have made some interesting points that have got me thinking, so thank you so much for that. I'm a bit bogged down with work at the moment so I'll have a proper sit down and think about my dissertation at the weekend and I'm sure I'll be posting on here again next week.

Thanks again though, and i look forward to reading some more opinions

 

[biffvernon]

You'll doubtless have studied William Morris and the Society for the Protectection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) and found that their journal Cornerstones is an invaluable source.

 

[Nemesis]

Also there's some good stuff in the SAVE Action Guide, which is an excellent thing to quote.

Bit out of date with regard to the legal bits, but the intro etc by Marcus Binney is wonderful and inspirational.

Give Adam at SAVE a ring, credit card at the ready, and ask for a copy - can't recall the price but not a lot.

http://www.savebritainsheritage.org

Update - £7.95, reduction for SAVE Friends.


THE SAVE BRITAIN'S HERITAGE ACTION GUIDE £7. 95 (£6. 36)
The fascinating story of why and how SAVE was set up and our fight to preserve historic buildings ever since, plus practical advice on how to set up and win your own campaigns. Published May 1991.

 

[NT]

Community is important in housing, and in peoples' lives generally. Old buildings make for stable communties. Unfortunately like anything, it can be quickly destroyed but takes a long time to build up.

Also knowing there are generations of people who've been born and died in the house, and knowing there are people buried in the garden is somehow grounding. The modern fashion for pretending all that doesnt exist is not I think a healthy one. We live among it every day, and are part of it.

And knowing some of the horror stories that took place where you live helps people be more realistic about the risks of life.

Historic houses act as a good building regulations bullshit detector, and an even better planning permission bs detector. They also motivate (some) people to learn practical skills.

Many also burst modern-fashioned bubbles of pretence with their crude unhidden functionality yet beauty.

The workmanship that went into many old buildings generates respect, which is important for any human being to thrive, yet lacking in too many folk, youngsters especially.

Finally destroying buildings and replacing them often just doesnt make sense. Repair is usually far more cost and energy efficient than rebuild.

It is foolish to regard buildings as fashion statements, yet masses of useful resources have been wasted by demolishing the unfashionable and building anew. And sure enough, often after a while people have realised that the new replacement is of less value than its predecessor.


NT

 

[Nemesis]

Knowing people are buried in the garden????

 

[Flyfisher]

There are people buried in our garden. Very 'green'.

 

[Nemesis]

Could be very suspicious...

 

[Flyfisher]

Not really. Anyone can be buried in their garden if they wish.

 

[Nemesis]

I think that is the relevant point...

Murder is another matter entirely.

 

[Flyfisher]

I haven't got a lot of experience regarding murders, but I suspect that anyone wanting to dispose of a body is not very likely to mark the burial with a gravestone.

 

[Moo]

I'm a bit puzzled about the idea that old buildings make better, or more stable communities.
Surely, these days the population of most streets, squares, or crescents is constantly changing and many of the social factors that created the communities of the past have disappeared.
It's the people, not the buildings that make communities.

 

[Nemesis]

and knowing there are people buried in the garden is somehow grounding.

NT clearly knows where the bodies are buried... not a mention of a gravestone

8)

 

[NT]

No gravestones, no. Do you not like the idea of garden burial?


NT

 

[NT]

I'm a bit puzzled about the idea that old buildings make better, or more stable communities.
Surely, these days the population of most streets, squares, or crescents is constantly changing and many of the social factors that created the communities of the past have disappeared.
It's the people, not the buildings that make communities.

Some people change often, some stay stable for very long times, and some of those are a key part of the community IME. You cant have people that have been around long if the housing is new.


NT

 

[Nemesis]

Garden burial - depends really.

If it's something I planned after living a long and useful life of helping out the brewing industry OK, but if the other half decided to strangle me in a fit of rage and hide the body in the potato bed I think I wouldn't be so keen.

I think in soaps it's under the patio, where the victims are hidden, but patios, dahlings, are common. Period properties have terraces.

We won't even think about decking.

 

[Flyfisher]

The need for a death certificate generally sorts out the legal niceties, but once that's done there are many options for actual disposal, garden burial being one of them. And no permission is actually required, you just have to satisfy the environment agency that the burial won't be a health hazard, which in practice means not being with 20m (or thereabouts) of a water course. So it's more a case of notification rather than seeking permission. I suppose you could even bury them under the patio/terrace if you wished!

Our 'neighbours' don't have gravestones as such, just big old lumps of stone set in the grass to mark the spot.

 

[MdB]

Hmm, that makes me wonder what (or whom) we shall find when we dig the trenches for our heat pump pipes. Should be really obvious if anything has been hidden though as the subsoil is very different from the top soil. Should stand out a mile once we remove the turf.

Having said that, our neighbours have an old caravan buried in their garden. I don't want that!

 

[NT]

Place of burial, or other options, and means of death are 2 different matters in my mind.


NT

 

[Vicsteve]

I think the reason that I bought an old house is because nothing modern has ever really stood up to it. I am a historian myself and am all for learning from the past and there is so much to be learned from buying an old house. Beyond this there is character and life throughout. Without doubt every modern house I have looked at (and there have been several) has been very nice, neutral etc but there is no character and no soul.

Its a bit like asking why do people study history, because how can you learn for the future if you discount the past?

 

[Goose01]

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't posted on here for a while but I've been bogged down with uni work- this dissertation as well as the other million projects that I'm planning at the moment including some rather ambitious carving, in oak of all things!

Well so far I've been reading a lot on my chosen title which is 'why should we preserve England's architectural heritage?" articles by people like Robert Hewison, Patrick Wright as well as the million reports written by preservation organisations.

I've included a section from my Research Design for those who said they wanted to see my outline, sorry it's a bit long but you know what it's like with things like this;


Do the public actually value our architectural heritage? Statistics are available from such organisations as The National Trust and English Heritage which show how many new members they have gained that year or how many people have visited their buildings, but I will do my own research across a diverse spectrum of society to establish just how many people are interested in preserving our heritage, and if there are any significant trends that arise. I also aim to speak to local conservation officers to try and find out if they have done any similar surveys and the results they found.

Why do we value our architectural heritage? What does society gain from preserving these old buildings? The areas I will be looking in to include;
Economic; through tourism, benefits to local businesses
Culture and community; Does it enrich our lives in the same way that art, music and theatre do? Can our heritage create a sense of identity within a community?
Educational; Learning from our past and keeping traditional building skills alive, how important is this aspect to modern society?
Environmental: According to Baroness Andrews, the Sustainable Development Minister, over the past 30 years demand for new homes has increased by a third. Rather than demolishing buildings that already exist and creating new builds, it could be argued that it is more environmentally friendly to be making the most of source that is readily available.
Nostalgia; Seen as a survival mechanism when faced with change, is it the main reason for why people value our old buildings? Is it just that they remind us of a past that we see as a much simpler and happier time?

Do these reasons justify the money that is spent on preserving our past?
Does restoration make economic sense? Even the basic maintenance costs for old buildings are higher than they would be for a modern house. The government gave the English Heritage £125 million in 2006 alone, and the Heritage Lottery Fund has spent £3.97 billion in grants since 1994. I want to investigate whether our everyday lives would be better off if this money had instead been invested in other areas such as the NHS, education, transport or defence. Would the general public prefer the money being invested in these areas, rather than in preserving old buildings?

Case Study; Stowe House, Buckinghamshire
Instead of just talking about our architectural heritage in a general sense, I will bring some focus to my discussions by looking at a historical building that is going through a restoration process. Stowe School is an ideal choice as it is currently in the middle of a long-term restoration plan. Originally built in the 1690’s, it was extensively remodelled throughout the 18th Century with a variety of famous names putting their stamp on the architecture, including the likes of Vanbrugh, Gibbs, Kent and Adam, resulting in an excellent example of neo-classical architecture.
So far the cost of restoration work has totalled £15 million; almost £10.5 million of this has been supplied in the form of grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund. They will also be providing 75% of the money required for work on the library ceiling. I aim to establish why Stowe is worth spending so much time, money and effort on. It is still being used as a school, would there would be a greater benefit to the students if they were to have a new school built specifically for this purpose?

Having discussed the aforementioned issues concerning our architectural heritage in general and more specifically in the form of the restoration work at Stowe House, I aim to establish why so much money is spent on heritage and whether it gives back to society enough to justify this spending. In order to answer these questions I will endeavour to remove myself from my personal interest in restoration work and look at the issues with a more discerning view.


Still awake?? Well if you are, I've set up an online survey, and I know that the fact you guys are on this forum means you already have a interest in our architectural heritage, but if you wanted to fill it out that would be great, because I'm assuming there is a wide variety of professions, ages etc who come on here. I'm also gonna be hitting the streets with the questionnaire (although I think people will automatically walk around me as soon as they see a clipboard!!) and knocking on peoples doors and leaving the questionnaire with them. I just need to get an idea of whether the average bod out on the street actually gives a crap about our heritage! here's the link for the survey

http://FreeOnlineSurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=6wj277mxotx0odw358564

Cheers guys!!!