A very successful evening. Despite the unusually cold weather (and we know that a number of people did not feel able to venture out), around 80 people braved the snow and ice to hear a very engaging and informative lecture by Dr Simon Thurley, who demonstrated himself to be a very good public speaker.
Dr Thurley's intention was to outline the changing attitudes towards 'heritage' by both Government and population over the last three decades, going back to the Thatcher and Major Governments of the '80s and early '90s in fact.
During this period 'heritage' had a high profile. This was the era of 'Brideshead Revisited', 'Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady' etc.! But whilst popular, there was a clear note of 'nostalgia' to the interest in heritage, and something of a looking towards a 'golden age'. viz John Major's evocation of imagery like 'cricket on the village green', 'warm ale' and 'elderly spinsters cycling to 8am Holy Communion', at a time when in reality they probbaly wouldn't have felt safe cycling anywhere! Nevertheless, it was during this period that the new heritage agency 'English Heritage' was established, and it was high on the national agenda.
The change of Government in the late '90s, heading towards the 'Millennium' and aspiration towards the 'future' brought a notable change of fortunes for heritage, which combined with the 'Millennial' feeling nationally saw a significant dip in the national interest in (the newly-introduced term) 'historic environment'. This may be signified by the Ministry of Heritage having been absorbed into the new Ministry of Culture, Media and Sport... Heritage became valued for its 'worth' to the 'capital' of the community.
With the new Coalition Government there has been a change in attitude - for example the Ministry of Culture, Media and Sport is now the Ministry of Tourism & Heritage, and the recognition of the importance of the historic built environment in itself, not just to the quantifiable 'value added' to an area. But in terms of central finacial support this has, of course, coincided with the massive economic downturn with which we are all faced, and must shoulder its own share of the burden. Plus the current changes in planning legislation.
The vital new strand has been the encouragement of 'localism' (given a massive boost by the televised 'Restoration' initiative), and also the balance between 'preservation' and 'conservation'. Participation - enabling buildings to be used, in order that they become much more self-supporting, and communities are far more engaged with their historic built heritage, rather than nice old buildings just to be looked at.
Sustainability. This is also bringing new challenges to 'heritage, but Dr Thurley pointed out the huge amount of energy 'value' locked into existing buildings, which would be wasted if torn down and rebuilt. Sustainability-wise, in many cases it is better to refurbish old buildings (eg housing).
There was a Q&A session at the end, with a range of very interesting and well thought-out questions, including:
Q. What is the cut to the EH budget 2010-2011?
A. Because of the Comprehensive Spending Review, government grant to EH cut by about £50m for 2011 compared with 2010.
Q. What is the relationship between EH and National Trust?
A. EH is the national heritage agency and NT is a voluntary organisation/charity.
Q. What type of work does EH grant fund?
A. Structural, high-level, urgent.
Q. What exactly is 'listing'?
A. 'Listing' is for buildings of national interest, according to strict criteria, and graded I, II* and II. Buildings of local interest ought to be protected locally. Conservation Areas, etc.
Q. What is the balance between 'preservation' and 'restoration'?
A. THE key question! (especially for a building like St Edmund's).
The received Morris/Ruskin approach inherited from the C19th has been to keep every individual stone intact. BUT for 'living buildings' this approach is not without problems, particularly the tendency to 'freeze them in time' or 'preserve them in aspic'.
More recently it has been recognised that the protection of a historic 'living building' is more than the protection of its fabric, it is the protection of its PURPOSE. The protection of its purpose means that some changes may be allowable, and even desireable, carefully balancing need and significance. The best way to keep a historic building alive is for it to be highly used, rather than simply looked at.
