21 Conservation

During the late 19th century there was a strong reaction against the excessive zeal of church restorers, who often demolished as much of an old building as they repaired. Led by designer, writer and reformer William Morris, this movement led to a new, gentler, less interventionist approach to old buildings. Conservation rather than restoration became the watchword, and people involved in building preservation today still follow the guidelines Morris established.

By the middle of the 19th century a number of people were unhappy with the usual approach taken by architects when restoring old buildings—the approach that involved demolishing parts of a building that were defective or built in some unfashionable style and replacing them with the architect’s idea of what was “correct.” There were several objections to this. It was impossible to tell exactly what was originally there if the surface of a building had worn away, making proper restoration impossible. The approach ironed out the inconsistencies, which were precisely the features of an old building that made it interesting. Much modern masonry had what the critic John Ruskin called a “brute hardness” when compared to the work of the Middle Ages. And demolition paid scant respect to the craftsmen of the Middle Ages.

William Morris mobilizes These objections came to a head when the great designer, writer and reformer William Morris discovered that Sir George Gilbert Scott was about to begin restoring the great Norman abbey church at Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire. Having seen what restoration could do to similar buildings, Morris hoped to put a stop to the work. In March 1877 he wrote a letter to the Athenaeum:

“My eye just now caught the word ‘restoration’ in the morning paper and, on looking closer, I saw that this time it is nothing less than the minster of Tewkesbury that is to be destroyed by Sir Gilbert Scott. Is it altogether too late to do something to save it—and whatever else is beautiful or historical that is left to us on the sites of the ancient buildings we were once so famous for?”

SPAB precepts

The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings is guided by these basic principles:

“Why, I could carve them better with my teeth.”

William Morris (in response to being shown some modern carved stalls in a cathedral)

A new approach Morris was too late to save Tewkesbury Abbey from Scott’s attention—restoration was already under way by the time his letter was published. But Morris was able to set a new standard for the sensitive treatment of old buildings, and he did this by founding the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings to guide those caring for the built environment. The SPAB advocated, and still advocates, repair rather than rebuilding, respect for the work of ancient artists and artisans, resistance to tampering with old fabric to make it consistent, and “honesty”—one should not try to disguise new work as old.

The shock of the new

When he wrote his manifesto for the SPAB in response to the restoration of Tewkesbury Abbey (below) Morris included one clause that surprised some, encouraging those in charge of an old building “to raise another building rather than alter or enlarge an old one” if a building became inconvenient for its current use. Morris thus hoped to encourage architects to continue to build anew and, having rejected historical revival for its own sake, would have wanted to see buildings in appropriate current styles.

In putting forward these new ideas, Morris and his followers had to counter two persistent trends in contemporary thinking. First, when it came to church restoration, it had been thought acceptable to demolish part of an old building if it was deemed to be inappropriate for modern ritual. Morris held that ancient buildings were sacred, and should not be altered to suit passing liturgical fashion. Second, historical revival, so popular among Victorian architects, was not necessarily a good thing if it meant damaging ancient fabric.

Friends and supporters Such revolutionary ideas would have had little chance of support had they come from Morris alone. But fortunately Morris had the backing of several architects, including his friend Philip Webb and the visionary Arts and Crafts architect, teacher and writer W.R. Lethaby. With this backing the SPAB was born and began to attract members from within the architectural profession.

Slowly, approaches to the upkeep of old buildings changed from restoration to conservation. And broadly speaking this is the approach that still prevails today. SPAB undertakes training, gives advice on conservation, publishes books, campaigns on behalf of old buildings and takes part in the planning system to ensure that old buildings are properly preserved. Its principles and practices are now followed widely. We end up with better, and better maintained, buildings as a result.

the condensed idea

TLC for old buildings

timeline
1877 William Morris writes a letter to the Athenaeum, objecting to the restoration of Tewkesbury Abbey. Soon after, the SPAB is founded
1878 SPAB leaders work out a formal protocol to help them deal with buildings under threat
1879 Morris and the SPAB take up the campaign to save St. Mark’s, Venice
1890s SPAB are advising on nearly 300 buildings per year
1955 The first Threatened Buildings List is published, to find new owners for buildings at risk