Recollections of the LHAR Project

As the Lincolnshire Heritage at Risk surveys draw to a close at the end of this month I find myself looking back over my time as a volunteer Heritage Steward. The experiences have been many and varied but rarely negative.

I recall feeing rather uncertain about completing my first survey in 2010 but any anxiety quickly disappeared when the owner of the property provided an unexpected conducted tour of his home.

About half way through the project the volunteers were asked to complete all 500+ Places of Worship surveys in the county. Surveying churches of various denominations introduced me to a completely different aspect of heritage work. Appreciating the complexity of both the architecture and the particular problems surrounding the funding (and therefore, survival) of these buildings were truly formative experiences for me. Around the same time, Heritage Lincolnshire ran a two day course, ”The Medieval Church – Heaven on Earth” , which introduced the development of churches  over hundreds of years; these changes dictated largely by ecclesiastical directions and the architectural  trends of the times. A different course (but again, of a high quality) was one that considered the Lost Villages of Lincolnshire. Part of the course involved an appreciation of the Lutterel Psalter, a local illuminated manuscript, compiled in the 14^th Century. A short film, inspired by the Psalter and produced by WAGscreen can be viewed by following this link:     

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0AnUM1tt54

An illustration from the Lutterel Psalter

Memorable for me also have been the regular events, organised by the Lincs HAR team and intended as gestures of thanks for  Volunteers’ contribution to the project. Amongst these events have been conducted tour s of Doddington Hall, Belton House and Gunby Hall, each of which have been followed by refreshments.  The next scheduled event is a tour of Gainsborough Old Hall in November.

My time as a Volunteer Steward have inevitably included some negative experiences, most notably the prevalence of metal thefts from a variety of heritage sites,locally and nationally. Not wishing to dwell upon these negatives, I had some guarded optimism that the situation might be improving a little (due to less press coverage of the subject and recent  legislation, introduced in an attempt  to regulate the scrap metal trade). This optimism was dashed a couple of weeks ago when I read of a C16 sundial having been sawn from a church in W,Sussex by metal thieves. More serious than this however, was the recent death of a young man in London, killed by a 50kg piece of masonry falling from a poorly maintained Victorian building. The inquest report referred to the deteriorated state of the decorative stonework at the top of the building, adding that its wall ties were either in a poor state or absent altogether. Whether or not the building was subject to the attention of local Heritage organisations or councils was not made clear. What this type of report highlights however is that the monitoring and reporting of an old building’s condition and its safety has far reaching and crucial implications, quite apart from its aesthetic qualities.

During my last survey I once again experienced some trepidation when approaching the property (this time, a modest country estate in the South of the county). With an uncanny similarity to my first survey in 2010, the owner of the house was as helpful as she could possibly have been. I was given virtually free access to the estate, not before having an enjoyable half hour’s discussion with her on a range of topics! It is this type of encounter that I will miss the most about my time as a volunteer. The Heritage assets (buildings, parks,etc) have obviously been the focus of the work but the individuals  who I have met, with their welcoming and trusting attitudes, will be what stays in the memory for a long time to come.

St.Edith’s, Coates-by-Stow, one of my favourite heritage sites

Colin, Heritage Steward



A Taxing Problem

After being involved with the LINCS HAR project for the past 18 months I have come to realise that it has been an immensely satisfying activity, though in contrast, I have become more and more aware that the continued security and viability of heritage assets for the future is far from guaranteed.

First, my latest positive experiences of being a Volunteer Steward.

In the past few months I have concentrated upon surveying properties in the town where I live. Three weeks ago I put a whole morning aside to survey around 10 properties. As routine practice now, I take steps to introduce myself and the Lincolnshire HAR project to the owner or occupier of the property. As well as a common courtesy to them, I have found that this approach prompts questions about the project and wide-ranging discussions about heritage matters in general.

On this particular morning, the first person I met was more than pleased to allow me to survey and photograph his home. Following a lengthy discussion about the historic area of town where the property is situated, the person asked me about a particular feature of the building. On one of the gable walls is a carved symbol: an upward facing arrow, surmounted by a horizontal line (see the illustration below.) I had a vague idea that the symbol may be related to the M.O.D. in some way but not being at all certain, I offered to make enquiries on his behalf. Sending an e-mail to the Heritage Lincolnshire Team later, I discovered that the mark was a Benchmark, used in the days before “high tech” gadgetry to aid the process of surveying ,marking  a particular point as an elevation reference. Later that day I was able to convey this information to the owner of the property, for which he was grateful. He said that for the 20+ years he had lived there, he had been curious about the symbol, but had never taken the time to find out its significance!

A  Benchmark carved on a building’s wall

Later in the morning I was able to assist a different property’s owners in a different way. Since moving to their home over 20 years ago they had mistakenly assumed that a piece of Victorian “graffiti”, carved on a stone quoin indicated the date of its construction (i.e. 1830.) To aid my own curiosity and knowledge, before undertaking surveys, if a building is listed in the “assets” details as being either C17 or C18 century I make a note on the survey form. Because of this I was able to inform them that their home pre-dated this date by around 50 years, placing the building in the Georgian period. They were fascinated to learn their home was as old as this and being able to help in this way was a particularly satisfying experience for me.

A regular feature of my blog has been to comment on the on-going problems of theft and other obstacles to heritage sites in Lincolnshire and beyond. Not as many reports have appeared recently regarding roofing lead thefts from churches (though I am certain the problem persists.)However, threats to heritage sites through other means has emerged that can seen as equally damaging.

 Along with the increased volume of traffic using our roads, it is reasonable to expect the incidence of road accidents that effect heritage sites will increase also. During the past month a C15 market building in Cheddar, Somerset was seriously damaged after a van crashed into it, whilst within the last year or so, several war memorials have suffered a similar fate. The damage may not be deliberate, but ensuring the structures are sympathetically reconstructed involves the will of communities as well as adequate funding. Compounding the already tight financial constraints that accompany the maintenance and repair of heritage sites is the recent revision of rules concerning VAT , announced in the March’s Budget. Evidently, the improvement and repair of ancient buildings has previously been exempt from VAT .Since this year’s Budget this exemption no longer applies. A Daily Telegraph report highlighted problems at Wakefield Cathedral that are directly caused by the VAT rule changes. The cathedral has a major repair project that is currently well under way. The Dean’s wife has even written and performed a “protest song” on the issue and this can be seen by following link.

                   

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEWgVkBKpeI&feature=topics

The repair work at Wakefield will incur a further £200,00 in tax duties; a considerable amount in anyone’s estimation. Worryingly for heritage sites and those who are involved in fund raising, this scenario will be repeated up and down the country if the VAT revisions remain.

So, whether the threat to historic sites arises from lead thieves, careless drivers or senior politicians, the need to defend heritage interests is an ever-present task for all who are concerned in preserving the assets we now have, for future generations.

Colin, Heritage Steward