IHBC’s Context 180’s BUMPER issue, Part 3: Regular updates from IHBC officers and networks, with Chair’s take
The Institute Of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC)
The IHBC is the professional body for building conservation practitioners and historic environment experts in the UK
The new issue of the IHBC’s members’ journal, Context, No. 180, alongside themed features on heritage and nature includes a wide range of regular articles, with the spotlight in this NewsBlog on ‘Notes ‘from our Chair, on White’s … History of Selborne.
IHBC’s Chair David McDonald writes in his ‘Notes from the Chair’:
Many readers will know of and may even have read The Natural History of Selborne by the Reverend Gilbert White. First published in 1789, it has never been out of print and it is generally believed to be not only an early and influential publication relating to the study of flora and fauna, but also a contribution to ecology, well before such a term was ever in use.
What is not so well known is its original title, which was The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne. Unfortunately, most later editions of the book omit the antiquities section and concentrate on his charmingly written natural history, which is set out as a series of letters. I have to confess that I have not tracked down his account of the antiquities, but even in his writing on natural history, it is clear that he has an eye for building materials, architecture and conservation. White describes the local freestone in Letter IV: ‘When chiseled smooth, it makes elegant fronts for houses, equal in colour and grain to the Bath stone; and superior in one respect that when seasoned, it does not scale’.
Gilbert White was clearly ahead of his time, and how apt to be able to quote from his work in this issue of Context. If we move from the 18th century to the middle of the 20th century, Unesco includes education, science and culture in its full title. I have written before about the conservation of the natural and historic built environment being closely linked in relation to world heritage sites. UNESCO describes world heritage sites as containing ‘cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity’. The UK’s current tentative list of sites to recommend for designation consists of seven locations, three of which are purely nature-related and one (Birkenhead People’s Park, see page 26) that perfectly demonstrates the coming together of the natural and historic environment.
Links between the natural and built environment may come from unexpected quarters. As brought to my attention by the SPAB in its magazine, and referenced by Bob Kindred (‘Periodically’, Context 178, December 2023), there is a shortage of home-produced hazel spars that form an essential fixing for roofing thatch. While plastic spars are available, how much more sustainable it is to use the traditional material. The SPAB is working with other organisations to rectify this shortage, but it is a great demonstration that we belong to a single natural and built environment ecology.
Last autumn, I attended a Gardens Trust conference at which the question was posed as to whether specific consent should be required for works to registered parks and gardens. This raises all sorts of questions about making judgements about horticulture and things that grow, as opposed to the (for us) safer territory of buildings and structures. The approach taken in the UK might be quite different to that in, say, Japan. Fundamentally, there is a difference between the natural environment, which is constantly changing and can to a large extent be recreated, and the historic environment, which is frequently used in the phrase: ‘once lost, it is gone forever’. Our challenge is to bring the two together.
The theme of natural and built environments will be the subject of the next IHBC London Branch conference in October (advertised on page 51). I am looking forward to chairing the event and continuing discussions on this topic.
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I should also comment on our continuing journey towards chartered status for the IHBC. As we put together our memorandum (letter of intent) to the Privy Council Office, it makes us consider what makes the IHBC unique. As we go about our daily business, our place in the heritage world and the public benefit that ensues is probably not foremost in our minds. I recommend readers consider carefully this issue’s Director’s Cut (page 61) and whether it corresponds to their own view of the IHBC. I would be pleased to hear your views, either by email or in person at our annual school in Reading.
Regular updates include:
Access the online archive and see the issue online
Reading Context helps IHBC members develop their skills across all of the IHBC’s Areas of Competence, and so is a critical baseline in addressing priorities in Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
See more IHBC background and guidance on IHBC CPD and on how you might use past, current and future issues of Context
See the formal guidance paper on IHBC CPD (scheduled for update)
See more on the IHBC Competences and Areas of Competence