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CORNERSTONE MAGAZINE - VOLUME 30 NUMBER 2 2009

Cornerstone (formerly SPAB News) has been the Society's magazine since 1980. It is issued four times a year to the SPAB's 9000 plus members, journalists and others in the building conservation sector. The magazine, edited by experienced journalist Robin Stummer since 2000, is highly regarded within the field of building conservation. It is also a popular choice for the advertisement of conservation services and materials, publications, events and jobs.

The magazine regularly features news about old buildings, details of the Society's casework, technical questions and answers, book reviews and the opinions of well known figures on old building issues. Features range from domestic building repair projects undertaken by  homeowners, to international stories about conservation issues, and articles about techniques of conservative repair.

In this edition of Cornerstone

Harmondsworth, under attack from airlines, News  Secretary’s Notes Farewell Civic Trust – but this is not likely to be the only drastic change in the heritage and conservation landscape.

News BriefingWhile Westminster turmoil and the dire economy hog the headlines, Heathrow and Stansted – huge twin threats to historic buildings and settings – should not be overlooked; possible Church of England threat to the future of its vital Church Buildings Council; sell-offs of important church items to raise money for repairs ruled out by senior Church court; accreditation schemes for work on historic buildings surge ever forward.

Letters Accreditation again; is lime green?; HIPs hopeless; war ruins ruined. James Innerdale’s cartoon, page 8; Carbon Corner, page 9.
 
Casework SPAB asked to advise on Rochester Castle; fine house in Leek seeks careful owner; Norfolk Broads architecture may be saved from the sea; Rhosson Uchaf – how not to treat an old building; how to source correct stone in Wiltshire?
 
COVER STORY: SALTWOOD AFTER ALANIt is one of Britain’s most
extensive but least known medieval castles. Home to Kenneth Clark and Alan Clark, it has now been the responsibilty of Alan’s widow Jane for a decade. Last year a paper implied that the Grade I listed Scheduled Ancient Monument was crumbling.  Jane Clark invites ‘Cornerstone’ to hear her side of the story. By Robin Stummer
 
James Ravilious: camera genius, recorder of old buildings, p36 copyright JAMES RAMLIOUSRavilious Revealed Not only was he one of the finest documentary photographers in Britain, but James Ravilious also managed to create an invaluable archive of images of unrestored, and still-in-use, traditional West Country buildings.
Ten years on from his death, we salute his work of the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

Stroll into the past The early SPAB was keen on engaging with old buildings close up, on foot, and seeing them in the context of their settings. Architectural  historian and writer Jon Cannon sets out his own manifesto for understanding ancient structures by close study of their surroundings – and forgetting the car.

SITE SEEN and TO BE SEEN SPAB Technical Secretary Douglas Kent reports on how he found his dream ancient building, and started to investigate its past; inside a Jacobean solicitor’s mansion in Devon, before repairs; the Art Nouveau glories of Holy Trinity, Chelsea, in focus, by David Martin; old photographs help understand the repair history of Chilham Castle, says Archie Walls; Tudor House, Southampton’s gem of a museum, has had another cash windfall, allowing another stage of repair to start; a relic of Derbyshire’s industrial past is brought back to life by Philip Heath; and an Edwardian tree house from an Essex mansion proves to be a unique repair project for David Leviatin.
 
Quite a party: Roman follies, Architecture in Art, p80 copyright V&ATimber framing Douglas Kent’s Technical Q&A offers an overview.

BACK TO THE BATTLE St Petrock’s Church, Parracombe, north Devon – an old SPAB case revisited by John Bucknall and Matthew Slocombe.
 
NEW BOOKS Economics and heritage, a feisty mix; Morris homage.
 
Architecture in Art The night a palazzo in Rome went wild – and why.
Cornerstone cover  Jane Clark on guard at Saltwood Castle p26 copyright JOHN LAWRENCE
Edwardian tree house, p70 copyright SIMON BARBER
Back to Parracombe, p77
Back to Parracombe, p77 copyright FRITH
Walk, look, understand, p44 copyright BRITISH LIBRARY
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

   
 
 

Members of the SPAB receive Cornerstone four times a year.
Editor, Robin Stummer: letters@spab.org.uk


For advertising in Cornerstone please contact:

Hall-McCartney Ltd
Tel: 01462 896688
Fax: 01462 896677