Issue 92

January/February 2007

Contents

news

Ancient trading power near Inverness

Rare insights into a medieval city

Possible new neolithic enclosure on Orkney

Roman Colchester unveils more of circus

In Brief & Phase 2

features

Stonehenge Douai manuscript discovered
Christian Heck describes his surprise Stonehenge find, a new medieval depiction

Transit van excavation
Bristol students find more than bunk in an old Ford van

Are these the pyramids to revolutionise Europe?
Anthony Harding investigates date claims of 12,000 BC/BP near Sarajevo, Bosnia.

Among tombs and stone circles on Banc Du
A history of discover of Neolithic earthworks and causewayed enclosures

on the web

Recommended websites

letters

Views and responses

CBA news

Headlines from the CBA office

ISSN 1357-4442

Editor Mike Pitts

CBA news

A year at the CBA consulting on listed building applications

The CBA is one of the amenity societies consulted in a statutory capacity on listed building consent applications which involve complete or partial demolition. We are now well on the way to receiving our annual 4,000 plus cases. Many arrive by email with links directly to the local authority website, while others continue as conventional paper copies. The examples described here give a flavour of the applications being dealt with by our volunteers, casework panel and the historic buildings officer.

Park Corner Farm, N Yorkshire

This timber-framed aisled building, perhaps 16th century, retains its smoke bay. A visit revealed smoke-blackened rafters, aisle posts and braces, and clear evidence for inserted floors, reused timbers, a variety of carpenter's marks and lost end bays where the building was encased in stone and added to in the 18th/early 19th century. Proposals to resite a 20th century staircase and entrance make sense of the building and retain historic fabric. A modest rear extension is under discussion. The farm buildings are part of separate applications.

Kestle Barton Farmstead, Cornwall

The CBA worked through several applications refining proposals for this "virtually complete group of 18th and 19th century farm buildings relating to a circa 16th–17th century farmhouse". The last scheme submitted sought consent for conversion to two dwellings and an art gallery with ancillary office and residential accommodation. We felt that the new uses worked well with the buildings and their internal layouts, and their landscape setting, but asked for more detail in the proposed photographic record.

Landmarks restoration, Knowsley, Merseyside

Knowsley borough council submitted proposals to restore historic crosses and landmarks. Crosses at Huyton, Cronton and Roby and a milestone, stocks and pigeon house/dovecote were put forward in a bid drawn up by the conservation officer with heritage lottery funding. We were pleased to support the scheme in principle, stressing that each case must be judged on its own.

Tilty Mill, Essex

This extremely important Grade II* 18th century watermill retains machinery, fixtures and fittings and outbuildings, one concealing a WWII pill box. When proposals were put forward for residential conversion we took an unusual step in recommending its retention as a working mill – a view shared by the mills section of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. We have yet to see if this is possible, perhaps by reusing the other outbuildings on the site or through an enabling development, but there has been some interest expressed in taking the building on.

Terry's Chocolate Factory, York

To comply with the government's wish for quicker and informed planning decisions, pre-application talks are encouraged between developers and the national amenity societies. The former Terry's Chocolate Factory, York is one such site where the CBA was involved with early discussions.

Westportholland fish sheds, Truro

These fish sheds, proposed for conversion to holiday cottages, are curtilage structures adjoining 18th century listed lime kilns, but Pete Herring's historic building report commissioned for DEFRA showed that these unassuming structures are actually of considerable importance. One is believed to be 16th century with a fish smoking loft. The smoked pilchards (fumados) were exported to Spain and Italy in the later mediaeval period but by 1602 Richard Carew in his survey of Cornwall talked of them being simply cured and pressed in hogsheads – evidence for which is in one of the structures' cellar. We asked for further evaluation work and that the fish sheds should be put forward for listing in their own right.

Eplanning

The move over to eplanning using the internet continues. A pilot project with six planning authorities undertaken by all the national amenity societies is helping us evaluate this new way of working. Two introductory days were held for our volunteers to find out about the changes and to explore the pros and cons.

Beyond casework

The CBA's wider advocacy work with historic buildings this year has included several broader themes, including the major reform of heritage protection underway and the white paper due early in 2007. It will include proposals for a unified register of heritage assets, at last bringing together protection for buildings, sites and landscapes.

We worked with English Heritage and a number of partners to update the 1996 RCHME recording specifications and launched Understanding Historic Buildings: A Guide to Good Recording Practice (English Heritage 2006).

The Victorian and Edwardian terrace house makes an important contribution to townscape and local identity. Many communities, like Darwen in Lancashire, where we made a written representation at inquiry, have successfully fought off demolition orders, and refurbishment is now the professed norm. However not all guises are appropriate. Radical treatment of interiors and reordered plans can work (as at Every St, Nelson, Lancs), but in a conservation area, for example, it is important that developers recognise the area's traditional character and the structures' significance.

The emergence of energy performance certificates in 2007 will undoubtedly have ramifications for historic buildings: regulatory "improvements" could damage historic fabric and lose archaeological information. A recent study, however, suggests that traditional Tudor buildings lose less heat per square metre of building than 20th century mock Tudor buildings! Awareness and research are needed.

Volunteer recruitment

The CBA relies strongly on volunteers to assess historic buildings proposals. We do not have coverage in many areas, such as parts of Cambridgeshire, Devon and Northumberland, so we cannot make recommendations. If you are interested in becoming a voluntary historic building correspondent we would like to hear from you. Please phone 01904 671417 for either Lynne Walker or Carole Barrowclough.

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