By Dr David Hickie
Our heritage of wonderful historic buildings is part of what makes both our countryside and urban areas special. They remind us that many previous generations have lived and worked here before, providing a link with the past and something for us to past on to future generations. There are few historic buildings that have remained completely unchanged since they were built. Lives change and needs change.
Recently I was helping advise on the restoration of a beautiful Georgian farmhouse. It was set in an extensive range of farm buildings which have changed very little since they were built in the 1790s. The farmhouse kitchen is now housed in a rear extension to the main building. However, looking at the survey drawings suggested the presence of an old chimney breast in the main front room of the house now covered up. Looking at the old wallpaper in the front room, you could just make out the shadow of the timber beam, over what would have been the old kitchen fireplace. In the 1790s this room would have been the kitchen. Now in 2010 it was a drawing room and had been since about the 1850s. Helping homeowners discover the secrets of their homes is part of what makes the job of historic building consultant so pleasurable.
Whilst it is important to retain the historic integrity of our listed buildings, it is important that we do not lose sight of the fact that if they are to be around in 200 years time, they ideally need to fulfil a genuine use for the current building owners. To survive they also need to be maintained properly. The phrase ‘a stitch in time...’ is so true for old buildings.
Needs and uses change over time. Rooms that were formerly bedrooms may now be: a home office; a self contained bed-sit; or, perhaps a home cinema. In our historic towns we can see houses that have become shops and then reverted back to houses for new generations. Old Victorian school buildings with the traditional two large classrooms (separate boys and girls), can be converted into new sustainable apartments with mezzanine floors not touching the exterior walls and allowing future generations to remove the interior walls, to reveal the original layout at a future date if they so wish. Many churches, both redundant and still in use, have been converted to allow for cafes and shops and many other new uses. Imaginative new uses for our historic buildings and structures will allow them to have a future. Large-scale changes include, for example, warehouses, mills and factories changed into new residential, retail or community uses. Small-scale examples include red telephone boxes being converted to art galleries and community information points.
With over 374,000 listed historic buildings in England alone, our historic homes, factories, warehouses, etc, form an essential part of the fabric of both our urban and rural communities. All our listed buildings are of national importance but some are more important than others. The Grade I buildings are of the highest importance (of exceptional interest, sometimes of international importance), followed by Grade II* and then Grade II buildings. Other heritage designations that home owners in may come across include: World Heritage Sites (18); Registered Park and Gardens (1606); Registered Battlefields (43); Scheduled Ancient Monuments (19724); and, Conservation Areas (9799) - figures are for England in 2010.
Owning a historic listed building can be a pleasure but it can also be problematic at times. There are a number of restrictions to ensure their conservation for future generations to use and enjoy. A new extension could require three separate forms of approval: planning permission, building regulation consent (as for an unlisted building), and the additional listed building consent - all from your local authority. It sounds complex but in reality it can be fairly simple. The important thing is to talk to your local authority conservation officer at an early stage and, if necessary, get specialist advice from a historic building consultant. Getting a local builder who is not used to working on listed buildings to give you a quick quote, can often lead to very serious problems. The experts can help you find suitable help. The online directory ProjectBook has an online directory full of building conservation specialists which can be a useful starting point.
New owners of listed building have to be very careful that they do not inherit major conservation liability problems. Current owners are legally responsible for ensuring all alterations have consent, including those undertaken in the past. All alternations and additions to a listed building (or listed structure) will require listed building consent approval from your local authority. This includes not only the main building itself but everything within the boundary of the listed property (known as the curtilage of the building) such as: outbuildings; garden walls; and, gates. The conditions of such consent will often include legally enforceable requirements for the use of specific materials and methods of construction suitable for your particular building.
It is important to understand and comply with the conditions specified by the Planning Authority. One homeowner recently gained permission for a barn conversion. There was a specific condition that the interior roof beams made of English oak. However, despite this condition he decided to buy cheaper French oak. Unfortunately when asked to prove that he had used English Oak he could not. So with a threat of legal enforcement action, he was required to completely dismantle the timber beams and have them replaced with English oak. The results of not following the specific requirements cost the homeowner very dearly.
If you are an owner of a listed building it is useful to know why your building has been listed. Many people I help advise have no idea why their building has been listed. Members of the public can check online why a building is listed by Googling ‘listed buildings online’. After searching for a particular building you can read the official reason as to why the building was listed. Very often the building was listed many years ago by someone just looking from the roadside. Many important interior features or exterior features or buildings not visible from the road may not be mentioned in the official descriptive text. So it is important to read the official listing with care and realise that if you want to do alterations to your house, there may be things that are very important but have not been mentioned in the official listing.
We are the stewards of wonderful historic buildings. The best of our current new buildings will soon become listed historic buildings in their own right. All our listed buildings should not be ‘museums to the past’ but enjoyed and used in the present, and handed on to future generations so that they can like us, have the pleasure of living and working in a stimulating and evolving built environment.
This article also appeared in Birmingham Today.
Dr David Hickie, former Assistant Regional Director English Heritage, now runs his own historic building consultancy ‘Heritage Matters’. A company that specialises in Historic Building Surveys, Creative Conservation Design Solutions, Heritage Impact Assessments, Planning and Listed Building Applications, Project Management and Heritage Business Planning and Marketing.
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