Advertising revenue from “Cornerstone” had been healthy. Also useful had been a full 12 months of rent fromthe Society’s let offices at 3 Spital Yard. Themain area of the Society’s operations affected by the economic climate had been events, where income fromcourseswas reduced. Dividend income from the Society’s investments was also down, but this was a product of a planned re-arrangement of the SPAB investment portfolio. Future improvement in investment returnswas expected. There had been some operational cost savings too, which, including legacies, had led to an annual surplus of £70,000 and total reserves of £3.9m. Reserves had nowrecovered to the levels in 2007, before the economic downturn. This helped preserve the Society’s independence, with the equivalent of two years of current expenditure available fromunrestricted reserves if needed.
THE names of those elected to the Guardians’ committeewere announced: Mildred Cookson, Nick Cox, IanHarper, Britt Harwood,David Lodge,Meriel O’Dowd and Peter Pace. Following this, the Chairman then invitedNicholas Thompson of Donald Insall Associates to talk briefly about the two-year conservation project at the Mansion House, which he hadmanaged in the 1990s. He explained that the Mansion House was the
Facing page (top), SPAB’s 2011 AGM well underway in the Egyptian Hall at Mansion House, in the City of London, Facing page (below), guest speaker, the legendary luminary of conservation, Sir Donald Insall. This page (from top), Anthony Goode receives his Esher Award from SPAB Secretary Philip Venning; with Chairman David Heath; and Nicholas Thompson sheds light on the conservation and refurbishment of the Mansion House in the early 1990s, which was undertaken by Donald Insall Associates
residence andwork place of Lord Mayors of London for the past 260 years. The building had been constructed in 1739-52 by George Dance the Elder. The EgyptianHall, in which the Society’s meetingwas being held, was of three storeys, but had originally been higher before the introduction of a coffered ceiling by GeorgeDance the Younger, replacing the original columned upper storey. Continued overleaf
JamesInnerdale Conservation RitualsNo11
inandaround&news Maintenance: mucky
– but not a dirty word JONATHAN FOYLE, Chief Executive of the World Monuments Fund Britain and the well-known presenter of TV series such as Climbing Great Buildings, has joined the SPAB’s annual National Maintenance Week (NMW) campaign. This year’s NMW will take place from
Friday 18 November until Friday 25 November – National Gutters Day. SPAB’s annual campaign encourages
homeowners (and those who care for public buildings such as churches, village halls and local authority properties) to be aware of the simple, economic and achievable maintenance steps they can take at the onset of winter to stave off costly later faults and damage. There are practical benefits too, as Dr Foyle
explains: “For thousands of people, regular maintenance has proved much cheaper than having to remove and replace mass-produced and unfixable features that were supposed to last forever but merely lowered a property’s value after making it ugly for 20 disappointing years. I'd offer a three-step plan: Take action early; watch out for decay; keep it original. “Beyond that,” adds Dr Foyle, “in my
experience (providing you’re roped up) clambering on the roof can also offer you a bracing wintry work-out. Everyone's happy! “Increasingly we live in a ‘throw-away’
world and one of the key questions SPAB will urge people to ask this year when dealing with maintenance is: “What can I repair, not replace?” It’s a maxim that echoes the words of William Morris on founding the SPAB: “Put protection in place of restoration. Stave off decay by daily care.” Online details
atwww.maintainyourbuilding.org.uk
KateGriffin
Cornerstone, Vol 32, No 3 2011 5
PHOTOGRAPHS: HAZEL DUNLOP
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