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John Betjeman Memorial Award 2012 – call for entries


The SPAB invites entries for a competition to honour the memory of Sir John Betjeman, and to mark his membership of the Society’s Committee from 1954 to 1977. The award is made for repair to the fabric of buildings currently in religious use, and which were built as churches, chapels or other places of worship in England and Wales. Work must have been completed during the previous 18 months. The intention is to reward excellence and


the highest level of conservation craftsmanship and to allow the winning repair work to be presented as an example to others. The award itself will take the form of a


specially commissioned print by John Piper of a church much loved by Sir John Betjeman, with a suitable inscription. The winner will be announced at the Society’s 2012 AGM. The judges will be looking for work that is


firmly based on the principles of conservative repair advocated by the SPAB since 1877. The architectural quality of the building is less important than the quality of the repair. It is not essential that the building is listed as being of architectural interest. Application forms and conditions of entry


can be found on the SPAB website www.spab.org.uk or can be acquired by phoning the SPAB, 0207 377 1644. Closing date for entries is Friday, 2 March 2012.


Judith Scott


The Society notes with sadness the death at the age of 94 of Judith Scott, a longstanding member of the SPAB Committee (and later the Council). Judith was secretary of the Council for the Care of Churches and the Cathedrals Advisory Committee from 1957 to 1971, and author of the first edition of A Guide to Church Inspection and Repair.


SPAB AGM2011


Society calls for old buildingsrethinkingovernment insulationpush Focus forGreenDealfears


THE SPAB – supported by Kevin McCloud, The National Trust, the Church of England, and many other organisations and individuals fromthe conservation sector – has called on the Government to consider the needs of older buildings as part of its Green Deal initiative. This is the drive to improve the energy performance of buildings across the country, to be launched in 2012. Letters sent by SPAB to Chris


Huhne, Secretary of State at the Department for Energy and Climate Change, and published in the “Times” newspaper, call for the needs of older buildings to be represented in research and planning activity around the Green Deal. So far, the emphasis has largely been on measures suitable for modern construction. Signatories to the “Times”


letter, published on 2 August, warn that the drive to promote the complete thermal upgrading of pre-1919 buildings could be storing up expensive future problems for both building fabric and human health. Inappropriate forms of insulation and the sealing up of interiors take little account of the fact that these buildings, which numbermillions, perform differently frommodern ones and


need to “breathe”. They are likely to require a different approach, in particular regarding themovement of moisture within them. The letter concludes: “While we


strongly support the aim of reducing carbon emissions from the nation’s building stock, we call on the Government to involve bodies knowledgeable about old buildings in research and planning for the Green Deal. Many of these bodies already have helpful research to contribute but to date have not been called on to do so.” SPAB is currently conducting


and collating research into the energy efficiency performance of a range of older properties built using traditional materials. Results to date suggest that these buildings actually performbetter than expected. The study suggests that


conventional industry practices are struggling to represent accurately the thermal performance of traditionally built walls. Ultimately, this could have


negative consequences for historic buildings as calculated theoretical U-values (suggesting a poorer performance) may lead owners and professionals to adopt disproportionate energy saving interventions thatmay not only be


unnecessary, but also invasive and potentially harmful to the fabric of a building. Amongmeasures likely to be


promoted under the Green Deal is the insulation of walls internally and, possibly, externally – with the danger that commercial pressures may encourage using materials inappropriate for old buildings. SPAB’s research so far suggests


that 79 per cent of traditionally builtwalls sampled – including walls of timber, cob, limestone, slate and granite – actually performbetter than expected. Even taking into account a


possible errormargin of up to 10 per cent, SPAB’s findings show that old buildings may not be as energy inefficient as the building industry has generally understood themto be. Much of the basic data which


the industry currently uses is derived from studies of buildings in Germany. The Society believes it is only by understanding our old buildings fully that we can decide whether the insulation upgrades we aremaking are of any energy efficient or sustainable benefit. PhilipVenning


SPAB’sBuildingPerformance Survey, see page15.


Signatories to the SPAB’s Green Deal letter: David Heath, Chairman, SPAB; KevinMcCloud; Sarah Staniforth, Historic Properties Director, The National


Trust; Janet Gough, Director of Cathedral and Church Buildings Division,Archbishops’ Council, Church of England; Loyd Grossman, Chair, Churches Conservation Trust;


Dr Paul Baker, Centre for Research on Indoor Climate & Health, Glasgow Caldeonian University; Mike Brown, Chairman of the Policy Committee, Institute of Historic Building Conservation; Paul Everall, Chief Executive Officer, Local Authority Building Control; JonAvent, Chairman, CARE Panel,


Fromprevious page An underlying aimof the works carried out in 1991 was to respect the building and its principal past alterations. Structural works included floor stiffening and beamend repair. Better fire protection and means of escapewere also introduced, and new services were incorporated – concealed wherever possible behind finishes. Specialist craftspeople had been employed, including thosewith expertise in paint, statutory, metalwork and cleaning. The Chairman then called on Philip Venning to


present the annual Esher Award, for those who had made special efforts to further the work of the SPAB and the cause of building conservation. This went to conservation builder Anthony Goode, of Slawston, near MarketHarborough, in Leicestershire. Mr Venning said that Anthony had made an


immense contribution to the work of the SPAB, aided 6 Cornerstone, Vol 32, No 3 2011


The Institution of Structural Engineers; Francesca Berriman, Chief Executive Officer, Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists; Ranyl Rhydwen, Graduate School, Centre forAlternative Technology; Gary Newman, Chief Executive Officer, Alliance for Sustainable Building Products; Dr Ian Dungavell, Director, TheVictorian Society.


by hiswife, Jean. Both had been active in the Society’s EastMidlandsGroup. He regularly hosted visits from Scholars and Fellows, and provided expert tuition in the use of traditional building materials. He was a leading light of the Society’s annual working party, and helpedwith courses for owners and builders. Anthony had recently joined the Society’s Technical Panel, and had swiftly produced a pamphlet on plaster floor conservation.


MAINbusiness concluded, the Chairman invited Sir Donald Insall to address the meeting, noting that he was a former SPAB Scholar. Sir Donald explained that his architectural practice had now existed for more


than half a century. Its foundation had followed an SPAB Scholarship with Peter and Janet Locke,who had joined him. The Scholarship had been a formative experience, and the address gave Sir Donald opportunity to share ideas and principles he had learnt then and since. Themessage was simple: buildings are alive and need love and to be looked after.He welcomed the fact that the SPABmessage remained the same, regardless of changing times. SirDonald felt that buildings lived through their


materials. “Delicious” lead “will walk” on roofswith temperature change, he explained, and building materials react to the elements, to vegetation and to Continued on page 8


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