After being involved with the LINCS HAR project for the past
18 months I have come to realise that it has been an immensely satisfying
activity, though in contrast, I have become more and more aware that the
continued security and viability of heritage assets for the future is far from
guaranteed.
First, my latest positive experiences of being a Volunteer
Steward.
In the past few months I have concentrated upon surveying
properties in the town where I live. Three weeks ago I put a whole morning
aside to survey around 10 properties. As routine practice now, I take steps to
introduce myself and the Lincolnshire HAR project to the owner or occupier of
the property. As well as a common courtesy to them, I have found that this
approach prompts questions about the project and wide-ranging discussions about
heritage matters in general.
On this particular morning, the first person I met was more
than pleased to allow me to survey and photograph his home. Following a lengthy
discussion about the historic area of town where the property is situated, the
person asked me about a particular feature of the building. On one of the gable
walls is a carved symbol: an upward facing arrow, surmounted by a horizontal
line (see the illustration below.) I had a vague idea that the symbol may be
related to the M.O.D. in some way but not being at all certain, I offered to
make enquiries on his behalf. Sending an e-mail to the Heritage Lincolnshire
Team later, I discovered that the mark was a Benchmark, used in the days before
“high tech” gadgetry to aid the process of surveying ,marking a particular point as an elevation reference.
Later that day I was able to convey this information to the owner of the
property, for which he was grateful. He said that for the 20+ years he had lived
there, he had been curious about the symbol, but had never taken the time to
find out its significance!
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A Benchmark carved on a building’s wall
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Later in the morning I was able to assist a different
property’s owners in a different way. Since moving to their home over 20 years
ago they had mistakenly assumed that a piece of Victorian “graffiti”, carved on
a stone quoin indicated the date of its construction (i.e. 1830.) To aid my own
curiosity and knowledge, before undertaking surveys, if a building is listed in
the “assets” details as being either C17 or C18 century I make a note on the
survey form. Because of this I was able to inform them that their home
pre-dated this date by around 50 years, placing the building in the Georgian
period. They were fascinated to learn their home was as old as this and being
able to help in this way was a particularly satisfying experience for me.
A regular feature of my blog has been to comment on the
on-going problems of theft and other obstacles to heritage sites in
Lincolnshire and beyond. Not as many reports have appeared recently regarding
roofing lead thefts from churches (though I am certain the problem
persists.)However, threats to heritage sites through other means has emerged
that can seen as equally damaging.
Along with the
increased volume of traffic using our roads, it is reasonable to expect the
incidence of road accidents that effect heritage sites will increase also. During
the past month a C15 market building in Cheddar, Somerset was seriously damaged
after a van crashed into it, whilst within the last year or so, several war
memorials have suffered a similar fate. The damage may not be deliberate, but
ensuring the structures are sympathetically reconstructed involves the will of
communities as well as adequate funding. Compounding the already tight
financial constraints that accompany the maintenance and repair of heritage
sites is the recent revision of rules concerning VAT , announced in the March’s
Budget. Evidently, the improvement and repair of ancient buildings has
previously been exempt from VAT .Since this year’s Budget this exemption no
longer applies. A Daily Telegraph report highlighted problems at Wakefield Cathedral
that are directly caused by the VAT rule changes. The cathedral has a major
repair project that is currently well under way. The Dean’s wife has even
written and performed a “protest song” on the issue and this can be seen by
following link.
The repair work at Wakefield will incur a further £200,00 in
tax duties; a considerable amount in anyone’s estimation. Worryingly for
heritage sites and those who are involved in fund raising, this scenario will
be repeated up and down the country if the VAT revisions remain.
So, whether the threat to historic sites arises from lead
thieves, careless drivers or senior politicians, the need to defend heritage
interests is an ever-present task for all who are concerned in preserving the
assets we now have, for future generations.
Colin, Heritage Steward
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