Outreach, Training and Guidance

Outreach

Frampton – red-brick development of the 1970s, laid out around cul de sacs and predominantly low rise The South Acton Project

English Heritage is involved in a number of built environment research initiatives that involve community participation and this is something we are keen to promote further. The South Acton Project is a particularly interesting example of this approach. South Acton, in the London Borough of Ealing, has one of the largest post-war housing estates in west London, exhibiting a rich and typical variety of buildings from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, all arising from a programme of ‘comprehensive redevelopment’ that involved clearance of late-19th-century terraces that had been labelled slums. The result is a mixture of high- and low-rise flats in a mature landscape, with great variety of appearance and quality in both the architecture and the spaces in between. In 1996, faced with high maintenance costs and a backlog of repairs, the local authority began to plan ‘comprehensive regeneration’. A tower block has been demolished and more are earmarked for demolition and replacement with new low-rise homes. There are few buildings of outstanding historic and architectural interest, nor enough to warrant conservation area designation. Despite this some members of the local community led by the South Acton Residents’ Action Group (SARAG) strongly believe that there is something here worth keeping, and that not everything is wrong about the place. They would like to see the history and character of South Acton’s built environment articulated before the next attempt at a fresh start is too advanced.

Consequently, at the request of SARAG and the Ealing Civic Society, English Heritage agreed to undertake a study aiming to characterise the historical and architectural development of South Acton. This research project aims to understand and make better known details of how the neighbourhood came to have its present form, using building analysis, documentary research and oral history – to help local people to gain a more historically based sense of place, and to provide a record for posterity of what South Acton is like now. New approaches to the historical analysis of post-war housing are needed and for this South Acton presents an excellent and timely opportunity.

An English Heritage investigator and photographer are working alongside a team from Fluid, community engagement consultants, who are working closely with local residents to document oral histories of a range of defining memories of the neighbourhood. This side of the project seeks to discover what people feel is of value and significance in South Acton’s built environment, aiming to draw out a range of views and relate them to other findings. The study will not make recommendations about the future. It will focus on what has happened, not on what should happen, though, of course, understandings of the past always inform attitudes to the future.

Training

Changes to the planning regime, particularly designation, will lead to an increased demand for professionals with the appropriate training. Both the Government and English Heritage recognise that more resources must be devoted to training to equip people with the skills to carry out analysis, interpretation and recording.

We are reviewing our programme of outreach and training to ensure that it delivers the maximum benefits for the sector as a whole. More information on out training programmes will appear on the website in due course.

Revised guidance for the recording of historic buildings

The Survey and Investigation teams in English Heritage have considerable experience in the investigation, research and recording of historic buildings, but much activity in this field is undertaken in the private, academic and voluntary sectors.  English Heritage aims to make its expertise available, where appropriate, in the form of published guidance.  In particular it wishes to set standards for the production of historic building records, the quality of which is crucial to the success of conservation schemes.  The document entitled Understanding Historic Buildings: Principles of Good Recording Practice, supersedes guidance last issued by the former Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England in 1996.  It was prepared in consultation with a variety of professional and other organisations, including ALGAO, CBA, IFA, IHBC and the National Trust.

The emphasis on ‘principles’ reflects the very real complexity of contemporary recording.  The approaches best suited to a medieval timber frame, to an 18th-century country house and to a 20th-century industrial complex are likely to be very different.  Similarly the particular needs of a major conservation project will differ from those of a thematic study of a building type or area.  The underlying principles of the work should be fundamentally the same, however, and centre on the marshalling of analytical and recording techniques in pursuit of understanding.  The document sets out to identify these principles at the same time as giving clear advice on related topics and techniques.  It will also retain the existing set of architectural drawing conventions, which are of particular value in tailoring architectural drawings to the needs of historical understanding.