Conservation Principles, Policy & Guidance for Heritage Forged & Cast Ironwork

A NHIG project under development

FORUM - Deveopment Stage 2

 

WHAT: Conservation Policy for Heritage Ironwork

WHEN: 10am to 4pm Sunday 12th February 2012

WHERE: Rural Crafts Centre on the Holme Lacy Campus, Holme Lacy, Hereford, Herefordshire, HR2 6LL


Following the successful and popular conservation policy forum at Leatherhead we have developed the policy with a ‘guidance’ section in accordance following constructive feedback from you and others. It has also been peer reviewed, led by the National Trust and English Heritage.

 

We now invite everyone who is interested in heritage ironwork to get involved and help refine the guidance on working practices.

 

ATTENDANCE: Is open to anyone who is interested in heritage ironwork but due to the need to prepare documents for those attending please register you intention to attend with the NHIG Secretary

REFRESHMENTS: Complementary tea & coffee will be available THANKS to sponsorship from John Bellamy. Please, however, bring your own mug and packed lunch.

 

CONTACT: Bethan Griffiths, NHIG Secretary, M: 07941127024  E: info@nhig.org.uk

                      For all questions and those registering for the forum

FORUM INFO: At the forum there will be a draft which will have been prepared, ready for discussion and agreement, of the core principles and additional guidance to the sixteen points compiled under ‘Good Practise’ at the last forum. This is intended to enhance understanding of how ‘Good Practice’ needs to be considered in order to strengthen the credibility and consistency of decisions taken in restoration work using the following:


1.       Understanding of significance

2.       Retention of as much existing material as possible (incl. reversibility)

3.       Use of techniques and materials as originally used

4.       New material should be identifiable (incl. signed & date stamps)

5.       Parts and materials that cannot be re-used (incl. tagging & recording)

6.       Improvement of immediate environment

7.       Relocation to a less destructive environment

8.       Protection of surfaces (incl. paint sample analysing & recording)

9.       Use of additional materials or structure (incl. for strength and support)

10.   Use of replicas

11.   Planned maintenance

12.   Selection and proper training of suitable practitioners

13.   Detailed Recording (incl. of the object and decision-making processes & outcomes)

14.   Comprehensive written maintenance schedules and operation guidelines

15.   Thorough periodic inspection

16.   Specification of all stages of work in accordance with good conservation practice (incl. terms & conditions of contract & method statements)

 

AGENDA; This will be emailed immediately prior to the forum to all those who have registered their interest in attending. It will also be made available here on the NHIG web site.

REQUEST FOR SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS AND IMAGES

We urgently require copies of documents (specifications, guidance notes, or examples) which you like to work with that can be used to develop the ‘Good Practice’ points above. In addition case studies are critical to understanding the implication of the core principles of conservation and as such we require images (of good and bad practise/techniques), preferably with a one line explanation/caption. These will be used to compile a brief slide-show for discussion at Forum.

 

IMAGE NOTE; they need to be supplied as JPEGs either via email or on a memory stick by 10am on the day. We suggest that up to four per participant would be appropriate but if you would like to send more then please discuss this with us first.

FUNDED for DEVELOPMENT STAGE 2 BY:
BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT

 

VISION BEHIND THIS PROJECT

The term ‘Conservation’, within the field of heritage conservation, is generally accepted as meaning the preservation, protection, care and restoration of our cultural heritage…..but the question we the National Heritage Ironwork Group are asking is ‘how does this translate into good practice for heritage ironwork?’

 

The aim of this project is to answer this question by developing a Conservation Policy for Heritage Forged & Cast Ironwork, which will in addition be:

  • The first comprehensive statement that has been prepared specifically for historic decorative forged ironwork.
  • Practical in nature in order that it is accessible to all who are involved with the care of ironwork including not only professional specifiers but also importantly custodians and practitioners alike.

 

The creation of this document is important as surprisingly, ironwork is the one area of conservation where no specific codes of practice exist. This policy is therefore much needed to assist in the sharing of good practice and the raising of standards for the preservation, protection, care and restoration of heritage ironwork.

 

However, there exist well established ‘general’ conservation principles which guide all conservation work within the UK. As such NHIG is not working in isolation and any policy created will of course be in line with any overriding principles. However, the problem that NHIG wish to address is two-fold;

 

  1. Conservation principles in themselves are not the problem; instead it is the ‘interpretation’ of these to the practical conservation of forged ironwork where both understanding of conservation principles and specialist knowledge of the craft are needed. What NHIG is aiming to do is provide the much needed guidance on the interpretation of the ‘general’ into actionable decisions which are appropriate and proportionate in scope and depth to the decision being made, or the purpose of the assessment.
  2. Although conservation principles are available they are not promoted to the practitioners of forged ironwork; blacksmiths. This leaves the still unanswered question to the majority of smiths of ‘where to find them?’

 

What the NHIG want is something that is widely available within our craft and while we’re at it something which is also specific to the work we do. A guide that is readily understandable to any blacksmith that picks it up.

 

The need for this was first identified by the National Heritage Training Group in their ‘Skills Needs Analysis of the UK Built Heritage Sector’ report in 2008. Understanding that professionals have a fundamental role in the care of our built heritage, they discovered extensive knowledge gaps ‘particularly regarding the appreciation and application of conservation principles’. They also openly admitted that ‘access’ is a contributing problem by recommending the need to ‘improve access to authoritative advice and guidance relating to traditional skills and materials’. Preceding this was another recommendation whereby they acknowledge certain information gaps by claiming a need to ‘establish and propagate standards of best practice.’ The NHIG not only agree with them but want to do something positive about it by creating their own Conservation Policy suitable for use by custodians, specifiers and practitioners alike.

CONSERVATION PRINCIPLES OVERVIEW

Before creating a NHIG Conservation Policy the first thing to understand is where it fits within the world of conservation. For ease of clarification the mainstream & statutory sources of conservation principles in the UK can be viewed as a hierarchy of the following four groups;

 

  1. International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS): Although there may not be many direct references to this charter within specifications it is good to know about it as, due to its international standing, it sits right at the top with its principles generally adopted in the UK.
  2. Central Government: Our government of course directly controls what happens within the UK working through the names we commonly know of; English Heritage, Cadw & Historic Scotland. All these carry enormous weight when it comes to legislation and guidance.

          a.       Legislation: this provides the core framework within which the principles are applied.

          b.      Policy, Guidance & Advice: this is generally produced and published directly by English Heritage, Cadw & Historic Scotland.

  3.     Local Authorities; Making sure the policies are implemented by authorising consent on work to listed buildings. It should also be noted that

          planning departments also publish policies and guidance.

  4.     Amenity Societies (Professional Bodies, Associations, etc): This is where the NHIG sits. These organisations are not listed last because they are

          less important but because their role is advisory. Many publish principles and as a philosophy of conservation these are still important. As such

          the work of expertise of advisory groups has the potential of ‘informing’ and giving feedback to government policy.

 

There are however other influential sources which fall outside of the above simplified view most noticeably;

 

  • British Standard BS 7913:1998: This may be referred to in specifications.
  • Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF): While HLF generally adopt ICOMOS principles they also make other additions for example, ‘accessibility’ (in the widest possible sense). Their mention here is because of the prevalence of the HLF in many important conservation projects where they set the terms of the grant.

 

Working within and in accordance with this framework of legislation & guidance NHIG’s ambition, from its position as an advisory group, is to research and consult with the heritage ironwork sector in order to develop and eventually publish specific guidelines for the restoration of forged ironwork.

OVERALL STRATEGY

The overall strategy for carrying out this project is in line with the general operating system of the NHIG (click here to learn more about how we operate). A discussion document will be researched and compiled by a NHIG ‘Conservation Policy Working Group’ based on existing and established guidelines. This proposal will then enter a consultation programme with the heritage sector after which it will be reviewed and developed as necessary prior to further consultation. At appropriate stages within the process a recognised peer review panel will be asked to reassess the outcomes which will lead to either further consultation or acceptance of the work completed to date. In this way NHIG’s aim is to work together with the sector in order to ensure their work is both an accurate representation of the heritage sector as a whole as well as being aligned with existing legislation and guidance.

 

This programme has been designed around key development stages in such a way that each has its own specific outcomes which add to and build upon the previous work including the following;

DEVELOPMENT STAGE 1

This stage has been completed has provided a discussion document for the over-arching philosophical framework of what conservation means and also the framework within which a logical approach to decisions over practical conservation can be made.

 

This first draft of the Conservation Policy discussion document is split into the following three chapters;

 

  1. 1.     Core Principles; provide a comprehensive framework for the sustainable management of the historic environment, within which our specialism of heritage forged ironwork falls.
  2. 2.     Good Practice; summarises the policies that guide decision making. While some policies have a close relationship to particular principles it is important that all the policies are interpreted in the framework of the ‘Core Principles’ as a whole.
  3. 3.     Definitions; a precise statement of what a word or expression means in order that the meaning is clear and unambiguous

 

This document was introduced and presented to the sector at a forum on 10th July 2010. Following this it was updated in light of the forum’s outcomes and a mail shot sent out to announce it was available to view on the NHIG website in order to update the sector and invite comment (click here to view the record of the meeting and origninal draft of the Conservation Policy).

 

The document was also put forward for peer review by a panel organised by Rory Cullen, Head of Buildings for the National Trust, working in liaison with English Heritage. The comments from this review have been encouraging as not only has it confirmed NHIG is on the right track but that we have endorsement of what we are attempting to achieve.

DEVELOPMENT STAGE 2 (current stage under development)

This stage comprises of the Conservation Policy Working Group updating the discussion document and preparing for a second forum by;

 

  1. Developing in relation to the feedback from the peer review.
  2. Compiling additional ‘guidance’ in order to enhance understanding of how the points under best practice need to be considered in order to strengthen the credibility and consistency of decisions taken. The approach to the guidance is the same as the policy overall (i.e. it is not about the minute detail but rather an overview guide) and is envisaged to require between 30 and 300 words for each of the sixteen points listed under good practise.
  3. Collecting supporting material (specifications, guidance notes, examples, templates or images) which can be used to at the consultation forums to either support the ‘Good Practice’ section or as case studies to understand the implication of the ‘Core Principles’ of conservation. (see request for supporting documents & images at top of page)

 

At the forum not only will the new additions and changes be discussed and debated following which the amended and updated document will be presented to the peer review panel for comments, recommendations and, all being well, endorsement.

FURTHER DEVELOPMENT

Further development work includes;

  • Consultations; Remembering that we have started almost from scratch, it is difficult to be exact about how many consultations, forums and reviews will take place. However, at the same time the work can be easily and clearly broken down into manageable stages with distinct outcomes in exactly the same way that all stages of the project have been developed to date. The aims, objectives and outcomes of any further consultations will be clarified prior to commencement.
  • Publication; Although completed documents will be available through the NHIG web site there is a need for the final NHIG Conservation Principles, Policy & Guidance to be professionally published and distributed.
  • Publicity; there will need to be a continued effort to publicise the NHIG Conservation Principles, Policies and Guidance document to make sure it is fulfilling the need and purpose it has been created for.
  • Periodic Reviews; to keep up to date and aligned with conservation legislation and guidance the NHIG Conservation Principles, Policies and Guidance will need to be periodically reviewed.

OUTCOMES

Overall this project helps identify and clarify the necessary skills and knowledge to care for ironwork and as such, at the very least, enhances the ability of the sector to discuss, evaluate and share good practice. The intended overall outcome is the publication of conservation guidelines for historic forged & cast ironwork suitable for use by custodians, specifiers & practitioners alike.

 

In particular a NHIG Conservation Principles, Policy and Guidance document will;

  • Be specific to ironwork, the first time in the history of conservation that a comprehensive statement has been prepared specifically for ironwork.
  • Be practical in nature and therefore accessible to practitioners.
  • Provide the much-needed and long-overdue guidance for specifiers.
  • Be developed by the industry itself, so be authoritive and widely accepted.
  • Raise standards of work on heritage ironwork.

 

Conservation principles form the foundations on which ‘Good Practise’ can be built and as such the significance of their role within NHIG’s aim to secure the future of our rich heritage of ironwork should not be underestimated. The outcomes of this project will not only have considerable impact on progressing towards the achievement of the NHIG’s aims and objectives but also will assist all concerned with the care of heritage ironwork.

FUNDING TO DATE

Development Stage 1: Members of the NHIG Conservation Policy Working Group

Development Stage 2: The Worshipful Co of Ironmongers with match funding by the Members of the NHIG Conservation Policy Working Group

Peer Reviews: In addition to the NHIG investment the costs of the peer review panel have been, and will continue to be, covered by the Heritage Association the reviewer represents.

ESSENTIAL FUNDING REQUIRED

Although off to a promising start due to the dedication of a small group of volunteers this significant project needs additional funds to make its progress not only sustainable but also achievable by those involved. The NHIG ‘Conservation Policy Working Group’ urgently needs funds to progress the work required on the further development as outlined as without funding serious progression is unlikely.

 

NHIG trust that the investment by its members to date demonstrates their commitment to achieving a successful completion to this work…..and if NHIG is successful in raising funds they will be able to do just that!

 

Please contact the secretary of the NHIG if you believe you can help with funding this project.

 

As a not-for-profit group all donations will go directly to funding the project, delivering the project successfully and creating a sustainable future for the project and NHIG.

FUNDING for DEVELOPMENT STAGE 2 BY: