CONTEXT 188 : JUNE 2026 43 42 CONTEXT 186 : DECEMBER 2025 Notes from the chair Great railway journeys It is appropriate that as we celebrate 200 years of railway history this year, this issue of Context includes an article about our railway heritage by Simon Hickman (see page 19). For my part, I would like to share my appreciation of railway architecture. Recently I booked a return ticket from London to Inverness, a relatively regular journey for me to visit family in the Scottish Highlands. At 581 miles and taking eight hours, it is the longest rail journey without a change in the UK. Apart from the obvious distractions of books, magazines, internet and downloads, to make the journey easier, I delight in looking out the window, appreciating the changing landscape and the numerous towns and villages. But my principal enjoyment is in the architecture of the stations en route. The first of these is Kings Cross station before I get on the train. Its twin functional arches expressed on the front elevation in London stock brick form a dramatic contrast with George Gilbert Scott’s highly ornate red brick St Pancras frontage. Also to be admired is the extension of the station by John McAslan and Partners for ticket hall shops and refreshment facilities, which involved the demolition of a rather utilitarian 1960s extension at the front of the station to create a generous public forecourt. The new work also allowed the original train shed to be decluttered. The first stop on the journey is York, another impressive station structure made more dramatic by being set on a curve. An even tighter bend in the railway line can be appreciated at Newcastle, which is made even more dramatic by the high-level approach across the Tyne and views of the other bridges. I should not omit the slightly downat-heel but delightfully functional red brick train shed at Darlington. On a much more modest scale, and much further north, I am always intrigued by Gleneagles station, which serves the famous hotel nearby. The station has been restored but lacks the activity once associated with it. Unusually, the London-to-Inverness train still stops there. It is easy to imagine earlier days, with gentlemen in their tweed jackets and plus fours being assisted by porters to carry their luggage and golf clubs to a waiting cab. Before I get carried away (not literally), I should mention the IHBC’s journey towards chartered status. As readers will be aware, the institute has had approval from the Privy Council Office to submit a Petition for Charter. This has been widely publicised in IHBC NewsBlogs and in an explanatory note included with the last issue of Context and the 2025 Yearbook. There is no need for me to repeat that here, but to note that, as I write, we are working towards the next stages to progress the Petition for Charter. It is important to keep our members involved as much as possible, and to that end we will be seeking their endorsement to proceed with the Petition for Charter to the Privy Council Office at our next AGM on 7 January 2026. I would urge all members to attend the online event. Returning to railway journeys, I should also mention my trip earlier in the year to the IHBC Annual School in Shrewsbury, the theme of which was ‘Heritage in Context’. It was perhaps not as spectacular as the journey to Inverness, but it included a change of train at Crewe, the north west’s impressive railway junction. I was privileged to be able to chair the morning session of the Friday Day School. In common with recent schools, it was a hybrid event, and for me a highly enjoyable one. We had some inspiring and thought-provoking speakers, and excellent local tours. I was particularly impressed by the work that Historic England and English Heritage have carried out to renovate and bring back into use the Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings. My thanks should go to all those involved in organising the annual school, including IHBC staff and the west midlands branch. The Flaxmill Maltings, as many readers will be aware, was built at the end of the eighteenth century to spin flax thread, but by the end of the nineteenth century it had become uneconomic due to cheaper imports of cotton. The mill was then repurposed to produce malt for the brewing industry – an early example of adaptive re-use of an existing industrial building, and highly sustainable. It was only on returning from Shrewsbury that it occurred to me that the history of the Flaxmill Maltings leads very neatly into the theme of 2026’s IHBC Annual School in Newcastle which is ‘Adaptive Re-use’. With issues around sustainable development and embodied energy becoming more important, the 2026 school promises to be an essential CPD event. And, of course, it will be an excuse for me to embark on another railway journey from Kings Cross. David McDonald, chair@ihbc.org.uk Boxing clever A K6 telephone box, located appropriately at Soane’s Dulwich Picture Gallery (Photo: David McDonald) This issue of Context with its listing theme gives me the opportunity to tell again my well-worn story about saving our traditional red telephone boxes. In the late 1980s British Telecom (BT) decided that the 1930s telephone kiosks, designed by Giles Gilbert Scott and with a roof shape inspired by Sir John Soane, should be replaced by a more up-to-date model. As a statutory undertaker, BT did not need permission to remove them. Despite some vigorous lobbying, it was determined to progress with the proposals. Seeing the speed of what was going on, I and other conservation officers decided that the only way to ensure their survival was to serve building preservation notices (BPNs). Cutting a long story short, the BPN action was successful and many of the iconic red telephone boxes remain. It was the one and only time that I could claim to, in the language of journalists everywhere, ‘slap a preservation notice’ on a number of structures. I will return to telephone kiosks later, but it is worth noting that back in the day, many local authorities were reluctant to serve a BPN because of provisions under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, which under certain circumstances allowed building owners to claim compensation if the listing were not confirmed by the secretary of state. In one of the more useful sections of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2024, that provision was removed. Hopefully that will give local planning authorities more confidence in serving BPNs in appropriate circumstances. Serving a BPN requires not only political commitment and legal skills, but also knowledgeable and skilled conservation staff to advise. I am pleased to say that the IHBC is continuing to support conservation skills. Following a successful Parliamentary reception in November, which has been extensively reported in our NewsBlogs, we launched our five commitments to help heritage skills in conservation. This has been followed by an inspiring IHBC Council meeting in April, in which we heard a number of presentations demonstrating how conservation staff in local planning authorities are improving the services they provide. I was particularly impressed by a video link to an interview hosted by
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