44 CONTEXT 189 : SEPTEMBER 2026 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 Secular reflections Philip Larkin’s well-known poem Church Going captures his secular reflections on visiting a modest suburban church, and what it means for him and others. On a rather grander scale, I have been fortunate to see the recently completed restoration of Notre Dame in Paris. Like many Context readers I have read and watched a number of TV programmes about the works that have taken place since the fire of 2019. I was particularly intrigued to view the interior, having had the benefit of a number of (mainly favourable) comments from friends and colleagues. Like any large restoration project, it raises a number of philosophical, technical and sustainability issues. My expectations were high, but my visit had a less than auspicious start. A large section of the area in front of the cathedral was taken up with some temporary structures for the Paris Fête du Pain – a celebration of bread making. What could be more French? It meant that pre-booking to visit the cathedral was temporarily cancelled, which meant joining a very long queue. One hour later I was able to enter the cathedral. I joined a slow-moving phalanx of visitors. Midday mass was in progress, and the priest’s amplified voice was fighting a losing battle against the background hum of the circulating tourists. Managing to find a bench to sit on in the north transept, I quietly watched the mass being celebrated by a sea of raised hands pointing their mobile phones towards the altar. I am not religious, but there did seem to be something strangely disrespectful about this intrusion into daily worship. However, there was no pressure to move on, so I could stay for as long as possible, and appreciate the surrounding art and architecture. My previous visit to Notre Dame was many years ago, and my abiding memory was of rather dark forbidding spaces, and priests hushing enthusiastic and voluble visitors. Today, the contrast is quite astounding. The cleaned and restored stonework appears both light and lofty, one’s eyes being forever drawn upwards towards the clerestory and roof. medieval work and Viollet-le-Duc’s 19th-century interventions. There is certainly something to be admired in this almost Japanese approach to authenticity and keeping traditional craftsmanship alive. In philosophical terms, the restoration probably has more in common with the Nara Document on Authenticity (1994) than the SPAB approach. With respect to sustainability, more of a conflict arises. As IHBC president Rebecca Thompson pointed out in a recent article in Conservation Heritage, to maintain ‘authenticity’ around 1,000 oak trees of about 200 years old were felled to provide sufficient timber for the rebuilding of the roof. Can this be justified? I am not sure what the answer is but, barring natural or man-made disasters, that timber should still be doing its job in 200 years’ time. Another controversial aspect of the works, still as I understand it unresolved, is the proposed replacement of a number of windows designed by Viollet-leDuc which were not destroyed in the fire. As a member of the Victorian Society, it is certainly a proposal that I feel uncomfortable with. Returning to Philip Larkin, he observes: ‘From where I stand, the roof looks almost new –/ Cleaned or restored? Someone would know; I don’t’. This almost throwaway line perhaps says it all. As professionals, we may debate the rights and wrongs of different conservation approaches, but for the world at large the restoration of Notre Dame is a joy to behold. David McDonald OBE chair@ihbc.org.uk David McDonald after having received the OBE from the King at Windsor Castle in July On a previous visit to Paris, I went to an exhibition at the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine which featured the work that was being carried out at Notre Dame. It was set out by material and craft. The attention to detail was astounding, from sourcing exactly the right material to working it in traditional fashion, mainly by hand. It was clear that the restoration was to be carried out as accurately as possible. It was attempting to be true to both the
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