CONTEXT 189 : SEPTEMBER 2026 49 46 CONTEXT 186 : DECEMBER 2025 Vox pop John Pendlebury Who has been your greatest inspiration? My friend from school, John Sanders, for many years a partner in Simpson and Brown, conservation architects in Edinburgh. In our 20s we spent many weekends and holidays driving around the country, and occasionally further afield, looking at interesting buildings. He got me into this heritage stuff. What has been your best idea? I feel privileged to have spent nearly 30 years teaching and researching – thinking – about conservation. It has taken me over all the world and introduced me to many amazing places and people. My best idea was probably believing I could do this and do it reasonably well, getting past my imposter syndrome. I have also had some ideas about heritage theory. Oh, and asking the woman who was to become my wife whether she wanted to go ballroom dancing with me. What would you like to have been if you had not become a conservationist? A rock and roll star, of course. More prosaically, I am also a planner and spent a little while in mainstream planning practice before landing in conservation. If the cards had fallen a little differently, I might now have been struggling with, say, meeting housing land allocation targets. How do you reply when at a party someone asks what you do? I don’t get invited to many parties these days, but usually a stumbling explanation about teaching and researching conservation, planning and heritage. What is the biggest frustration in your job? In my former job, something common to many people and work contexts, the incessant creep of bureaucratic processes, mostly well-intentioned, that cumulatively erode the time to do what is really important – in my case teaching and research. More generally, universities are much more professional than they were when I started, fee-paying students rightly demanding more than they often got back then. At the same time, something has been lost, Alison McCandlish I have a long list. The more well known people include Dan Cruickshank, Jonathan Meades, Stuart Maconie and John Grundy; arty people include Danny Gregory, Stella Langdale and Austin Kleon. I am also extremely lucky and grateful to have lovely mentors and supportive colleagues over the years, especially David Lovie, who many Context readers will know. What has been your best idea? Going back to university to do an MA in creative media practice, and scratch my artistic itch to meld heritage, planning and interpretation together. It gave me time and space to explore new things, and rediscover old passions. I’m an eternal student and very much a lifelong learner. What would you like to have been if you had not become a conservationist? When I was little I wanted to be an archaeologist, then a graphic designer, but I thank my work experience project at school for the opportunity to shadow a local authority conservation officer! How do you reply when at a party someone asks what you do? I teach people about buildings and places. What is the biggest frustration in your job? That there are only 24 hours in a day, with not enough time to follow all the fun ideas I have. What would you like to be doing in five years’ time? More of the same, but bigger by connecting more people together – and writing it all up with sketches. What is your favourite building? That one is ridiculously difficult to answer, so instead I am going to make a mashup which would never get planning permission: the art deco landmark grandeur of Kelvin Court in Glasgow; the gothic madness of Strawberry Hill House; the chaotic beauty of Mahabodhi Temple; the unmatched sight of the sun shining through Mount Stuart astrological hall; some Delft tiles; the marble drawing room fireplace from Cragside; furniture from the mouseman of Kilburn,Yorkshire; a door with the Durham Cathedral sanctuary knocker; a Paisley Grand Fountain walrus; and anything with palmettes. Your favourite place? A three-way tie between Glasgow, Newcastle and Bristol, which are the cities I feel most at home in. Your favourite book? John Grundy’s Northern Pride: the very best of northern architecture... from churches to chip shops. His style of writing is fabulously entertaining. What do you do in your spare time? Draw, hide out in nature reserves, follow heritage trails, cycle and lift weights. What organisations are you a member of? IHBC, RTPI, Association of Illustrators, Friend of Glasgow City Heritage Trust and RSPB. I rejoined the Northumberland and Newcastle Society recently as the IHBC annual school reminded me how much I missed that part of the world. Which one issue would you particularly like the IHBC to campaign on? Precarious jobs. I have been able to join my roles together through careful design and a bit of luck, but it is really difficult when funding is time-limited and project-limited. If I could choose two, the other would be bringing conservation to school curriculums as there are so many tangential crossovers. I have had the privilege of volunteering and working with schools for planning and archaeology projects, construction skills projects with further and higher education, and widening participation in my current role. Alison McCandlish is a lecturer of city planning at the University of Glasgow and the incoming chair of the Context editorial board. The Marble Hall at Mount Stuart House, Isle of Bute, designed by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson (Photo: Colin, Wikimedia)
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