Aimée L Felton 2012

9 Chapter One Introduction ONE Chapter One - Introduction One•One Introduction Maintenance has been highlighted as a fundamental element within the concept of conservation since the inception of the ideals and legislation in the nineteenth century. William Morris in 1877 endorsed ‘daily care to stave off decay’ (Dann, Worthing and Bond. 1999:p143) yet despite the rhetoric from the foundation of SPAB in 1897 to the more recent Maintain our Heritage in 2004,maintenance still falls short both in terms of priority and practicalities of most historic building owners. ‘Buildings must be respected, maintained and used under the stewardship of current generations so that future generations can appreciate the importance of the past’ (Bridgewood, B and Lennie, L. 2009:p324) is the common philosophical argument, deploring any method of conservation that does not utilise maintenance as well as appropriate use to help preserve the historic fabric through active maintenance. However, in the twenty eight years since the founding of English Heritage (EH. 2000:p5) where funding and financial incentives for historic buildings have become comparatively readily available,the focus (and funding) predominantly lies with the aptly named ‘glory projects’ with big budgets, rescuing badly deteriorated buildings. In the current climate of increasing public interest in sustainability and the carbon agenda correlating with an increased public interest in heritage and heritage properties, there needs to be an initiative to recontextualise the approach towards maintenance of historic buildings, thus highlighting and recognising the financial, economic and sustainable benefits, of protecting the ‘valuable and irreplaceable commodities’ (Strike, J. 1994:p140). Conservation within the UK is an umbrella term, fostering the development of many smaller movements, all with the fundamental aim of protecting the historic environment.Yet,maintenance fails to be awarded the due recognition and responsibility necessary for a wholesale rethinking - in attitudes and Aimee Felton