18 CONTEXT 184 : JUNE 2025 years as a thespian, and it was this training in timing and delivery that helped him to become a consummate speaker and conversationalist. After spells in architectural practice in the private sector, John joined the Ministry of Public Buildings and Work’s Ancient Monuments Division in 1969 as research architect in the special services branch. There he worked closely with scientists at the Building Research Station (BRS) later becoming the Building Research Establishment (BRE), on stone preservation. It was here that he developed a lifelong passion for the material and for conserving ancient monuments, particularly ruins. That was a time when he and his colleagues from London were treated like royalty when they arrived on sites. One of the workmen was usually delegated to be on hand to open their car door when they arrived and left. Over the years, though, John spent time talking to a great many of the directly employed labour teams and fully earned their trust and respect. He also worked on iconic roofed buildings, such as the Royal Palaces, the Tower of London and the Royal Hospital. Already his expertise was such that he was brought in to serve on the advisory committee for the groundbreaking conservation work at the west front of Wells Cathedral (1974–1986), where Robert Baker’s lime-based repair methods were being used on statuary alongside more controversial preservative techniques devised by John Larsen and Kenneth Hempel from the Victoria and Albert Museum. John’s willingness to embrace new technologies stemmed from his work in the 1960s, building on the early testing by the BRS on stone preservatives. This ultimately led to the trials that he carried out on brethane, an alkoxysilane devised by Cliff Price at the BRE for consolidating decaying stone, which could polymerise at depth. These trials were highly controversial as many in the conservation field, led by the SPAB, were firmly against the use of these alien inorganic materials. A revisit to some of the trial sites 40 years later showed that brethane was still performing extremely well on very friable clunch, unlike more conventional treatments. But it was his work with traditional materials that was so helpful to many practitioners struggling with the dearth of good technical literature. Mortars, Plasters and Renders, published by the Ecclesiastical Architects and Surveyors Association in 1983, was particularly influential and beneficial to many who were trying to persuade clients and contractors who were dubious about moving away from the use of cements. The Ancient Monuments Division went through various iterations over the next 20 years until it morphed into the newly created English Heritage in 1983. John now led the Research and Technical Advisory Services (RTAS), which included a dozen individuals including architects, conservators, masons and ironsmiths. Among the many achievements of this team, perhaps the best remembered will be the Practical Building Conservation series of five handbooks that were published in 1988/9, becoming bestsellers worldwide. These were based on John’s technical notes which he wrote for internal use, and their delivery owes much to his team, particularly Iain McCaig and Nicola Ashurst. John’s passion for stone as the premier building material meant that he mixed with a wide cross-section of leading lights. These included conservation architects such as Donovan Purcell, who was instrumental in establishing the Standing Joint Committee on Natural Stones (which Ashurst chaired), quarry owners, masons, conservators and geologists. He was highly regarded by members of the Stone Federation, which was helpful when dealing with contentious issues over repair or John Ashurst at ICCROM (Intergovernmental Centre for Studies in the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Property) in Rome, where he lectured on a number of masonry courses over the years. (Photo: Jeanne-Marie Teutonico) The Practical Building Conservation series were based on John Ashurst’s best practice notes, initially produced for colleagues at the Department of the Environment (Directorate of Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings) and English Heritage. (Photo by Chris Wood)
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