Context 181

6 CONTEXT 181 : SEPTEMBER 2024 that exemplary conservationled restoration can revive even the most broken and neglected historic building if the vision, energy and willpower are there. In the second article, ‘Back to the Future’, Hugh Petter, director of ADAM Urbanism and Adam Architecture, explores how smaller-scale examples of development of the Georgian era could influence building today. This may have particular resonance for those struggling with the current obsession for planning authority-imposed pattern books, masterplanning and design codes, while looking at the practicalities of applying the current building regulations, and implications for materials and construction. Finally, the eighth instalment of the series on authentic historic details, drawn from the Charles Brookings Collection, illustrates in colour many Georgian front doors. It may prove useful for those who lack a clear understanding of what genuine Georgian patterns involve. In a column of this kind, it is sometimes difficult to do justice to substantial yearly publications. But particular attention should be drawn to the annual Journal of Historic Buildings and Places (Vol 3, 2024), which has five articles and runs to 198 pages overall. Similarly, the Georgian Group Journal (Vol 32, 2024) has 16 articles and runs to a remarkable 274 pages. Both highlight one of the significant benefits of membership to these national amenity societies. Journal of Historic Buildings and Places The content of the Journal of Historic Buildings and Places tends to reflect its wide statutory remit, covering buildings of all ages and types. This issue includes an insightful review by Colin Thom, director of the Survey of London (see page 20 of this issue of Context) on the survey’s creation; its past activities within London County Council; its survival after the demise of the GLC; its present home at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London; and its future direction and activities, including how to bring its valuable work to a wider audience. Considering its ubiquity, there should perhaps be a wide audience for the understanding of the contribution of early Victorian Tudor gothic to domestic architecture. This is the title of a tellingly illustrated article by Anthony Jennings, who discusses, over nearly 30 pages, the evolution from the medieval house to a domestic revival through to the present day. This often encountered but imperfectly understood architectural style provided long-lasting templates from the 1830s and 40s, with implications for the English house having influence elsewhere. The author also discusses the perfection of gothic and the influence of a range of pattern books that emerged between 1831 and 1836. In this issue, Patrick Newberry, an authority on the architecture of Cornwall, discusses at length and illustrates the work of James Piers St Aubyn (1815-95). St Aubyn was deemed in his time to be a successful architect with nearly 400 buildings to his credit, but he was vilified in the 20th century for adopting a heavy-handed approach to restoration and the repair of historic churches. Reflecting the wide remit of Historic Buildings and Places, the journal also contains an inquiry by Victoria Watson, co-convenor of the Design Practices Research Group at the University of Westminster, into the architectural identity of Herzog and de Meuron, with reference to Tate Modern, London, and the Museum of the Twentieth Century, Berlin, and the practice being notable for having no signature style. Georgian Group Journal Most of the articles in the Georgian Group Journal (2024) relate to research, discoveries and insights relating to specific buildings. But one in particular deserves to be highlighted, as it may lead to wider reflection on the genesis of the conservation movement. This is Tom Goodwin’s reflection on conservation as reflected in the

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