Historic Urban Buildings

Historic Urban Buildings and Their Settings
29/11/14 19:07

Nicola Adams
It has long been recognised that rural gardens,
landscapes and estates form an intrinsic part of the
significance and architectural value of the historic
buildings they surround. While the settings of
smaller vernacular buildings may still be
threatened by development and agricultural
onslaughts, there are few country houses or rural
churches whose surrounding landscape is not as
valued and appreciated as the buildings
themselves. In contrast, in urban settings, land
prices and economics almost invariably lead
development ambitions, and even buildings of
Queen Square, Bristol, until

recently a busy main road
national significance can find their surroundings

compromised. Areas that are not recognised as urban parks or gardens or examples
of historic urban planning are often neglected to the detriment of the historic
buildings they surround. The statutory defence afforded by conservation area
protection often only enforces the rule rather than the spirit of the law. Whilst the
buildings themselves are protected, their surrounding spaces, where not officially
regarded as curtilage, often remain under threat.
The importance of setting and urban space around historic buildings is not just a
question of aesthetics. The rich archaeological potential of urban sites is nowhere
more valuable than around those built manifestations of historic urban life which
have survived into modern use. The rigorously defended network of legal
boundaries that have historically defined our cities has promoted the perception of
single, isolated plots, autonomous amongst a city of others, to proliferate and
http://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/urbanbuildings/urbanbuildings.htm
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endure, at the expense of our perception of the whole. In urban developments, even
those based on the conservation of an historic building, there is often little
recognition for the importance of the built remains as the visible upstanding
component of the wider archaeological fabric of the city. Development adjacent to
historic buildings can, at worst, destroy surrounding archaeological remains for
centuries, or at least deny access to them, and the obligatory rescue archaeology or
watching brief can only partially ameliorate the effects.
The battle for recognition of the importance of the setting of urban historic
buildings is being fought every day in planning, project development and financial
meetings in towns and cities across the country by those who recognise that the
special qualities of the historic buildings which we value do not begin and end at the
doorstep. Unfortunately, many of these battles are lost and our architectural and
archaeological heritage is the poorer for it. However, some battles are won and the
buildings in question are given space within which to breathe and an environment
where their qualities can be appreciated.
The following three case studies
illustrate a selection of conservation
projects where the importance of the
open spaces around and between historic
buildings has not only been considered
but has been identified as a driving
factor in the development of the scheme.
At differing stages of completion, they
are offered as examples where, for a
Blakesley Hall, Birmingham, after repairs
combination of reasons such as

enlightened clients and funding bodies
and sympathetic and supportive local
authorities, existing spaces, although
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previously neglected, were reviewed and

recognised as historic assets in their own
right.
BLAKESLEY HALL
The first example is a late Tudor
yeomans house of c1590 and its grounds
at Blakesley, Yardley, near Birmingham.
Blakesley Hall was previously set in its
Blakesley Hall, new visitor facilities
own farmland but only six miles from the

centre of Birmingham, it is now tightly
surrounded by suburban development. The house has been used as a museum since
1935 and its interior has been reinstated to its mid 17th century appearance as
derived from inventories of 1648. However, its visitor potential was restricted by a
lack of parking and visitor facilities, as well as by a lack of secondary exhibition
space. The boundaries to the limited formal gardens that remained were poorly
defined and security was difficult to control. The garden did not clearly respond to
the hall and the adjacent, uninspiring housing scheme compromised views of the
building. To the north, Blakesleys formal gardens are bounded by playing fields
that are held in trust for public amenity, but little used. The existence of this open
space had both detrimental and beneficial effects on the hall. The playing fields
provided a green setting for the hall but the lack of organised use encouraged
vandalism. The gardens provided an attractive setting for the hall and were used for
educational events. However, the perception of the grounds as not wholly selfcontained and the poor definition between the garden and the playing fields
beyond, prevented the full potential of the site being reached.
A project was proposed to provide a further gallery, visitor facilities and improved
education space on the site, with increased parking to accommodate the predicted
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rise in visitor numbers. The brief required the new development to improve the
perception of the space surrounding the hall and to tackle the problems of security
and vandalism that had been identified. At the same time a programme of repairs
were scheduled for the hall itself.
After the consideration of many strategic planning options with the client, a scheme
was developed which included a new building carefully designed to complement the
hall and affirm the boundaries of the garden. This new building is L-shaped in plan
and defines the corner of the rectangular site that is diagonally opposite the hall so
providing the enclosure that the gardens needed. Entrance to the site was relocated
to the heart of the new building giving a sense of arrival and a definite edge between
land belonging to the hall and that of the surrounding suburb. Existing parking
within the hall grounds was relocated and expanded by converting an unused
bowling green on the boundary with the playing fields to a landscaped car parking
area. This enabled a buffer zone to be created between the playing fields and the
hall grounds. The formal gardens were redefined with gravel paths and planting
more in keeping with a 16th century hall. The landscape scheme includes a large
herb garden and fenced boundaries that have been planted with native hedge
species.
QUEEN SQUARE, BRISTOL

Queen Square, which dates from c1699, was the first residential square to be laid
out outside London, and is lined with a number of 18th century listed buildings
including the Custom House of c1710. Despite its importance, the square was
radically changed in the 1936 when a major arterial road was redirected diagonally
across it. The quality of the space and the graceful setting of the listed buildings
were severely affected by the intrusion of high levels of traffic and the condition of
the square declined; many buildings of considerable architectural quality stood
unlet and unmaintained. The poor regard within which this urban space was held
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had a direct negative effect on the fate of the adjacent historic buildings which were
neglected through lack of occupation and commercial interest.
In 1992 a scheme generated by the local planning department and backed by
English Heritage was instigated which implemented the removal of both the arterial
road across the square and the accompanying bus routes. The square was restored
to its former layout of diagonal walks of c1776. The scheme, now in its final phase
involving details such as the reinstatement of former boundary walls, railings and
gates to original designs, has improved the quality of this important civic space and
restored its former gentility. An air of prosperity, which was inherent to the square
at the time of its construction for a group of rich Bristol merchants, has now
returned. Occupation of the surrounding buildings is now almost complete and the
benefits to the conservation and maintenance of the buildings can begin to be
observed.
ROWLEY'S HOUSE, SHREWSBURY

Conservation plans are the most
common means by which the
significance of the urban spaces around
historic buildings is now identified. If
the context of an historic building is not
to be neglected, it is essential that its
importance is fully identified, and
conservation plans aim to achieve this.
Rowley's House, Shrewsbury, isolated from
Shrewsbury's medieval core
This principle has been recognised in

the Conservation Plan and Feasibility
Study for Shrewsbury Museum and Art
Gallery, known locally as Rowleys House. The building is a combination of an early

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17th century mansion and a warehouse and has been the site of Shrewsburys main
museum since the 1930s. The museum is in the centre of what was the medieval
merchant quarter of the town. Both structures were originally restricted in their
design by the densely occupied streetscape in which they were constructed.
However, both warehouse and mansion are magnificent examples of 17th century
design and craftsmanship. After a programme of inter-war slum clearance the
building now stands isolated surrounded by a desert of tarmac-covered car-parking
space.
When the adjacent buildings were demolished, the remaining space was left
undeveloped and was used as a bus terminus before its present incarnation as a car
park. The area around the museum is now rundown and in need of regeneration.
The building itself is unable to accommodate the varied demands made on modern
museums. Desktop archaeological assessments have identified the open space
around the museum as of considerable interest, an asset which to date has been
ignored.
A conservation plan has been prepared which reinforces the need for the building to
be considered within the context of its site and re-evaluates the relationship
between standing and buried archaeology. At present, the museum is strangely
dislocated from its surroundings and stands aloof from the remaining medieval
street pattern that re-asserts itself beyond the car park boundary. A feasibility study
has also been prepared which identifies ways in which the site could be redeveloped
to enhance the museums facilities whilst weaving Rowleys House back into
Shrewsburys urban grain. The proposed scheme respects the need for public open
space whilst giving structure and definition to the area, replacing the soulless
wasteland that presently exists. It is hoped that such consideration of Rowleys
House as one artefact amongst a town full of others, both tangible and hidden, will
result in development which restores both a much needed sense of place and a
historic dialogue between structure and space.
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If urban space is to respond to the historic and contemporary buildings that define
it, as illustrated at Blakesley and Queen Square and recommended at Rowleys
House, our perceptions of buildings as autonomous units must be broken down.
Just as historians have moved on from event-based study and archaeologists from
concentration upon monuments and features, those responsible for the built
environment must broaden their understanding and input beyond the boundaries
of their sites and consider the spaces between buildings and the city beyond. The
complex web of continuous human occupation that our cities represent, is defined
equally by both the solids and the voids of which they are made. Valliant protection
of the former should not neglect the latter if urban complexity and vitality is to be
maintained.
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Historic Urban Buildings

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Historic Urban Buildings and Their Settings