Heritage values
It is not often that people take to the street to protect their heritage. The last time that happened, as far as Sherds can recall, was in August 2002, when ‘Save Our Ship’ campaigners mounted a 24-hour vigil to stop workmen getting access to the site of the Newport ship until the City Council agreed to let archaeologists rescue the remains (see CA 184).
Another round-the-clock guard was mounted last month at the site of the demolished Crooked House pub in Himley, Staffordshire – this time to frustrate workers who were planning to clear the site of demolition debris. Protestors took literally the call by Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, for the pub to be rebuilt ‘brick by brick’.
What can we learn from this unhappy episode? Perhaps the most vital lesson for heritage professionals concerns the criteria for designating buildings for protection against demolition. The Crooked House was not listed, and probably could not have been on the basis of architectural or historical interest. It is true that the original building, called Oak Farm, dated from 1765, but that farmhouse had undergone numerous interventions to make it safe and habitable once it began to subside, and the roof and first floor had already been rebuilt following fire damage in 1986.
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