Northwold Manor Reborn: Architecture, archaeology and restoration of a derelict Norfolk house

This article is from Current Archaeology issue 416

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REVIEW BY WILL FLETCHER

This is a charming book. It features the conservation of a fine Grade II*-listed English vernacular building, situated in rural Norfolk. In total, the 13 chapters and appendices describe the building, its history, the former occupants, the periods of change (both growth and decline), and then the conservation of the building.

The first part of the book covers the location, architectural, and ownership history, and the second half brings to life the struggle to save the building, and the careful, painstaking conservation works carried out by the authors. Overall, it is very well produced and illustrated; the sheer quantity and choice of maps, images, plans, and photographs is excellent.

This book reminds me of Mick Aston’s Shapwick project, which put ordinary people’s stories at the heart of a village’s history. As a building’s history is often marked out by those who have lived and worked in it, this all-encompassing approach to a single building is similarly revealing. The search for the legacy and marks of the former owners, builders, and crafts involved in creating the original building is perhaps the most-interesting section.

We should also, perhaps, acknowledge that this work is not exceptional, because this building’s story could be replicated in many villages and small towns across rural England. Buildings with riches of architectural and social history are present in many communities, and are part and parcel of the English vernacular tradition. This adds to this book’s significance, as it resonates across the country. 

 The book does, however, demonstrate the owners’ remarkable commitment to documenting and exploring change. This has provided a rare and unusual book that documents the fortunes of former owners, alongside changes in architectural style across the ages. The chapters on conservation are highly detailed, and the approach to both the conservation processes and to documenting that work is exemplary. The passion of the owners for the process of renewal shines through in every page, and their joy in the building is evident and affirming. This book should therefore appeal to historians and conservation specialists alike.

Northwold Manor Reborn: Architecture, archaeology and restoration of a derelict Norfolk house
Warwick Rodwell
Oxbow, £44
ISBN 979-8888571347