Swindon in Wiltshire is faced with a dilemma: what to do with the stones of a Victorian Romano Classical portico from the town’s Baptist Tabernacle that was taken down more than 40 years ago.
The stones of the portico are currently languishing under a ramp in a refuse recycling yard, but whenever someone suggests a way of rebuilding the portico, others seem to object to it.
The latest proposal is that the portico should front a new art gallery in the town and a website is proposed to ascertain public opinion.
The story of the Bath stones of the portico goes back to 1978, when Sir John Betjeman, Nikolaus Pevsner and the Victorian Society petitioned the Department of the Environment to prevent the demolition of the stone-built temple erected in 1886 as the Baptist Tabernacle in Swindon, Wiltshire. Sir John Betjeman said the building was as important to Swindon as St Martin in the Fields is to London.
However, the Secretary of State at the time, Labour’s Peter Shore, decided not to intervene and the Tabernacle was demolished to make-way for a mixed use development incorporating a new smaller Baptist church known as the Pilgrim Centre. But the stone of the Portico was dismantled and sold.
It was originally going to be rebuilt as the front of a grand mansion being proposed at that time, but planning permission for that house could not be obtained. The stones were sold on to another wealthy individual who also intended to build a mansion but, again, planning permission was refused. The stones were eventually purchased by Swindon Borough Council in 2006.
In 2008 it was proposed that the portico should be rebuilt on a site adjacent to its original location as a feature of an art gallery that was a Section 106 condition of a new shopping centre, the Modus, that was being developed. But in 2009, as the full effects of the credit crunch banking crisis started to be felt, Modus Swindon Ltd was put into receivership and the shopping centre scheme shelved.
Swindon Borough Council continues to moot ideas for the re-use of the Portico, but without a strategy based on conservation principles, such schemes are unlikely to succeed or stand-up to scrutiny, says Michael Gray, BA(Hons)(ARCH)Dip Arch RIBA, who has written a dissertation about the stones of the portico for a Masters Degree in the Conservation of Historic Buildings he is working towards.
He says he is currently in consultation with Swindon Council’s Head of Culture & Heritage about using the stones, which have an historical and cultural value to the town.
In his Masters thesis Michael Gray describes the history and detail of the Tabernacle Portico and reviews the relevance of current conservation charters to it. He examines the Modus approach and a subsequent proposal to rebuild the portico in the Lawn, a public park in Swindon. It is a proposal he supports.
Today the Lawn is mainly used for dog walking and a cut-through for cyclists, but in his Masters paper Michael Gray says it is unfortunate that one of the most significant historical sites in Swindon, which dates back to the Bronze Age, is now neglected and under-used. He says to site the portico on the eastern terrace of the Lawn would bring renewed interest to the park and could form a focus for rejuvenation.
He writes: “By making the Portico an independent structure here minimises the likelihood of historical uncertainty and reinstates the portico as an important piece of architecture on the Swindon skyline.”
He says Monopoly recently promoted its popular board game by producing a Swindon edition, in which it substituted traditional London place names in its original game for Swindon equivalents. Mayfair was swapped for ‘the magic roundabout’, a notorious local traffic junction in Swindon.
Michael says: “Although the roundabout substitution was a bit tongue-in-cheek, it disguises the fact that there is no clear alternative for the Mayfair spot in Swindon. I suggest that a reconstructed tabernacle portico on the eastern terrace of the Lawn would be that replacement, being once again a building of significance and importance to the town of Swindon.”
Michael told Natural Stone Specialist magazine that rebuilding the Tabernacle portico would cost at least £1million, probably more. Each column would have been hand-made, so identifying the right stones in the right order for the rebuilding of each column would require some effort.
He says he would like to see the portico fronting a new art gallery and museum, as an existing building used for the purpose that was closed by Covid is not in good condition.
The portico impressed on 'the magic roundabout', as suggested in a Swindon edition of the board game Monopoly.
Birmingham is dotted with what are known as ‘erratic boulders’, which are large boulders of stone deposited there by glaciers during the ice age. They were dropped there because Birmingham was at the southern end of the ice sheets that covered the north of Britain.
Lately, the Herefordshire & Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust, based at the University of Worcester, has decided to map these stones through the Heritage Lottery-funded Erratic Boulders Project and make a feature of them to create trails for people to walk and explore.
Chairing the Herefordshire & Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust is geologist Professor Ian Fairchild, Emeritus Professor and former head of department of Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of Birmingham.
Professor Fairchild is the brother of Jamie Fairchild, a founding Director of Restorative Techniques, which makes and supplies stone cleaning products including ThermaTech superheated water cleaners and VorTech abrasive cleaners.
The association proved helpful to the Erratic Boulders Project when it wanted to clean the boulders on two of the trails it created, with Jamie stepping in to help his older brother free of charge.
A hundred years ago, the public were excited to learn about the erratic boulder relics of the Ice Age, but lately these geological oddities have been disappearing.
Now, thanks to the National Lottery, the Herefordshire & Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust, and a partnership of local organisations that includes the Black Country Geological Society, Birmingham Open Spaces Forum and the Lapworth Museum of Geology, seven geological cycle and walking trails around the Bromsgrove and South Birmingham area are being created to highlight the boulders. There is also a geological timeline in Frankley being created. The first trail opened on 23 April. The next is 14 May. The others will follow.
The project has identified some previously unidentified erratic boulders and all the boulders are being given the greater prominence they deserve as relics of Birmingham’s ancient history.
Restorative Techniques’ cleaning of the boulders was carried out in Woodgate Valley Country Park (identified as Trail 4a on the website) and Balaams Wood (Trail 5a). Both trails are now ready to go, but will not be formally launched until August and September (respectively) this year.
Cleaning the stones was generally a matter of removing accumulated dirt, although in one case a boulder had been painted to make it more visible and act as a bollard.
BRAMM, the British Register of Accredited Memorial Masons, has created a new position of Executive Officer and appointed Yvonne Colverston, who has been on the BRAMM Board for several years, to the post.
The creation of the role to head BRAMM’s administration follows the departure of Vanessa Braithwaite, who was the organisation’s Administrator for the past six-and-a-half years.
Developing the position into Executive Officer reflects the growth of BRAMM and the level of work now being carried out by the organisation.
Yvonne has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) and was previously a Senior Advisor and Induction Support Officer with The Society of Local Council Clerks. She has an in-depth knowledge of cemetery management, legislation and best practice in the memorial industry.
Announcing Yvonne’s appointment, the BRAMM Board says: “Due to exponential growth in BRAMM registered companies, fixers and burial authorities, we have taken the decision to appoint a national Executive Officer who will manage BRAMM services and provide legal and procedural advice and support to Burial Authorities.
“The position will also further develop BRAMM’s presence within the industry by working closely with UK burial authority organisations and providing appropriate training and best practice advice to memorial masons.
“We would like to wish Yvonne success in her new role to support the ambitious plans of BRAMM to continue to improve standards within the industry.”
Yvonne will work alongside Phil Potts, who works part-time as BRAMM’s Development Officer.
The 7 July deadline is approaching for entering the Landscape Institute’s 2022 international awards for landscape architecture.
There are five open categories, 15 professional categories, two for students and the President's Award for the best overall landscape scheme from all the categories combined.
Entries can be submitted online here and must be received by Thursday 7 July.
Those chosen as finalists will be announced in September and the winners will be presented with their awards at a ceremony at the prestigious Troxy in Commercial Road, London, on Thursday 24 November.
For the past two years the awards have been presented as a virtual event online only. Last year’s presentation attracted 1,600 viewers, so with the knowledge gained from the previous two events, this year will also see the presentation streamed online, so those who can’t make it to the Troxy can still take part.
The hybrid format will allow people from all over the world to join in, promoting discussions and showcasing projects that combat climate change, support health and wellbeing, promote biodiversity and ‘level up’ local spaces at a global scale.
The open categories celebrate excellence in landscape projects and include the Landscape & Parks Management category.
The Building With Nature category is open to recipients of a Building with Nature Accreditation for their residential, commercial, or community infrastructure scheme.
Submissions from any individual, organisation, employer, government, university or combination of groups across the globe can enter the open categories, which are:
Landscape and Parks Management: celebrating excellence in the management of a place or landscape.
Innovation and Research: an innovative product, service, publication, or piece of research or guidance that has influenced the industry or has the potential to positively transform landscape practice.
The Dame Sylvia Crowe Award: for landscape excellence around the world.
Landscape Legacy Award: for a person, organisation or group that leaves a lasting landscape legacy to the world.
Partnership and Collaboration: for excellence in partnership and cross-discipline collaboration.
Jane Findlay CMLI, President of the Landscape Institute, says: “The 2021 Landscape Institute awards were a great success – we received over 200 submissions. These were whittled down to 73 finalists by our esteemed judges from organisations such as Historic England, National Lottery Heritage Fund and Public Health England.
“In the UK, the government published its long-awaited Levelling Up White Paper, outlining its mission to ‘level up’ the country. The paper reflects the fact that landscape, green spaces and the built environment will be instrumental to this agenda. We know that landscape professionals across the globe are already implementing this holistic vision and the awards will celebrate their exceptional contributions."
Discussing the importance of the Landscape Institute awards, Edward Green, landscape architect at Southern Green and last year’s winner of Excellence in Public Health & Wellbeing, says: “Winning awards is always special, but the Landscape Institute Awards represent the pinnacle of achievement in our profession, especially for projects that benefit the physical, mental and environmental wellbeing of our communities.”
He says the awards highlight how green spaces and parks can help to improve the health and mental wellbeing of communities and drive the agenda for improving funding for a sector that believes it has been underfunded for years.
Headline sponsor of the Awards this year is Hardscape, which has supplied natural stone for projects featured in Natural Stone Specialist magazine such as Elephant Park in London, and the Glade of Light in Manchester commemorating the victims of a suicide bomber.
Category sponsors are: Vestre, Furnitubes, Building with Nature, Maylim, Civic Engineers, GrrenBlue Urban, AG, Green-tech, McParland Finn, Selux and Wildflower Turf.
Elephant Springs in Elephant Park, London, designed in natural Porphyry by artist Mel Chantry of the Fountain Workshop using stone supplied by Hardscape, the headline sponsor of this year's Landscape Institute Awards. The landscape architect was Gillespies.
About the Landscape Institute
The Landscape Institute is the chartered body for all landscape practitioners, including landscape architects, landscape and parks managers, landscape planners, and urban designers. It is an educational charity that promotes the art and science of landscape practice. Its aim, through the work of its members, is to protect, conserve and enhance the natural and built environment for the public benefit. See www.landscapeinstitute.org or follow @talklandscape for more information.
More than 30 firms working in and around London have been identified as having had working on their sites some of the 300-500 people trafficked into the construction industry by an organised crime gang.
However, those identified were only a fraction of the number infiltrated by this long-operating gang.
It says the men were trafficked into the UK construction industry between 2009 and 2018 by a Romanian-based organised crime gang. It does not suggest the 30 firms who used them knew they were employing modern slaves, but presents a case study of one unnamed company that helped in the investigation that led to members of the gang being convicted and sent to prison.
In a UK court, Judge Rajeev Shetty said: “This case involved the degradation of fellow human beings. It involved the denial of their humanity and failure to recognise that these are human beings who feel pain and misery just like all of us. That disgusts me.”
On 19 June 2019 three members of the Romanian Lupu family were found guilty of modern slavery offences. Grigore Lupu, then 39, was jailed for 10 years. His older brother, Alexandru (43) received an eight year sentence and their nephew Valentin (24) received 10 years.
In a later trial, six members of another organised crime group linked to the case were convicted in a Romanian court. They were awaiting sentencing when the report was written.
The self-proclaimed purpose of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner report is that lessons should be learnt from a major modern slavery case in construction, factors that led to the exploitative environments in the sector should be explored, and the most effective ways that businesses can safeguard workers should be identified.
In a foreword to the report Dame Sara Thornton, the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, says: "While the [construction] sector is striving to meet its sustainability and carbon targets, it faces particular challenges in the ethical management of labour.
"The ongoing skills shortage, which has historically been offset by migrant workers, has been exacerbated by the pandemic and changing immigration rules." She does not mention the loss of Eastern European workers as a result of Brexit, but that, too, has taken its toll on labour availability.
"The sector’s labyrinthine network of subcontractors obscures visibility of lower levels of supply chains. Financial penalties for delays, shortages of labour and materials, and the rapid churn of the workers, place numerous pressures on contractors on a daily basis.
"This report looks at what happens when criminality infiltrates legitimate business supply chains."
The trafficked men were recruited in Romania with offers of what to them looked like impressively high wage rates, with travel, food, accommodation and protective workwear paid for. Victims believed they would be able to earn enough to support their families back home.
On arrival, the deception became immediately apparent when they were told they would have to repay the cost of the transport, their accommodation, food and ppe. Victims had been tricked into a state of debt and destitution and did not have the means to leave and find work elsewhere. Despite the brutal environment, the majority did not attempt to escape. This was partly out of disempowerment and fear of reprisals, but also in the hope that they would eventually receive what they were owed, as the gang kept promising as one of the methods of exerting control.
In order to get on to construction sites they needed CSCS cards, some of which were fraudulently obtained from a co-operating testing centre and for which the men were charged excessive amounts. They were also charged for their transport to the sites they were working on.
The Lupus family and their associates often worked alongside the victims on building sites, acting as interpreters and ensuring the victims did not step out of line or bring attention to themselves. Sometimes an alpha victim would be left in charge. These are victims that have been abused and conditioned over a long period of time. Having earned special status with the traffickers, they exert control over fellow victims in return for privileges.
The Lupus family is not alone in trafficking slave labour to the UK construction industry and the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner report includes suggestions for tackling the crime and calling on contractors and clients to be more vigilant about identifying those being coerced to work for them and to require everyone on site to report any suspicions.
The report makes sobering reading. To read it and download it as a PDF click here.
To report suspicions of modern slavery call the modern slavery helpline on 0800 0121 700 or report it online at www.modernslaveryhelpline.org/report.
The Global Cement & Concrete Association (GCCA) has named the first six start-ups to be backed by its member companies as part of the first-ever InnovandiOpen Challenge to produce carbon free concrete by 2050, in line with the Net Zero target to combat global warming.
The first six, chosen from more than 100 entrants to the Open Challenge, are based in the USA, Canada, the UK, Italy, and the Netherlands. UK-based Coomtech and MOF Technologies are among them. More are expected to be announced over the coming weeks.
The six have now joined forces with world-leading cement companies to form part of formal consortia to test, develop, and deploy ground-breaking technologies. And they intend to work quickly, with the technologies being developed to a point at which they can be demonstrated later this year.
Because it is not clear how carbon-free cement could be made, one of the key focuses of the cement industry is on the development and implementation of technology for carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS).
Coomtech, for example, has developed a low-energy, low-cost drying technology using kinetic energy created by managed, turbulent air, to remove moisture, giving a new slant to a 100-year-old process. A single Coomtech-enabled plant is said to be able to cut CO2 emissions in a year by as much as it would take 600,000 mature trees to remove from the air.
MOF, meanwhile, has developed a system that overcomes the traditional adoption barriers of energy use and cost with its Nuada carbon capture technology by using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to deliver energy-efficient CO2 removal at about a quarter of the cost of conventional amines (which are ammonia-based compounds for removing CO2).
GCCA members have committed to moving from the dozens of pilot carbon capture projects already announced or under way to having 10 industrial-scale carbon capture plants by 2030 as part of the Net Zero Roadmap announced by the organisation in October last year.
GCCA chief executive Thomas Guillot says: "It’s a proud moment to see the industry coming together to support such innovative start-ups on their journey. Our member companies were greatly impressed by their ambition to be a key part of the climate solution. The programme is another big step forward towards unlocking innovation to help us achieve our net-zero goal.
"As the need for resilient and sustainable communities to support a growing global population becomes more pressing, cement and concrete will be essential to providing the infrastructure and buildings that society needs. Achieving net-zero concrete relies on several different groups playing their part, and as an industry we’re looking outwards as well as inwards, to see how start-ups like these can support our goals.
Davide Zampini, head of research & development at cement company CEMEX, says: "The GCCA’s Innovandi Open Challenge is a stimulating initiative that has united experts from GCCA’s various members. It has brought the industry together to achieve a common goal – to identify and accelerate the development of the most promising and innovative ideas to reduce our carbon footprint.
"It's more evident than ever that only through collaboration and innovation will the industries represented by the GCCA be able to reach their 2050 goal of producing carbon-neutral concrete. We cannot wait to discover the opportunities and support the start-ups."
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a safety alert regarding masks with ear loops.
It says new HSE research has shown that respirators/masks that rely on ear loops to hold them in place do not protect adequately when used as tight-fitting respiratory protective equipment (RPE).
This includes masks that use clips, ‘snuggers’ or other means of tightening ear loops, even if they carry CE or UKCA marks.
It asks dutyholders to revisit their Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (Coshh) Regulations 2002 (as amended) risk assessment and consider their RPE provision to ensure it is adequate, suitable for the user and the activity to be undertaken.
People working for stone companies and fabricators using high silica content products such as most engineered quartz, granite, sandstone, quartzite and slate are in danger of suffering from silicosis, which can be debilitating and lead to premature death. But masks are advisable in any dusty environment that cannot be avoided.
Tight-fitting RPE relies on having a good seal with the wearer’s face and those using it should have passed a ‘face fit test’ to ensure the RPE they are wearing provides the level of protection required.
For more on suitable forms of RPE, visit the HSE RPE website here.
For more information, the following publications can be downloaded free:
HSE will be presenting a report on its research on ear loop respirators and masks at the International Society for Respiratory Protection (ISRP) online conference on 9-12 May. If you want to take part, you can register here.
The Lettering Arts Centre at Snape Maltings, in Snape, Suffolk, is currently showing an exhibition entitled ‘Will Carter: Man of Letters’, a restrospective that became a casualty of Covid in 2021 but is now in full swing.
Carved and gilded memorial plaque in Welsh slate.
Will Carter, who died at the age of 88 in 2001, was a master craftsman letter designer, typographer, calligrapher, letter carver, printer and private press studio publisher.
The exhibition is on until 15 May, and the night before it closes (Saturday 14 May) there is a fund-raising charity dinner in The Lettering Arts Centre gallery. The menu will be taken from one carved in wood by Will Carter, although with foie gras substituted with a gourmet alternative because of the cruelty involved in the production of foie gras.
The menu cut in wood by Will Carter.
Places at the dinner are £50 per person, including wines and a talk by the exhibition’s curators. Proceeds will contribute towards a Lettering Arts Trust journeyman placement.
The Lettering Arts Trust journeymen receive two-to-three-months training with a Master letter cutter, focussing exclusively on design and carving skills to enhance their career as a letter cutter.
The Will Carter retrospective is curated by Master letter carver Eric Marland, a great admirer of Will’s work, with significant contributions from Will’s son, Sebastian Carter.
Will Carter became interested in type and letter forms at a young age. He founded the Rampant Lions Press in 1949.
The company undertook numerous commissions ranging from the jobbing printer’s domestic stationery to the now much sought-after, carefully considered editions for Clover Hill, such as The Book of Jonah that cemented the Rampant Lions Press reputation for fine and elegant compositing and printing.
Will was also an accomplished calligrapher and letter designer. He designed type for Monotype, a designer and supplier of type founts. Most famously he created the ‘Klang’ Series 593, introduced in 1955, which reveals the influence on Will of Rudolfe Koch’s blackletter calligraphy.
He collaborated with David Kindersley (who taught will how to cut letters in stone) to design ‘Octavian’, another fount sold by Monotype. His letter carving – in wood and stone – augmented his income from the printing press.
Once the exhibition comes to a close at the Lettering Arts Centre at Snape Maltings, it might go on tour, with plans in development for that.
The exhibition is accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue designed by Webb and Webb that chart’s Will’s career. It includes essays by some of those who admire his work, including Barley Roscoe, John Nash, and his son, Sebastian.
Click here to buy the catalogue online now for £12.
If you can’t get along to the Will Carter exhibition, others that might interest lovers of letter carving include ‘The Nereids’ at the Fermoy Gallery in King’s Lynn as part of the King’s Lynn Festival from 15 to 30 July.
Pherusa by Lisi Ashbridge, one of the works that will be on show at the Fermoy Gallery as part of the King's Lynn Festival in July.
The Lettering Arts Trust will be participating at the Becket Pageant for London in the City of London by kind invitation of the Worshipful Company of Masons on 17 & 18 June, where it hopes to give demonstrations of letter cutting.
On 12 May, Louise Tiplady will be demonstrating letter cutting in an event called ‘The Human Being as Maker’ in the tap room of brewers Fabal as part of London Craft Week. Louise was a recipient of a Lettering Arts Trust apprenticeship.
The Lettering Arts Trust is expanding its online offer and enhancing the range of work available to view and to purchase on its website. To shop, click here.
