Conservation Principles, Policies and Guidance - English Heritage

ASSESSING HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE
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Consider the relative importance of those identified values
72 It is normally desirable to sustain all the identified heritage values of a place,
both cultural and natural; but on occasion, what is necessary to sustain some
values will conflict with what is necessary to sustain others (paragraphs 91-92).
If so, understanding the relative contribution of each identified heritage value
to the overall value of the place – its significance – will be essential to objective
decision-making. A balanced view is best arrived at through enabling all
interested parties to appreciate their differing perspectives and priorities.
73 As the ‘Smith’s Hall’ example above demonstrates, some elements of a place
may actually mar or conceal its significance. Identifying these is current good
practice in statutory designation, both national and local, the latter through
conservation area character appraisals. Eliminating or mitigating negative
characteristics may help to reveal or reinforce heritage values of a place
and thus its significance.
Consider the contribution of associated objects and collections
74 Historically-associated objects can make a major contribution to the
significance of a place, and association with the place can add heritage value
to those objects. The range includes, but is not limited to, artefacts recovered
through archaeological fieldwork, artworks and furnishings, collections, tools
and machinery, and related archives, both historical and archaeological.
The value of the whole is usually more than the sum of the parts, so that
permanent separation devalues both place and objects. The contribution of
such objects and archives, including evolving collections, should be articulated,
even if they are currently held elsewhere, and regardless of whether their
contribution falls within the scope of statutory protection.
75 Where places have been created around accumulated collections (for example,
museums or libraries), the interior of a room or part of a garden has been
designed as an entity (including a specific collection of furniture or sculpture,
as well as fixed elements), or where an industrial building was designed around
or to accommodate particular machinery, the relationship between the objects
or elements and the place is fundamental to the significance of the place.