MMC 52pp M10 WEB

article
History
at your
feet
Britain’s oldest heritage charity believes that floors are the ‘downtrodden’ Cinderella of building conservation. When people
enter an old building, step onto a churchyard path or walk down a street in an ancient town or village their natural inclination is to
look up – at a moulded plaster ceiling, at glorious stained glass windows, at panelled walls or at buildings above and around. We
never look down… until now. MMC hear from Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB).
SPAB plays a statutory role in the
planning process, with councils in
England and Wales obliged to notify
them of applications to work involving listed
buildings. Hundreds of proposals come to
their attention every year and they are
alarmed. Their caseworkers regularly report
that they are involved too late in discussions
about works involving old floors. By the time
they are asked to comment on plans or
proposals, pivotal decisions have already been
made or are being actively pursued… and now
they are putting their foot down!
SPAB believes a vital ‘step’ is being missed by
many of those involved with and responsible for
the care of the built historic environment. A
great number of schemes are being developed
without initial consideration of the beauty and
interest of the materials, literally, underfoot.
In churches and cathedrals, for example,
original floors – notably tiles and ledgerstones
- have been re-laid and removed to allow the
introduction of heating solutions or to create a
level floor that better meets health and safety
requirements. Another major driver in terms
of interventions is the need to create a more
flexible space, suitable for a variety of uses.
Although laudable in intention, this can lead to
destruction of ancient fabric.
In private houses, caseworkers have been
concerned to see similar proposals (and
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Nov 2018 M10
instances) involving original timbers,
flagstones and simple stone and brick
paviours. In the case of the latter, these more
‘ordinary’ floor types are also at acute risk in
ecclesiastical settings simply because people
do not recognise their age or interest. Their
modest nature conspires to make them
expendable.
Floors can play a vital role in revealing the
unfolding history of a building. If a dwelling
retains its original floors then it allows
centuries of use – the story of its inhabitants –
to be read, giving us a sense of how people
lived and how they interacted within that space.
The importance of being able to trace this
‘hierarchy of space’ is especially true for older
and vernacular buildings where surviving floor
finishes and materials may well be one of only
a few indicators of its evolution through time.
Flooring matters
The Society believes that floors contribute
enormously to the ‘spirit’ of a place. The patina
of time caused by centuries of wear and tear,
daily use and gradual settlement are essential
components of a space’s presence and unique
atmosphere.
Floors are where we make a direct physical
connection to a space, following in the
footsteps of those who – throughout the
centuries – have gone before. Romantics
among us might well feel a frisson of
recognition to know that we are standing on the
very spot where ‘history was made’.
In Canterbury Cathedral a single candle on the
stones marks the place where Thomas Becket
was assassinated in 1170. Henry VIII and at
least five of his wives (along with most of the
people whose lives were fictionalised by Hilary
Mantel in Wolf Hall) intrigued on the wide oak
boards of galleries at Hampton Court. At
Edinburgh’s Holyrood Palace, the boards of
Queen Mary’s oratory witnessed the murder of
her secretary David Rizzio. When you explore
Shakespeare’s birthplace in Henley Street
Stratford-upon-Avon you are walking on the
floors of the house where he grew up and
where he spent the first five of his family life
with new wife Anne Hathaway. At Howarth
Parsonage in Yorkshire the Brontes read aloud
to each other as they criss-crossed the boards
in the parlour. Jane Austen and her sister
Cassandra danced on the black and white
marble tiles of the Stone Gallery at the Vyne,
Hampshire. Across the country there are
thousands of places where thrilling
connections still can be made.
The wonderful grooves, undulations,
imperfections and scratches on old floors of all
materials are the 'ghosts of time'. SPAB
contends that once you make a significant
intervention to an old floor you remove
something vital to a building’s heart and story
and that this loss is irreplaceable.