Conservation Philosophy

Philosophy of Conservation

The work of the Built Heritage Directorate is underpinned by four key principles of conservation. These have been internationally recognised and evolved from a reaction to over enthusiastic ‘restorations’ of buildings in the Victorian period which had destroyed much of true historic significance.  During the 20th century a series of international charters codified and developed the principles and also mirrored the development of the subject. Early Charters a concentrated on the preservation of the most important monuments  where as  more recent charters  such as the Faro Convention of 2003  emphasise an appreciation of heritage’s wider social and economic importance.  The principles underlie UK and Northern Ireland legislation and policy in this area.  For more information on the subject BS 7913:1988 'A guide to the principles of the conservation of historic buildings' is a useful reference point.

The four principles can be summarised as follows (with a fifth now commonly also added) through extracts from some relevant texts:

1 Minimum Intervention:

‘Conservation is based upon a respect for the existing fabric and should involve the least possible physical intervention’ Text taken from Burra Charter 1979 (3) – Australian ICOMOS charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance. See also p33 of TAN8- The Historic Scotland Guide to International Charters and paragraph 7.1.1 of BS 7913. Paragraph E3 (1) of Planning Policy Statement 6 also explains this approach.

2 Maximum retention of fabric:

‘Conservation should involve the greatest respect for, and involve the least possible loss of material of cultural heritage value’ Text taken from New Zealand Charter 1992 (4iii) See also p33 of TAN8- The Historic Scotland Guide to International Charters. See also para 7.4.3 of BS 7913.

3. Reversibility:

‘The use of reversible processes is always to be preferred to allow the widest options for future development or the correction of unforeseen problems, or where the integrity of the resource could be affected’ Text taken from the Appelton Charter 1983 (D). See also p33 of TAN8- The Historic Scotland Guide to International Charters.See also para 7.4.3 of BS 7913

4. Legibility:

‘Replacements of missing parts must … be distinguishable from the original so that restoration does not falsify the artistic or historic evidence.’ Text taken from Venice Charter 1964 (12). See also p33 of TAN8- The Historic Scotland Guide to International Charters. This does not mean that new work has to be radically different from that existing. This is elaborated in paragraph 7.4.4 of BS 7913 and in paragraph E3 (3) of Planning Policy Statement 6.

5. Sustainability:

‘sustainable development (is a key concept) – the point being to make sure that current use of the heritage, which is desirable, does not destroy the chances of handing it down to future generations’ Text taken from the Council of Europe Sequesta Colloquay (p3). See also p33 of TAN8- The Historic Scotland Guide to International Charters.

The last principle has become more widely recognised in recent years and is implied  in much of the text of Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning Archaeology and the Built Heritage of March 1999. For example in the discussion over permitting a listed building to change its use (Policy BH7) it is stated that:

‘The conversion of a listed building to a new use will therefore normally only be acceptable to the Department where it safeguards the future interest of the building’ Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning , Archaeology and the Built Heritage. Paragraph 6.8, page 24

The other principles are similarly reflected in the text of the planning policy and should be borne in mind by all who are contemplating change to a historic structure or place.