Brexit

Burlington House Courtyard Lates

The British Museum launched its Annual Review on 1 July, claiming 2015/16 to be its ‘most successful year ever’. Nearly 7 million visited the Bloomsbury site, and 7.7 million people in the UK saw British Museum objects outside London under the Museum’s National Programmes partnership scheme. The BM was the leading UK visitor attraction for the ninth year running, and the second most visited museum in the world.
 
Hartwig Fischer (above), Director of the British Museum since April, acknowledged the achievements of his predecessor Neil MacGregor FSA, paying ‘testimony to the extraordinary efforts of Neil and his team’. The Museum has some 30 Fellows among its curatorial staff.
 
The BM, it said in a press release, ‘lends more objects more widely than any other museum in the world’. In 2015/16, as well as over 3,000 pieces loaned to nearly 170 UK venues, over 2,000 objects went out to more than 100 institutions overseas.. A touring version of A History of the World in 100 Objects has been seen by 850,000 people in Australia and Japan; in 2017 it travels to China.
 
The International Training Programme welcomed 24 participants from 13 countries in 2015. The first part of the Museum’s Emergency Heritage Management Programme, fronted by Jonathan Tubb FSA and made possible by a grant of £3 million from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport, is just concluding. The programme focuses on Iraq, and is designed to establish a dedicated corps of Iraqi heritage professionals who can deal with the aftermath of the destruction of archaeological sites.
 
Coming exhibitions include South Africa: 3 million years of art (27 October 2016 to 26 February 2017; photo shows 19th-century brass ceremonial armlets from South Africa). Next year will see major exhibitions on American printmaking, Japanese art and Russian archaeology.
 
The Museum will open two major new galleries in 2017/18.

The Joseph E Hotung Gallery of China and South Asia will bring the story of this region up to the present, with new objects from the collection including paintings and textiles, sculpture, ceramics, lacquer, jade and metal ware.
 
The Albukhary Foundation Galleries of the Islamic world will open in October 2018. The BM’s outstanding collections encompass the art and material culture of the Islamic world from Africa to China, including archaeology, decorative arts, the arts of the book, Middle Eastern and Central Asian ethnography and textiles, and modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art. The photo shows an 18th-century model of the Church of Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
 
These new galleries, says the release, will be ‘at the heart of the British Museum’. In May the Art Newspaper said ‘Fischer must … make a decision on how to use the Round Reading Room’, the historic circular space at the centre of the Great Court that has been closed for nearly three years. 'The most likely use', wrote Martin Bailey, ‘would be as some sort of introduction to the collection.’ On 1 July Fischer said he he would be consulting over the Reading Room's future.
 

On 8 June UNITAR, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, said it had analysed satellite images collected a few days before over the Assyrian city of Nimrud in northern Iraq. ‘Compared to imagery collected 12 January 2016,’ said UNITAR, ‘we observe extensive damage to the main entrance of what is known as Nabu Temple.’ The announcement followed release of two videos by Islamic State, in which it claimed to have blown up the 2,800-year-old temple, featuring a massive explosion. A man threatens to destroy the Egyptian pyramids and the Sphinx. The footage also shows bulldozers demolishing the Mashki and Nergal gates at Nineveh, but Christopher Jones, who writes in Gates of Nineveh, an archaeology blog, noted that it was already known that IS had bulldozed the Mashki gate in April.
 
On 28 June the Art Newspaper published comments on the episode from Colin Renfrew FSA.
 
‘In general,’ he said, ‘it seems that they [IS] do not have the knowledge to distinguish between modern reconstructions of buildings and the ancient remains. They display a formidable ignorance. But when explosives and bulldozers are used, some serious damage can be done.’

In the Times on 2 July (subscription needed) Jonathan Tubb FSA talked about the British Museum’s Emergency Heritage Management Programme, which, he said, began in 2014 as an idea he sketched out on the back of an envelope at a meeting with Neil MacGregor FSA. ‘The truth is there’s very little that anyone can do on the ground now,’ said Tubb. ‘The only thing we could do positively was to prepare for the aftermath.’

The Cultural Protection Fund is now open for its first round, says the British Council. ‘The new £30 million fund, managed by the British Council in partnership with the Department for Culture, Media & Sport, is designed to help create opportunities for economic and social development through the fostering, safeguarding and promotion of cultural heritage in conflict-affected regions overseas. Applicants for this initial round of funding will be required to have existing partners in one or more of the target countries: Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestinian Territories, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and Yemen. The next fund round will be launched on 1 September 2016 and all applicants, including those who are still developing partnerships in target countries, will be able to apply.’ Full details can be found on the Fund’s webpage.

Over a dozen Fellows are represented at organisations asking the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Greg Clark), and the Minister of State for Housing and Planning (Brandon Lewis), to call in the demolition of Soho conservation area structures, among them the former Foyles building. The Victorian Society (whose Trustees include David Cannadine FSA, Simon Jenkins FSA and Alasdair Glass FSA), SAVE Britain's Heritage (Executive President Marcus Binney FSA, Trustees Peter Burman FSA, John Harris FSA and Simon Jenkins, Casework Advisory Committee members Philip Davies FSA, Jenny Freeman FSA, Kristian Kaminski FSA, Matthew Saunders FSA and Adam Wilkinson FSA) and Historic England (Chief Executive Duncan Wilson FSA, and who knows how many Fellows on its committees and staff) have failed to convince London’s new mayor, Sadiq Khan, to save the historic buildings.
 
Khan supports the Greater London Authority’s argument that public benefits outweigh the harm to the Conservation Area caused by demolition. However, say the objectors, this advice did not consider Paragraph 133 of the National Planning Policy Framework, which states that local planning authorities can give consent where substantial harm would be caused, only if that harm is necessary to achieve greater public benefits.
 
The Victorian Society says that predicted benefits to London’s economy, affordable housing and public realm, ‘could clearly be achieved by a scheme which incorporated … the existing historic buildings. Consequently, as demolition is not necessary to achieve those benefits, permission should have been refused.’ SAVE notes that the proposed nine-storey office development is ‘in marked contrast to the fine grain of the surrounding streets. Conservation Area status is meant to protect sites like this from insensitive development.' As I write, SAVE’s petition to ‘Stop the Demolition of Soho’ has 4,915 signatures.
 
This is not the first time central London’s historic buildings have recently been the focus of conservation disputes. In June last year King’s College London withdrew approved plans to demolish buildings on the Strand. In May this year a judge upheld former Mayor Boris Johnson's decision to intervene at Norton Folgate in Spitalfields, where he over-rode a council decision not to allow a development to proceed in a historic area.

The National Trust has proposed a new bicycle trails scheme for Badbury Hill, Oxfordshire, which it claims ‘will make Badbury safer and more peaceful for walkers’. Among other benefits, it will, says the Trust, take cycles away from the Iron Age hillfort and minimise erosion.
 
Not everyone is happy about the scheme. Lauren Gilmour FSA lives near the hill, and wrote to Salon to express her concerns. I showed her complete piece to the National Trust, and asked for a response. Below is their full text. First Gilmour’s, which I have cut down slightly without losing any of her points. As always in Salon unless specifically stated, no views should be taken as necessarily representing the Society’s. Pictures are from the National Trsut.
 
‘Badbury Hill lies at the centre of Great Coxwell parish in the western Vale of Oxfordshire, being oriented directly to the north of the Late Bronze/Early Iron Age Uffington White Horse on the north face of the Berkshire Downs. Visitors who come to the site this summer seeking the “new cycle trails” will not find them, as the planning application for their construction was temporarily withdrawn in the face of massive and clearly unexpected local opposition.
 
‘Now a slightly modified application has been formally submitted for planning consent; it was available for comment until 27 June. Summaries on the NT’s website give the flavour of the revised proposal. The new cycle trails scheme will “allow cycle access to new parts of the wood” being “designed to have a low impact on the site as a whole”, “walkers can continue to walk the routes they love” having “a quieter and more peaceful experience as cycles will be redirected to different parts of the wood”.
 
‘Your Fellow resides half a mile to the south of the place in question, in the tiny village of Great Coxwell which still retains its ancient layout of cottages and where pottery of the Early Iron Age, comparable to finds made on the western slopes of the hill fort (sadly only the top of the fort has been Scheduled), has been found in back gardens on the bank of a stream. The statements made on the website are far less than truthful. The 6.935 km of cycle paths will cross popular footpaths, bringing walkers and mountain cyclists into direct physical confrontation mitigated only by discretionary signage. The design of the cycle trails is particularly intensive on the most archaeologically sensitive slopes of the Hill, also an Ancient Woodland. And being designed to attract advanced, as well as intermediate and family, mountain cyclists, and to be used at intervals throughout the year for “meets” designed to attract competitors within a radius of at least an hour’s car journey, considerable construction - and destruction - are involved.
 
‘Proposals describe constructional-destructional building methods for the trails. A “strip and fill” method would be used for low gradient trails, involving removal of the topsoil and significant disturbance of the levels immediately below, both in the course of the removal and through compaction and infiltration by the crushed stone layer to be pounded into them. Even less desirable is the “bench cut” method on steeper gradients, involving more significant removal of soil. An alternative mentioned, an overlying boardwalk proposed for wet and/or archaeologically sensitive areas, would involve digging 450cm-deep postholes, some to contain concrete.
 
‘Evidence brought together in the excellent archaeological desk-top survey accompanying the application demonstrates that in addition to its role as a hillfort, the site surrounding the Scheduled Monument is an important and largely undisturbed early agricultural landscape.
 
‘An alternative, constructional-non-destructional approach would be to build up earthen banks where trails cross prehistoric remains. This is to be strongly advocated, as would be the production, sharing and agreement, with local people and Oxfordshire’s archaeologists, of a detailed management plan for “meets”, in advance of any planning decision. Otherwise, laying these tracks will involve significant disturbance and potential destruction of an area of at least 9,047 square metres of very sensitive archaeology. The whole project, far from achieving its stated aims, will wreck the peacefulness of this ancient place for visitors on foot, forever.’
 
Richard Jackson, National Trust Estate Manager, West Oxfordshire portfolio, responds:
 
‘The National Trust’s proposal for cycle trails at Badbury Hill was conceived in response to what we were told by the people who regularly walk there: namely, that they were concerned about the current situation where mountain bikers roam the site in an unregulated way, using and crossing footpaths without warning. Designated cycle trails will allow us to separate walkers and cyclists, minimise crossings and give walkers due warning when they’re approaching one.
 
‘Part of the woodland at Badbury Hill is designated Ancient Woodland, but the majority was planted post-war as a commercial crop by the Forestry Commission. The cycle routes have been planned to avoid tree-felling where possible, but the intention is to revert the plantation back to native broadleaf woodland in any event.
 
‘The National Trust has carefully considered the impact of cycle trails on archaeological features. Protecting the Scheduled Monument from erosion and preventing the existing unauthorised use of the fort by cyclists was a key driver to the cycle trails proposal. The Trust recently commissioned detailed LIDAR and geophysics surveys of the hillfort, which have considerably enhanced our understanding of the area.
 
‘Oxford Archaeology was also commissioned for an independent assessment to support the planning application. This identified a number of features including earthworks such as prehistoric and medieval lynchets to the north of the scheduled hill fort.
 
‘National Trust’s consultant archaeologist Gary Marshall says:
 
‘“These features have been recorded and where possible, the cycle routes avoid them. Where they do coincide, the cycle trails will be built over the top using driven (not dug) postholes 100 x 100mm x 450mm depth. If features have to be cut through, this will be at right angles to minimise the loss of archaeological evidence and will be carried out under an archaeological watching brief.
 
‘“I disagree that the site is a largely undisturbed agricultural landscape. Much of the northern and eastern sections of the hillfort ditches have been destroyed by 19th century ploughing, as has the interior of the fort. The lynchets in the wooded areas have been denuded by 20th century plantations, quarrying and wartime use of the site.”
 
‘We are confident that the proposed cycle trails offer a unique opportunity to safeguard the historic features at Badbury Hill, whilst encouraging local families to get outdoors and active in a safe, green space.’

In December last year Sotheby’s London sold a striking inlaid stone table top for £3,509,000 (with buyer’s premium, but before VAT), a world auction record for such an item. Lot 201 was described as ‘an Italian pietre dure table top inlaid with the arms and symbols of the Grimani Family, probably to a design by Bernardino Poccetti (1548–1612) Grand Ducal Workshops, Florence, circa 1600–1620.’ It is 1.5 metres long. The sum was achieved, said Sotheby's, after ‘a 10-minute bidding battle, driving the final price high above its pre-sale estimate of £400,000-600,000’.
 
On 13 June Culture Minister Ed Vaizey placed a temporary export bar on the table top, so a buyer might be found to keep it in the UK. In a release from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Christopher Rowell FSA, a member of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, described the table as ‘a tour de force both of design and of craftsmanship.’
 
‘It is executed in bold colours’, he continued, ‘making dramatic use of expensive blue lapis lazuli as a foil to the reddish orange, yellow and green of exotic agates and jaspers. The arms and attributes of the patrician Grimani family are proudly and prominently displayed and the table is described in a will of 1623. Each individually cut piece of marble or semi-precious stone is framed – like jewellery – in silver, as in the so-called “Pope’s Cabinet” at Stourhead, Wiltshire (NT), which was made in Rome around 1580, probably for Pope Sixtus V. The Grimani table top represents a pinnacle of perfection in the history of hardstones manufacture. It was purchased for Warwick Castle in 1830 by the 3rd Earl of Warwick, who provided a new wooden frame to support it because the Grimani retained the original giltwood table base. Its Venetian, Florentine and English history increases the lustre of this masterpiece. Every effort should be made to keep it in Britain.’
 
The decision on the licence application will be deferred until 12 September. This may be extended until 12 February 2017 if a serious intention to raise funds to purchase it is made at the recommended price of £3,509,000 (plus £701,800 VAT).

Fritz Thyssen, June 1940

Back to the beginning of the report

Back to the beginning of the report
Back to the contents list