The Changing Fortunes of Britain's 'Heritage' of Historic Buildings since 1945

ABSTRACT

The past 60 years have seen a dramatic turnaround in public attitudes to historic buildings in the UK, shifting from contempt to veneration. This has resulted in a corresponding change in fortunes; buildings that would have been carelessly demolished 50 years ago are now protected and cherished. The historiographical literature of the period is largely dominated, in the post-war years, by despairing pleas for greater attention, funding and respect for historic buildings, written by those who championed the seemingly hopeless cause of preservation and conservation. From the mid 1970s, the climate became increasingly favourable to 'heritage' and conservation, and several restoration narratives were published by those who rebuilt ruinous historic buildings for reoccupation. In the 1980s, the circle began to turn as an 'anti-heritage' literature sprang up to challenge the conservationists; 'heritage' still has almost comic connotations in some academic circles. The current conservation debate among architectural historians and heritage supporters, crudely put, is a polarized stand-off between the Ruinists and the Restorers, with economics now edging in as a justification for interventions.