Gloria in excelsis

However well loved our churches may be, vandalism is an endlessly recurring problem. At his workshop in Deal, John Corley patiently brings a damaged window back to its former splendour.

Overview

The Organisations

Cristian Barnett

Cristian Barnett was born in Newcastle on April Fool’s Day. After studying photography at art school he spent the best part of seven years travelling around the Middle East, north Africa and eastern Europe, periodically returning to base to work as a photographer’s assistant.

Since setting up on his own, food photography has been one of the staples of his commercial life. His first big commission was for Food Illustrated, shooting in the bourbon country of Kentucky and Tennessee, and he regularly contributes to the glossy food monthlies as well as to Country Living and House and Garden. His real passion, however, is photographing people doing their jobs.

‘I love this aspect of my work more than any other,’ he says. ‘I get a tremendous thrill from meeting people who have real feeling and enthusiasm for their work. I sense it with the food producers and gardeners I work with, and I got the same excitement from the craftsmen and women I photographed for this report.

‘The care they devote to each task is incredible. Each individual is highly accomplished in their own right but they’re also carrying on a tradition of working to the ultimate standards. Connecting with their world has been an uplifting experience for me. I’m delighted to see that, far from being in decline, the demand for their skills is actually flourishing.’

British Land would like to thank everyone involved in the photographic shoot for this year’s annual report, especially the organisations featured in these pages:

Craven Dunnill Jackfield Ltd, Fiona Hutton Textile Conservation, Haysome (Purbeck Stone), John Corley Stained Glass, Malleny Gardens, Newton Forge, Norman & Underwood and Rupert Harris Conservation

CABE
The Tower Building 11 York Road London SE1 7NX www.cabe.org.uk	The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment is the statutory body charged with inspiring people to demand more from their buildings and spaces. CABE’s philosophy is that following best practice delivers enhanced economic and social value. As well as bringing positive benefits to the community, investment in quality architecture reduces the lifetime costs of buildings and improves their performance.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
2–4 Cockspur Street London SW1Y 5DH www.culture.gov.uk	The DCMS is responsible for 500,000 listed buildings, 17,700 ancient monuments and 8,500 conservation areas. On behalf of the Government it also administers the Heritage Lottery Fund which, in the past decade, has awarded Ł3 billion to more than 15,000 projects across the UK.
English Heritage
Customer Services Department PO Box 569 Swindon SN2 2YP www.english-heritage.org.uk	English Heritage helps people appreciate why the historic buildings and landscapes around them matter, and how they contribute to the quality of life. To ensure they are properly protected and maintained, it employs some of the country’s best architects, archaeologists and historians. Hands-on restoration work is frequently outsourced to contractors providing highly specialised facilities.
Historic Royal Palaces
The Tower of London London EC3N 4AB www.hrp.org.uk	Historic Royal Palaces, a Royal Charter Body with charitable status, is responsible for the care, conservation and presentation to the public of the unoccupied royal palaces: HM Tower of London; Hampton Court Palace; Kensington Palace State Apartments; the Banqueting House at Whitehall; and Kew Palace with Queen Charlotte’s Cottage.
The Arts Council
2 PearTree Court (London office) London EC1R 0DS www.artscouncil.org.uk	As the national development agency for the arts, the Council is helping to transform lives and communities. Working in partnership with national, regional and local organisations, its vision is to integrate the arts with the mainstream of British life in a way that reflects the richness and diversity of our cultural identity.
The Civic Trust
Essex Hall 1–6 Essex Street London WC2R 3HU www.civictrust.org.uk	The Civic Trust believes urban environments should be inspiring places where people want to live, work and relax. It seeks to empower individuals and communities by showing them how they can bring about positive change.
The Georgian Group
6 Fitzroy Square London W1T 5DX www.georgiangroup.org.uk	From industrial premises to city squares and seaside piers, the Georgian Group protects a unique group of structures from demolition and unsympathetic alterations. Each year it advises local authorities on around 6,000 planning applications that may compromise the architectural integrity of Georgian buildings.
The Historic Churches Preservation Trust
31 Newbury Street London EC1A 7HU www.historicchurches.org.uk	Almost half the 18,000 churches in England and Wales are at least 500 years old, and some are far older. A vast amount of time, money, faith and skill went into their construction, and maintaining their fabric demands continuous investment. The Historic Churches Preservation Trust offers support for renovation and restoration work, especially where this involves specialist measures that go beyond normal repair budgets.
The National Trust
PO Box 39 Warrington WA5 7WD www.nationaltrust.org.uk	The National Trust is the largest conservation society in Europe, and the properties in its care range from stately homes to Birmingham back-tobacks, from mile after mile of unspoiled coastline to an abandoned weapons research station. Through opening its sites to the public, the Trust encourages awareness of the historic environment in all its extraordinary diversity.
The National Trust for Scotland
Wemyss House 28 Charlotte Square Edinburgh Scotland EH2 4ET www.nts.org.uk	The National Trust for Scotland is the leading conservation charity responsible for the protection and promotion of Scotland’s natural and cultural heritage, for present and future generations to enjoy.
The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
37 Spital Square London E1 6DY www.spab.org.uk	William Morris founded the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in 1877 to counter the over-enthusiastic ‘restoration’ of medieval buildings by Victorian architects. Preservation, he argued, was not the same as renewal. The Society advocates conservative repair, remedying defects while retaining as much as possible of the historic fabric and character, including good later additions. It encourages the imaginative use of new design that enriches rather than undermines the value of the existing structure.
World Monuments Fund
2 Grosvenor Gardens London SW1W 0DH www.wmf.org.uk	As part of its bid to protect both the context and the fabric of historic properties, the World Monuments Fund in Britain has launched a Ł1 million campaign to restore a unique group of lead statues from the golden age of English garden ornament. The work of the London sculptor and caster, John Cheere, they were destined for a palace near Lisbon. Delivered in 1755-6, the collection originally comprised close to a hundred pieces of which at least 22 survive, some badly weakened by the corrosion and eventual collapse of their iron inner cores.
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