What do we mean when we talk about the renovation, restoration, preservation or conservation of historic buildings and architecture?  At first glance these terms may appear to have the same meaning, but when you consider them carefully, there are subtle differences between them.  This means that someone who is asked to carry out the renovation of a property may take quite a different approach to someone who is asked to carry out the conservation of the same property.

Renovation: Renovation of a building means to make it look like new.  The building to be renovated is simply a starting point for the client or architect’s imagination.  The object, materials and method of construction for the renovation works are not critical.  The building itself does not place restrictions on the work to be done.

Restoration: The definition of restoration is “bringing back to a former position or condition”.  In restoration the most important requirement is the final appearance of the work.  The client and restorer determine the most important period of the building’s life and then do whatever is necessary to return the building’s appearance to that period.

Preservation: Preservation is preventing a building from destruction and seeing to it that the building is not irredeemably altered or changed.  Preserving a building places additional requirements on the decisions regarding material and methodology.  In preservation the final appearance is not the overriding objective, more important is retaining the maximum amount of building fabric.  As the objective is to retain the maximum amount of building fabric, repairs must be done with minimal or no changes to the original building fabric and in like materials and where possible using the same methods as when the building was first created.

Conservation: In conservation the absolute maximum amount of original material in as unaltered a condition as possible is preserved.  Any repairs or additions must not remove alter or permanently bond or cross link to any original material.  All repairs or additions must be reversible and removable without affecting the condition of the original material now and in the future.  Conserving a building means the building dictates all choices on how it is treated.  Conservation does not involve any artistic choices.

If we consider conservation specifically in relation to buildings and architecture Historic England have developed best practice for their staff which are set out in their “conservation principles, policies and guidance” document. The guidance sets out six principles:

  • The historic environment is a shared resource
  • Everyone should be able to participate in sustaining the historic environment
  • Understanding the significance of places is vital
  • Significant places should be managed to sustain their values
  • Decisions about change must be reasonable, transparent and consistent
  • Documenting and learning from decisions is essential.

These principles are at the core of what conservation means in relation to buildings cared for by historic England.