Two strategic reviews of the Museums sector, published on 14th November, draw attention to the dire state of maintenance and repair of many of the nation’s museums and galleries and may force Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic England to review their long-time refusal to support routine maintenance. One report concerns the top 16 directly-funded museums
Waterstone’s, the book shop, has a magnificent Edwardian store in Gower Street, London, which was designed by architect Charles Fitzroy Doll. It has a mass of complex detail and is listed Grade 2. In January 2012, George Allan visited the store on a book-shopping trip and was disturbed to see out of a window
The annual October appearance of Historic England’s list of “Buildings at Risk” conveys a sense that the threats to England’s heritage are known, under control and in some sense, managed. The threat even seems to be reducing: 387 buildings at risk were removed from the list this year, and only 328 added. Historic England
