There are 67 choices from 41 countries on the 2014 World Monuments Watch – a kind of what’s what of at-risk heritage that takes in terraces near Bethlehem, the city of Venice and thousands of traditional gas lamps in Berlin as well as four UK sites: Grimsby Ice Factory, Battersea Power Station, Deptford Dockyard and Sulgrave Manor.
Culture24 writes:
Four are from Britain, and they hold sway among exalted company. Grimsby Ice Factory, built for the town’s industrial peak as a Victorian fishing port, is the oldest and largest of its kind in the world, still retaining its machinery but deteriorating due to neglect.
Planners hope it will become the creative centre of a regeneration effort in the area. In Deptford, meanwhile, the King’s Yard, founded by Henry VIII, is scheduled for residential development in a scheme the compilers of the Watch list are hoping will make room for the archaeological potential of the former Royal dockyard.
Hundreds of warships and trade ships were built there during Tudor times and beyond, and Sayes Court, John Evelyn’s famous 17th century garden, can also be found nearby.
The other two names on the list are arguably better known. Sulgrave Manor, in Northamptonshire, is a manor house built by ancestors of George Washington during the mid-16th century, and the US flag above the door symbolises its acquisition on behalf of citizens on either side of the Atlantic in 1914, marking the centenary of the Treaty of Ghent.
Its trustees face a struggle to maintain a manor in increasing disrepair, with a ‘heritage-led business plan’ proposed as a solution to their challenge.
A part of the London skyline will be restored if Battersea Power Station’s 30-year wait for substantial repairs ends.
First placed on the list ten years ago, conservators are hoping the popularity of the landmark – it featured in the 2012 Olympic closing ceremony, and received 38,000 visitors as part of this year’s Open House weekend – will enhance the campaign to rebuild its chimneys.
The four sites:
Grimsby Ice Factory
Once the world’s largest Ice Factory – it produced 1,200 tonnes of ice every day – the site was built between 1898 and 1901, but closed in 1990. Accompanied by the historian Kasbah dock, it has been on English Heritage’s at-risk register for five years.
Sulgrave Manor
Built by Lawrence Washington, a wool merchant relative of the first American President, the house was built between 1539 and 1560, opening to the public in 1921. It is held in trust for 350,000,000 citizens of the US and the UK, and welcomes 10,000 schoolchildren each year.
Deptford Dockyard
On the bank of the Thames, the dockyard produced and maintained vessels for 350 years, having been founded by Henry VIII in 1513. The dock made ships for Nelson, Drake and Raleigh and saw the departure of James Cook for Australia, but closed in 1869. Recent excavations have resulted in the discovery of a wealth of artefacts.
Battersea Power Station
Completed by the London Power Company in 1933, the two individual power stations ceased generating electricity in 1983, and are now owned by a Malaysian consortium. Residential and commercial developments are planned at a site which has appeared on Pink Floyd album covers and in Batman and Hitchcock films, although a fire there caused citywide power failures and the postponement of the launch of BBC Two in 1964.
WMF article: LINK
Culture24 article: LINK
