Comments on: Letters From The SPAB Archive

By: Gillian Tindall

Gillian Tindall — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 17:16:21 +0000

Interesting what a preoccupation there was with churches (necessary, I’m sure) in the early days of the conservation movement, when there was much enthusiasm for making alterations to them.

William Morris himself had a stand-up row with the Vicar of Burford in the Cotswolds, when some officious changes and `improvements’ had been made. The Vicar is reported as replying `I shall do what I want with my own church. I shall stand on my head in it if I like!’ As a result, that Vicar is today remembered, not for any good works he may have done in the course of his life, but for that one fatuous and mis-informed remark. The whirligig of time, as they say, brings its own revenge!

By: Lynne Perrella

Lynne Perrella — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 14:18:42 +0000

I am a born-and-raised letter-writer. Irate letters? – Definitely. “Atta boy” complimentary letters? — Absolutely. Letters to the Editor? — Yep. Letters to admired famous people who probably will NEVER write back? — Most certainly. (and, by the way, those famous people often write back and I have a whole sheaf of their letters.) I correspond with several good long-time friends and the sight of a letter from one of them fills me with joy.

Anything to do with William Morris is totally welcome. To me, this gent was an “Influencer” before there was such a term. I once read that we are not immune to influences, but enriched and emboldened by them. If so, then I have been endlessly enriched AND emboldened by William Morris and I never hesitate to add a new book about him to my art library. Just yesterday, I attended a textile conference in the Berkshires and as we transitioned from meeting room to lunch, an earnest wall-paper hanger worked in an outer foyer. Yes, the pattern of the paper was one of the new re-boots of a William Morris pattern (Strawberries and Birds, etc.)
done in a lovely off-white and soft grey colorway. Glorious. I stopped and chatted with her for a few minutes, and she commented that working with a Morris pattern always made her calm and happy to do her work. Morris is everywhere.

By: Hetty Startup

Hetty Startup — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 13:27:19 +0000

Dear Gentle Author,
These letters and notes to SPAB are quite wonderful. Apart from the very pertinent preservation concerns, they suggest the diverse range of people who were invested in this issue at the time. And hooray for Ashbee’s beautiful penmanship. Good handwriting today is practically an art form in itself. Overall, the letters prove it is important to protest. Thank you and I hope the tours and classes are all going well. Hetty

By: Pamela Bough

Pamela Bough — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 13:22:00 +0000

During the late 20th century Charter Construction worked repairing some of the Trinity Almshouses. My husband, Brian Bough ( died 2021) was one of the Civil engineers involved with the project and he was very proud to have worked to save the buildings. He admired the construction of the original builders.
Pamela Bough

By: Pauline Taylor

Pauline Taylor — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 11:38:11 +0000

Dear GA,

Thank you so much for sharing these letters written in the days when people could express themselves in beautifully handwritten scripts, the days when people were taught to spell, to use correct grammar, to lay out the text on the page and to be polite however angry they were. Such a reflection on society today when so few seem capable of writing a letter let alone being polite !

My relative Frederick Greenwood, the editor of the Pall Mall Gazette, friend of some of the authors of these letters and all the ‘high and mighty’ in Victorian society, wrote copiously and used a quill pen. I would not be surprised to find that he wrote letters on this subject as well as I am sure he would have had an opinion about the Victorian vandalism in churches but his hand was not quite so legible as I struggle to read the one or two letters that I have.

By: Christine Swan

Christine Swan — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 07:19:09 +0000

I was intrigued to read Burne-Jones’ comment on Worcester Cathedral ending in a reference to “Peterboro’ warfare”. Was this a well-known saying that had somehow passed me by? I think perhaps not although Octavia Hill berated alterations at Peterborough Cathedral in the preceding year. Did this result in a battle, even if just of words?
I love a well-penned letter of complaint and may have written a few in my time. My late father used the pen as a weapon on several occasions, appealing against his council tax band, road closures and repairs, parking tickets and the general decline in standards. He worked his entire post- war employment with the Metropolitan Water Board, later Thames Water. I can almost hear his wrath at the current state of that organisation!
Thanks GA, nothing like a bit of righteous indignation on my morning commute ?

By: Gee Farrow

Gee Farrow — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 06:48:03 +0000

I love these letters beyond words! This is the world that I was born into and, as much as I love the convenience of modern online modes of communication, I cannot help but look back and be sorry at what we’ve lost.
You can picture the authors at their desks seething quietly as they wrote. Most had such beautiful handwriting, especially Morris for me although I adore Betjeman’s little additional drawing (also glad that they made a few spelling mistakes too – no auto correct!)