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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>This case was referred to in the recent Keltek
Trust report in the RW as an instance of conservation stalemate - permission
having been granted for removal, but only on conditions that are virtually
impossible to fulfil.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Saundby apart (and George is right to refer to the
old frames that are preserved there), very few places - even specialist museums
for timber structures - have shown the faintest inclination to accept old
bellframes which are bulky and low on interest to the general
public.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Despite my interest in and appreciation of old
frames, I can only feel sympathy for the parish in being driven to such extremes
as a desperate advertisement in the Church Times to try and find a way through
this imposed impasse. The likelihood of a positive response to the advert is
remote - so what next? The "dead hand" of conservation prevails and the unusable
old remains by default? Is this all that the future holds for the Church? Who is
letting this happen - and why? At what point will the authorities concede that
relocation to a museum environment is not a viable option?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>These are serious issues - and this is a case where
the "clock will be stopped" in order to preserve an old installation without any
possibility of future use unless a solution is found.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'm sure I'm not alone - even among historians and
archaeologists - in feeling that we have reached the stage where the emphasis on
conservation has gone too far. Far too far - and the time has surely come for
positive efforts to redress the balance</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>CJP</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>