I recently wrote a piece in the Financial Times about the paradox behind our great monuments, those which we regard as the world’s patrimony, a uniting force for our species. Of course, many of them are so monumental precisely because they were built by immensely unfair societies, funded by an...Read more
‘I call architecture frozen music’, said Goethe. It’s an intriguing idea. We can all appreciate music almost from birth, for its innate mathematical structures, its proportion, depth and even colour. Music is the finest expression of our aural environment, transcending mere noise often with a rich...Read more
It’s tempting to herald the new year; to reflect on the economic trough we operate within. But neither fit the schedule or character of our current work. For one thing, our major project at Coventry Cathedral was begun last summer and has taken the last eight months of research, planning and...Read more
Finally! After five years of work, the fundraising challenge for Stowe House is completed, the project guided toward its con - clusion, with the contributions of so many people and organisa - tions. To mention just a few, in 2014 we look forward to restoring the historic lighting supported by Mrs...Read more
This issue of Monumentum heralds change. Most obviously, it looks different: it is four pages longer, and has been redesigned to be more elegant and navigable. We hope you enjoy it. But the time is upon us to make a more fundamental shift to meet the demands and priorities of a more volatile world...Read more
On 7 October 2010, we visited Shobdon Church in Herefordshire. It was built from 1752 in the Gothick revival style, and stands almost intact amidst fine trees, relics of the parkland once surrounding the long-gone mansion of its patrons, the Bateman family. Times and fortunes have changed at...Read more
“Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Without innovation, it is a corpse.” Churchill, in one of his less well-known phrases, gets to the heart of an important issue for us. The art of building needs tradi - tion and continuity to maintain a harmony and sense of place, even...Read more
Each summer’s diaspora allows us pause, to plan for the winter and to take stock of recent achievements at WMF-partnered sites. This year, there’s been much to reflect on, in the midst of a spate of completions which has realised much of our work over the last few years. This issue highlights the...Read more
2010 is an auspicious year for World Monuments Fund: it’s the organisation’s forty-fifth anniversary and the fifteenth year of WMF Britain’s mission to secure a vital future for historic sites in, or related to, the UK. We mark the occasion with the first annual summer party on 9 June thanks to the...Read more