The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an

amenity society In England and Wales, an amenity society is an organisation which monitors planning and development. National societies National amenity societies preserve historic art and architecture and operate at a national level. In England, the six princip ...

founded by

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

Philip Webb Philip Speakman Webb (12 January 1831 – 17 April 1915) was a British architect and designer sometimes called the Father of Arts and Crafts Architecture. His use of vernacular architecture demonstrated his commitment to "the art of common ...

, and others in 1877 to oppose the destructive 'restoration' of ancient buildings occurring in Victorian

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. "Ancient" is used here in the wider sense rather than the more usual modern sense of "pre-

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

." Morris was particularly concerned about the practice, which he described as "forgery", of attempting to return functioning buildings to an idealized state from the distant past, often involving the removal of elements added in their later development, which he thought had contributed to their interest as documents of the past. Instead, he proposed that ancient buildings should be repaired, not restored, to protect as

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soci ...

their entire history. Today, these principles are widely accepted. William Morris by Sir William Blake Richmond

The architect A.R. Powys served as the Secretary of the SPAB for 25 years in the early 20th century.

Organization and activities

Today, the SPAB still operates according to Morris's original manifesto. It campaigns, advises, runs training programmes and courses, conducts research, and publishes information. As one of the National Amenity Societies, the Society is a statutory consultee on alterations to

listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, and by law must be notified of any application in England and Wales to demolish any listed building in whole or in part. The society, which is a registered charity, is based at 37

Spital Square Spitalfields is a List of districts in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, district in the East End of London and within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is formed around Commercial Street, London, Commercial Street (on the A1202 ...

, London. For its dedicated service to heritage, the society was awarded the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award in 2012. In 2022, the society reported 6579 members. The society has branches in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The society's Mills Section is concerned with the protection, repair, and continued use of traditional

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

s and

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

s. Ken Major carried out much work on its behalf. An annual award honours the memory of church enthusiast and SPAB member Sir

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

. The award is presented for outstanding repairs to the fabric of places of worship in England and Wales completed in the last 18 months.

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External links

* {{Authority control 1877 establishments in England Architecture in England Clubs and societies in London Charities based in London Heritage organisations in England Heritage organisations in Scotland Architectural history Conservation and restoration organizations

Organization and activities

See also

References

Further reading

External links