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Introduction
Archaeological and historical analyses are becoming increasingly common parts of the consent process for refurbishment and redevelopment projects affecting historic buildings in Britain. Though widely perceived by clients and construction professionals to be an additional regulatory burden, they are essentially a form of building pathology and the information they can provide about the structural development of a building and the historical authenticity of its components can prove invaluable in designing and securing consent for structural and cosmetic alterations. This paper outlines the academic and legal context of such analyses and presents examples where archaeological and historical analyses have been applied, to clients' benefit.
The term "archaeological", in this context, refers to the interpretation of evidence of change in the layout, structure and fabric of a building. The more obvious and superficial examples are modified openings and extensions, discernible by their straight joints and changes of fabric. Less obvious, but more significant, are wholesale historical rebuilds of major components such as walls and roofs (see Figure 1 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.]), or the replication of historical fixtures and fittings. Such modifications, rarely identified in the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) "List" descriptions, affect the archaeological potential and historical significance of the building or component and, therefore, the degree of regulatory control appropriate to it. Productive analysis of these facets requires comprehensive knowledge of three threads of construction and architectural history allied with archaeological methods:
The evolution of building forms.
The development of building materials, their means of production and methods of use.
The social and economic history of the people who paid for, built and occupied the buildings.
These are broad subjects, too large to be addressed here or by the standard texts on building surveying (e.g. [15] Hollis, 2000), or even those addressing historic buildings (e.g. [24] Robson, 2005).
Just as fragments of Roman pottery contain interpretable evidence of their manufacture, trade and use, buildings contain interpretable evidence about their history of design, construction and use. The quality and quantity of that evidence varies enormously and much of it is difficult to interpret in isolation, requiring several years of disparate work within a geographical region, historical period or building type before academically creditable thematic studies can be supported ([12] Grenville, 2001)....