Ok, I’m not a Brit but I do love and admire country. The marvelously rich and fascinating heritage, from the wonders of the Roman outposts to French imperialism,to the battles with the Scots, civil and European wars – the history is rich and mesmerizing.
Of course, the glory days are over. Today the remnants are scraped away in Archeological digs or slowly decaying in the hands of of remnant heirs of aristocracy.
Let’s face it, the the great Britain is pretty well broke. The public coffers are empty when it Comes to preserving British history and heritage.
So over the last decade the Brits are depending on private investment to restore and preserve their heritage
This requires that private individuals put up their hard earned salaries to find the cost of restoration of British architectural history.
It’s a great idea. Passionate individuals and couples, motivated by emotional aesthetic idealism. The beauty of Tudor oak substructure, saxon And Medieval thatch or Stewart lathe plaster, restored and recreated by private mortgages.
Restored windmills, barns, castles and lighthouses. Labours of love – gifts to their society.
It’s a wonderful economic solution if wasn’t for the heritage planning process. A process based on whim. No structure. A bunch of risk averse decision-makers who seem to love the power to stuff around with folk who are putting themselves on the line.
Frankly, you would have to be mad to buy a heritage property in the UK. It’s sad but true. The heritage planners will say they want authentic when you propose modern. They’ll say they want modern when you propose historical. It’s out of proportion, it’s out of scale…..it’s out of control.
Sadly, I think the Brits don’t really want to preserve their wonderful history. They let their talent for bureaucracy interrupt their talent for identity.
