The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb, and others in 1877 to oppose the destructive 'restoration' of ancient buildings occurring in

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

England. "Ancient" is used here in the wider sense rather than the more usual modern sense of "pre- medieval." 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, 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, Ireland, and Wales. The society's Mills Section is concerned with the protection, repair, and continued use of traditional windmills and watermills.

Ken Major John Kenneth Major ARIBA, FSA, popularly known as Ken Major (21 October 1928 – 25 July 2009) was an architect, author and world authority on industrial archaeology, particularly windmills, watermills and animal powered machines. As an autho ...

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