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Buildings have always been the result of labour and materials applied with enterprise and this has changed little since the Middle Ages: the principal source of building materials remains the ground and plants growing from it. While labour has always been mobile, the materials in any building inevitably reflect the local geology and natural environment as it has always been uneconomic to import foreign ingredients to site. This second article in the series attempts to identify modern sources of some of the most sought‐after basic materials required in conservation works.

This is the ninth and final article in the Small Urban Spaces series and describes by way of a case study the sort of approach and attention that some more modest, but nevertheless important, squares and gardens ought to be rewarded. The green places, as well as the “hard” spaces and little corners that surround our buildings may deserve, perhaps, as much consideration as the properties nearby. This case study may assist readers in developing their own techniques in appraising these valuable small open spaces.

This is the eighth article in the series concerned with small urban spaces and deals with the special problems and unique controls which affect squares and similar open spaces in London.

The number of old buildings and sites protected by legislation is rapidly increasing due to the accelerated listing procedure and the effects of the 1979 Ancient Monuments Act — laws brought about to reflect the widening public concern about historic fabric, perhaps as the result of the increasing strength of the conservation movement; public disillusion with modern architecture; and insecurity about the future brought about by the current recession. Thus, in a time when even modern buildings are being listed and Second World War defences being scheduled, the surveyor is increasingly likely to be confronted with instructions to repair, restore, convert, extend or improve ancient buildings. This short series of articles attempts to summarise a few of the problems likely to be encountered with their solution, without suggesting that the surveyor should be deterred from exercising his or her individual skills and judgment in dealing with buildings whose very nature demands a singular approach. The first article deals with the philosophy of conservation and the laws that support it, historical research and the various alternative approaches that may be made to solve practical problems; the second will cover the sources of materials — including stone, bricks, green oak, lime and paint — used in conservation works; and the last the techniques of surveying and repairing churches. Any study of conservation is rewarding — the realisation that the earlier a medieval building, the finer its detail; the discovery that modern craftsmen display great skill when properly encouraged; and the surprising longevity of traditional building materials, albeit subjected to centuries of neglect — these provide examples which will repay the surveyor's time and interest.

Of the 17,000 churches and chapels in England nearly half survive from the Middle Ages and the duty of continuing the care that has preserved them for so long largely falls on the current generation of parishioners and their advisers — an increasingly onerous task as the numbers of communicants diminish and funds become accordingly scarce.

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

Index by subjects, compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

Index by subjects, compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals: Facilities Volumes 8‐17; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐17; Property Management Volumes 8‐17; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐17.