Stories of feelings and things: intangible heritage from within the built heritage paradigm in the UK

ABSTRACT

The changing nature of heritage over recent decades has stimulated a focus on intangible heritage – the understanding of which specifically from within the UK built heritage paradigm remains inconclusive. This is problematic when considering developments in policy and practice that demonstrate a steady dismantling of a material focus. To gain sector-specific insight into how the intangible heritage of buildings is conceptualised, a series of 16 semi-structured interviews were conducted with built heritage professionals. Data were collated into eight themes (stories; history; events; memory; use; discord; craft; emotion) and an explanatory model developed, revealing the understanding of intangible heritage as a collection of ‘narratives’ that contribute towards an overarching building ‘story’. Both ‘buildings’ and ‘people’ were acknowledged as co-authors of this story; however, professionals did not acknowledge their own role within the storytelling process. This downplays their role as curator of heritage, as well as their personal experiences that inevitably shape the storytelling process. Findings suggest built heritage practice should be reconceptualised as a storytelling activity. This will offer greater opportunities for intangible heritage to be consolidated within the built heritage paradigm, by encouraging professionals to see themselves as narrators of intangible heritage as well as custodians of physical heritage.

KEYWORDS:

• Built heritage
• intangible heritage
• building conservation
• heritage management
• heritage assessment
• heritage policy

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the sixteen built heritage professionals who took time out of their busy schedules to enthusiastically engage with this research. I am also grateful for the comments from the editor and two anonymous reviewers, which has improved the overall quality of this paper.

Disclosure statement

The Author declares that there is no conflict of interest.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1. For example, see: Esso Station, Birstall, Leicester (Grade II); bus shelter, Osmington, Dorset (Grade II); Hut 11, Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes (Grade II); bike shed, St. Catherine’s College, Oxford (Grade I).

2. Other themes that were coded but generated a lower coding frequency were: ‘tradition’ (coding frequency: 5), ‘legacy’ (coding frequency: 3), ‘culture’ (coding frequency: 3), ‘meanings’ (coding frequency: 3) and ‘customs’ (coding frequency: 2).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the AHRC North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership under grant number D92204B.

Notes on contributors

Johnathan Djabarouti

Johnathan Djabarouti is a registered architect (RIBA) and accredited conservation professional (IHBC), currently undertaking an AHRC funded PhD in Architectural Heritage at the Manchester School of Architecture, where he also teaches as an Associate Lecturer in Architecture. His broad research interests include the conservation of built heritage, critical heritage theory and intangible heritage – with a specific research focus on the relationship between intangible heritage and the conservation of listed buildings.