Photographic Surveys of Building Exteriors in Central Oxford, UK

Abstract

Oxford stone is continually cleaned and repaired (restored) in a building conservation approach largely evident since the 1950s. A published book on stone restoration conveys the work of the Oxford Historic Buildings Fund between 1957 and 1974. Archival and restoration photographs taken by J. W. Thomas appear in the edited volume by W. F. Oakeshott (1975) entitled Oxford Stone Restored, with 44 plates in Appendix B of the book. This article addresses change apparent through repeat photography (rephotography) in 17 of the plates, conveying mostly colleges of the University of Oxford. The emphasis is on identifying visible change (at the façade scale) since restoration through photographic surveys and examining the source of such change in Oxford. Over time, buildings appear darker towards the top of their exteriors, which is mostly attributable to exposure to top-down climatic variables in conjunction with air pollution. Weathering features identified across half a century of exposure include encrustation, blistering, pitting, granular disintegration, flaking, and scaling.

KEY WORDS:

• repeat photography (rephotography)
• stone soiling and decay
• restoration
• Oxford stone (limestone)
• heritage buildings
• urban environments

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to S. E. Thornbush and Oleg Golubchikov for field assistance.