Athena

You should always look before you touch

BEFORE the multi-billion-pound project of restoring the Palace of Westminster begins, important works are afoot to its most ancient and important interior: the 950year-old Westminster Hall. When William Rufus first completed this building in the 1090s, it was a European prodigy. Famously, the sheer scale of the interior prompted him to make the self-glorifying complaint that it was ‘only half large enough’.

The hall was intended as a setting for coronation feasts and ceremonial occasions. It was also co-opted by the growing royal administration as the seat of England’s courts, a role it served into the 18th century.

In the 14th century, this space was famously re-cast by Richard II. Hugh Herland, his master carpenter, created a roof of astonishing size, notionally supported on the backs of hovering angels, the earliest and defining example of this much-copied idea. In engineering terms, he created a single-span interior of a scale unmatched in the capital until the construction of London’s railway stations.

This marvellous and venerable space has been the setting of every kind of state event, from the trial of Charles I to the lying in state of the Queen Mother. When, during the Blitz, Churchill was confronted by the choice of saving the House of Commons or the hall, he let the former burn.

Considering the outstanding importance of the hall, Athena is delighted that, during the proposed works, this great roof is going to be cleaned and repaired and that the dreadful lighting that presently mars the interior is to be replaced. However, she is also dismayed that the authorities responsible are neglecting a crucial responsibility.

The roof of Westminster Hall was last surveyed in detail in the 1920s and, nearly a century on, a huge amount more could be done to understand it. Some dendrochronology, for example, might identify reused timbers from the 11th century.

The authorities do not wish to pay for an archaeological component to the work, which they cost at £135,000 (a contested figure, Athena discovers). When asked why, a spokesperson explained: ‘The preparatory work was already under way when we considered and later decided against adding this particular component.’

Athena is concerned that archaeology should come as an afterthought to anyone planning works in Westminster Hall. More importantly, she would observe that this omission eschews a fundamental principle of modern conservation work: you need to understand a structure before you fiddle with it. In this sense, the promises made that after cleaning ‘a survey will be carried out by the consultant conservation and heritage architect to inspect the condition of the roof, record the condition of the timbers and recommend any essential repairs required’ begs the question of how they can make the judgment.

Athena wonders if any other institution would get away with this. She doubts it.

‘Athena is worried that archaeology should come as an afterthought