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architectural salvage dealers: the
humble ledged- and-boarded or bead
butt cottage front door, the Yorkshire
light, or the 12 pane sash - so often the
victim of the restorers hand.” Charles is
committed to charting the development
of the metal window as thoroughly as
that of the sash window, “otherwise
current attitudes towards inter-war
architecture, and steel windows in
particular, will ensure that very little
record survives of the fascinating
varieties that were produced by many
firms in the first half of the 20th
century”. The Collection therefore
includes material from domestic,
commercial and institutional buildings
of every status from the 16th century to
the present day. The ordinary and
humble is preserved as well as the
grand, the work of Adam appearing
alongside that of the provincial,
speculative builder. At bottom the
raison d’ętre of the Brooking Collection
is to use this wealth of architectural
details to promote and facilitate the
historically accurate restoration of
period property.
The comprehensiveness with which
the Brooking Collection covers this
field is unrivalled in this country.
Visitors are often staggered by its scale.
What was once contained in seven
sheds now fills a store behind the
exhibition gallery on the University
campus, and the whole of a nearby
industrial warehouse. At present the
Collection includes 2,000 windows!
sections of windows and approximately
2,500 examples of moulded architraves,
skirting, dado and picture rails. The
computerised catalogue carries
information on over 7,000 items in
total. Charles is continuing to add to
the Collection in an endeavour to chart
every significant regional and
chronological variation.
It is this very depth of coverage
which makes the Brooking Collection
such an invaluable resource to the
Conservation Officer and those in
related professions. This, and the fact
that in the Collection immediate
comparison can be made between a
range of materials, something which is
obviously impossible when referring
to items in situ.
This comprehensiveness also makes
it possible to readily trace the historical
evolution of a particular feature, or to
compare a number of variations within
a given date-span. Earlier this year an
architect working on a refurbishment
within Peiham Crescent, London,
requested to see a sample of architrave
mouldings produced between the late
1820s andthe late 1830s. We were able
to provide 58 examples of architraves
from that date range from which
profiles could be taken.
Charles has not only collected details
representative of buildings of every
status. He has also taken pains to
illustrate the ‘hierarchy’ ofdetailswhich
often existed within a single building.
The Brooking Collection can supply
examples of every gradation thus
helping to avoid the all too common
errors such as ‘restoring’ to the
basement window of a Regency house
the same glazing bar profile as was
used on the front elevation of the piano
nobile.
So how can this wealth of
architectural detail serve the
Conservation Officer?
One of the most frequent uses which
professionals make of the Collection is
to extend their understanding of a
particular area in order to better advise
the public. One Conservation Officer
requested to see examples of four and
A mid-i 8th century ‘blind’ fanlight which has been stripped to reveal the quality of its
construction.
Detail of a circa 1800 staircase balustrade.
Whilst the balusters are wrought iron the
diamond infill with central floral motif is
constructed from lead.
Sections of architraves dated c. 1905-1910, one of 32 shelves of timber mouldings in the store.
CONTEXT 50
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