Materiality, authenticity and value in the historic environment: a study of the effects of material transformation and scientific intervention

It is widely recognized that the historic environment provides a source of cultural enrichment, and enhances people's quality of life and well-being. However, it also undergoes cycles of material transformation, of decay and renewal, which inform the meanings and values associated with it. Indeed, these changes contribute to the experience of authenticity. In this interdisciplinary project we have used methods from the arts and humanities, including interviews and forms of participant observation, to examine the kinds of value attached to deterioration and decay in historic buildings. In a field where preservation is foregrounded, questions that explore the apparently oppositional values of deterioration and decay aim to enrich and inform conservation discourse. Specifically, we ask how processes of deterioration and decay inform the cultural values attached to historic buildings, when and why we use science-based interventions to retard or arrest these processes and explore how these interventions impact on perceptions of authenticity and value. The impact of this project is built into its design and conduct, and puts conversations with practitioners at the heart of the field of enquiry. It is oriented toward providing knowledge and understanding that will inform the application of heritage science to problems of material degradation and decay.