Is heritage out of date? Curtis Tappenden asks who’s pulling the cultural strings

Heritage. Has this historical notion finally had its day in our present culture? In the name of progress, the nineteen-sixties welcomed reckless architects to flatten what the German bombs hadn’t two decades before, and the high-rise dreams reached into the skies of new optimism. Hard lessons have since been learnt from tower-block nightmares but in our postmodern times there is a new evangelism fervently seeking to rebuild where tired Victorian and Edwardian buildings look like they’ve outlived their welcome or purpose. Much of this stock was robustly built, well proportioned and beneath the tarnish of years, very beautiful.

The date 1897 and the name Frank Matcham spring to mind. Frank was a renowned theatrical architect of his day- high-camp, Rococo styling set the scene for theatre’s golden heyday. Many years ago I joined a campaign to try to save Chatham’s Theatre Royal- envisioned by Matcham- a wonderful, potential theatre restoration project in Kent, destined to be as great as many in London’s West End.

I learnt that heritage and a love of theatre was not enough when feasibility studies kicked in. Jolted into a realisation that politics, individual egos, greed, jealousy and profit quickly leech themselves to heritage, a great community venture which could have housed much needed amenities alongside a playhouse crumbled into eventual demolition and a housing development.

In Brighton in 1897, a failing ice rink was adopted by Matcham who conceived a dream for a multi-purpose variety theatre and circus. The Hippodrome was a jewel in the crown; and hosted the greats- from Gracie Fields to Laurel and Hardy; from Laurence Olivier to the Rolling Stones and The Beatles. Despite alteration and conversion to a now defunct Bingo Hall, Matcham’s Grade II * listed brilliance is preserved beneath the Stucco.

The ghosts of campaigns past now haunt me. Heritage requires money and vision to repurpose it and make it relevant to community needs. Brighton is already a glittering carnival of entertainment and some argue that its theatrical restoration is a waste of money where we already have ample provision for thespian pursuits. Would our lives really be enriched sitting inside a lavishly iced, celebration cake, watching our TV ballroom heroes waltz through their latest tour?

My answer is a resounding yes. The accepted plans –backed by as much cash as the heavens can rain down- for a multiplex cinema, shopping arcade and restaurant, seem like a stab in the back of Brighton’s heritage; a dismissal of so much potential scope for arts and community groups to enrich its citizens’ lives with values which extend far beyond the trudge of going to work, making money, spending money. Where video once threatened the film industry, cinemas have now reclaimed their space in the city. You can shop till you drop, eat until you are engorged, but as I see another ancient corner replaced by yet another block of brick and balcony apartments, I fear that the lessons of the sixties may not have been learnt. The luvvies agree. They are protesting now with a growing campaign backed by folk from all walks of life. All plans for the future of the The Hippodrome should be fairly aired in open public consultation. Old can and should co-exist with the new. It feels like a game of more than two halves; an animated puppet show of entangled marionettes, but who is pulling the strings? Profit should not dictate lives. It is our heritage, and a legacy for future generations. We have enjoyed such wealth, why shouldn’t they?

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The day after my Vesuvius Fountain had showered the night sky with coruscating memories of a foiled Westminster gunpowder plot, I found myself, by evening working in Buckinghamshire, confronted with glittering tinsel and the sparkly-clad baristas of the local Costa Coffee.

Spangling colours and jaunty lights brighten my dislike of the long winter nights, but the Santa hats festooned with tinsel were just too much for early November. Retailers need to work hard to compete for our custom. Successful chain cafes less so.

Everything in its time. I love family times at Christmas, but can’t we just hold back by another week or two, lest I accidentally burn jovial Santa’s effigy on the Bonfire next year?