Historic preservation experts take stage

The Department of Historic Preservation at the University of Kentucky College of Design will host a symposium titled “Preservation: Places and the Public” from Oct. 24-28 on the Lexington campus. The symposium, which is free and open to the public, aims to expand the dialogue among architects, historians, preservationists, city planners, government officials, design professionals, and the public by sharing information on successful preservation projects from around the world.

The symposium features five public lectures by noted leaders in the historic preservation field — one each evening at 7 p.m. in the theaters of the UK Student Center. The symposium, sponsored in part by the Kentucky Humanities Council, is intended as an annual event that will coincide with UK’s “Historic Preservation Week.”
Historic Preservation Week kicks off Monday, Oct. 24, in Worsham Theater at the UK Student Center, with a lecture from Carter Hudgins, noted historian, archaeologist and preservationist. Hudgins, the Hofer Distinguished Professor of Early American Culture and Historic Preservation at the University of Mary Washington, will give a lecture titled “Charleston, South Carolina: Inclusive Past, Exclusive Present.” Hudgins will address issues and buildings specifically related to his numerous years of service as director of the Historic Charleston Foundation.

The second speaker will be John Burton, an architect and senior partner of Purcell Miller Tritton Architects in the United Kingdom. Burton will present a lecture titled “Historic Preservation of English Buildings – Taking Examples from Westminster Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral” on Tuesday, Oct. 25, in the Center Theater of the Student Center. Burton helps oversee the maintenance and restoration of historic properties owned by The Crown Estate and will focus his discussion on his work on the restoration of Westminster Abbey. Burton not only serves as Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey, but has been the Surveyor of the Fabric of Canterbury Cathedral for 16 years and heads a team of conservation architects that care for The Crown Estate, including great Georgian houses built by John Nash, the gentleman’s clubs of Pall Mall and Carlton House Terrace, and the official residence of American Ambassador to the Court of St. James Winfield House.

Chris Betts, an architect and managing partner at Purcell Miller Tritton, will speak Wednesday, Oct. 26, in the Worsham Theater. Betts also oversees maintenance and restoration of properties owned by The Crown Estate. His lecture, titled “Working with Historic Buildings,” will highlight preservation efforts on a variety of historic structures that The Crown Estate has renovated. Among his most recent projects, is a commission to inspect and monitor all of the work taking place on their Regents Park, Bedford Square and Kensington Palace Gardens Estates.

The symposium will look at Kentucky preservation efforts on Thursday, Oct. 27. James Thomas, a former CEO of Shakertown at Pleasant Hill, will present his lecture, titled “Preserving Shaker Village for the Ages: Readapting Historic Structures for the Public,” in the Center Theater. Thomas was actively involved in the restoration of Shaker Village from the beginning of its restoration process in the 1960s through its evolution as a leading tourist destination in Kentucky.

The final speaker for Historic Preservation Week will be Dennis Domer, the Helen Edwards Abell Endowed Chair in Historic Preservation at UK. Domer will present the closing lecture Friday, Oct. 28, in the Center Theater at the Student Center. Domer’s lecture, “Mount Brilliant: Ole But Not Good Ole History,” will discuss several historic sites including Mount Brilliant farm located in Kentucky. Domer is an internationally recognized lecturer on architecture and historic preservation.

To find out more about the symposium, “Preservation: Places and the Public,” contact Michael Spencer at (859) 257-4442, or Clyde Carpenter at (859) 257-3651.

— Whitney Hale