ENCOURAGING CONTEMPORARY CRAFTSMANSHIP
SIR,—Mr. Betjeman has by now established himself as the untiring champion of any build- ing of architectural merit which is in danger.
I have always ascribed the severity of his strictures upon those responsible for the destruction of buildings which he would like to see preserved to the pardonable zeal of the expert, but now I am beginning to ask myself whether Mr. Betjeman is not in fact both a fanatic and a crashing bore.
I will illustrate what I consider to be the unsoundness of his attitude by reference to one of his own examples ( Spectator, July 15). In writing of the preservation order placed upon the Red Lion Hotel at Guildford, be says that he hopes this will be 'a turning-point in the battle against the shoddy craftsmanship and glittering arrogance of so many of the big firms.'
Contrary to Mr. Betjeman's apparent belief, there are those among his opponents who are not soulless vandals and who are as eager as he to see the last of 'shoddy craftsmanship and glittering arrogance' in architecture. The battle will not be won, however, by clinging desper- ately to isolated examples of craftsmanship which are inevitably seen out of the context of the spirit which inspired them, and which can be preserved only for a limited time. Mr. Betjeman would do greater service by lending the undoubted weight of his opinion to the en- couragement of contemporary craftsmanship. He shares with many of his opponents the premiss that beauty and craftsmanship have an absolute value, but he appears to have adopted a negative rather than a positive course of action.
Our towns and villages will profit most not from preservation orders ad nauseam but rather from a determination that as fine build- ings reach the end of their lives they will have worthy successors.—Yours faithfully,
DAVID TORVELL.
R.N.A.S.Culdrose, Helston, Cornwall
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