Heritage News 002

First issued: 17th April 2013    Welcome Thank you all for your positive feedback on our first newsletter. As promised we will keep them coming!
Sister’s Quarters at the Old Colonial Hospital, built in 1902.		Sister’s Quarters The site of the old St Bernard's Hospital is due for renovation in an upcoming Government project. The proposal is to site the first and middle schools of the upper town area there - that is St Bernard's Infant School and Sacred Heart Middle School. This is welcome use for this site as it will provide use and a purpose for a major building in our old town. We are however very concerned at proposals to demolish the old Sister's Quarters building to the Southern end of the complex. This building is a fine example of colonial architecture and is in a good state of repair. To demolish such a building on the grounds that more space is required to provide facilities for the number of pupils projected for the school is to the Trust like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. There have to be ways around this demolition. We are told that there are no current plans for St Bernard's School- could this building be used to accommodate the extra capacity? How have the figures for projected number of pupils been arrived at? Has there been any interest in the tender for the adjacent Police Barracks? Could this building be used for educational purposes? Can the building take an extra floor to house the extra classrooms? These are all considerations to take into account.  The Sisters Quarters was built in 1902 and is part of the Colonial Hospital complex. A demolition of a building of this scale and architectural quality has not happened in Gibraltar for many years. This is not a road we want to start back down as to loose this building would open the way for the loss of more. Once it is gone, it is gone forever. It is in cases such as this that the Trust is concerned that the principle of GoG projects at present only needing to be presented to the DPC for guidance does not guarantee the scrutiny and democratic accountability that private projects receive. Unlike with private developers where the Trust is increasingly consulted at an early stage in a project, the level of early consultation on GoG projects seems to be sporadic and at different stages of development. In the case of this demolition we first received notice of it on 7th March with the circulation of the agenda for the DPC of the 14th March. We immediately asked for more information and requested the item be deferred with a view to finding an alternative to meet criteria whilst also saving the building. We are currently awaiting the rescheduling of a cancelled site visit to find out more about the project itself, but are concerned that the days are ticking by with no clear picture on the future of this building. The Trust's responsibility is to protect Gibraltar's heritage. One way that we can demonstrate commitment to our responsibilities is to inform our members so that issues which may be beyond our control get a public airing before a final decision has been reached.
Devil’s Tongue in 1880 Creepers growing over the embrasures Looking down from the Old Mole Head		The Old Mole This article was written for the Trust by member Michael J. Smith, appeared in the Gibraltar Chronicle on Thursday 9th April. Snuggly nestled between the reclaimed land of Waterport Road opposite Watergardens and the land that was reclaimed behind it to house the Montagu Crescent Estate, The Old Mole is aptly named. It has jutted proudly out from the walls of Gibraltar for approximately five hundred years. It has survived countless storms and three great Empire’s dominion, from the Moors, to the Spanish to the British. It was nicknamed The Devil’s Tongue by sailors who saw it in action and the wild rush of adrenaline, excitement and fear that built as it sang its firey song of death, can now only be imagined. But it must have been quite an intimidating sight to behold - with fire and smoke billowing forth as shots cannoned out into advancing enemy ships - The sound of canons and splintering wood, the smell of the sea, of gunpowder, fear and death. Men used to race here to defend their homes or offload cargo brought from distant shores. Today the only reason to visit the structure is to choose a plant from the garden centre that the now landlocked structure homes. It is ironic that the only damage wrought at The Devil’s Tongue these days is by the plants on the outside as they grow through the ancient structure. In the past The Old Mole would have commanded respect. Now, stripped of its guns, its significance and its oldest of foes - the sea, it is easy to look upon the structure with pity - an old and redundant war veteran past its prime. Why should we care that its walls, hitherto only breached by canons are being pulled apart from the inside out? That what would have taken a fleet of enemy ships or an Act of God now only takes time, vines and the apathy of man. Gibraltar and all those who inhabit her have a duty to its past and a responsibility for its future. Let us honour our structures. Let us wear them as medals of our past endeavours so that we may not forget our past and our context. Let us show all who would visit us and all who will follow after us that we Gibraltarians know where we have come from and how we have got there. It is in this fabric that time itself is contained and we must cherish it and weave it into our present to preserve our tangible memories, our future potential, our depth of identity and our unique self-determined way of life. The Trust welcomes the Government’s recent relocation of the Refuse Collectors from the Old Mole Head at the western extreme of the Tongue to a new facility and the decision to restore this section of it as a heritage and tourist attraction. For more than ten generations this fortification has looked after the people of Gibraltar - it is now time for the people of Gibraltar to look after it.
Trafalgar Cemetery Following a call from the Department of the Environment a couple of weeks ago, the Cemetery was closed due to the collapse of a chunk of masonry on the houses built on the wall. A balcony had been built there some years ago and a section of it collapsed. The area has now been made safe by the Ministry for Housing and the Cemetery is open once again. The maintenance of our historic walls is an issue the Trust has been bringing to the attention of Government for many years as there is currently no ongoing maintenance programme and as a result any works are reactionary as with the section of Southport gates we reported on in our last newsletter. We have made an approach to the Ministry for Heritage to make the most of the scaffolding now erected along this stretch of wall and take the opportunity to remove excess vegetation and make an assessment and carry out any necessary remedial works. Considering that there will be a team, headed by a conservator working in the adjacent area, it just makes sense.
Main Guard Works continue to the Main Guard roof. The project is a delicate and technically complex one. Just last week we went up into the roof space to take a look at the work. A large support beam has been assembled spanning the entire length of the building. This is where the loading for the new roof will be taken. As the works have progressed it has become apparent just what a poor state the roof was in. It was no wonder the building was so damp all the time.
Painting Competition The 23rd Annual Painting Competition will be taking place on Saturday 11th May. We will be announcing the location shortly but in the meantime make a note of the date in your diaries.
Upcoming events 29th April: an illustrated talk on the history of telephony in Gibraltar, by Malcolm Beanland. Lecture Room John Mackintosh Hall at 7:30pm