Hosted by: Historic England and Society of Antiquaries of London

Historic England has been working with partners over recent years to develop and deepen an understanding of the landscape of faith buildings in 20^th century England, including the long-standing traditions of Christianity and Judaism.

This particular event, held on 12 March 2018, focused on those faith groups which arrived in the UK in the late 19^th and 20^th century, and have since made a significant contribution to the heritage of a modern and multicultural historic environment.

For the first time, we and Historic England brought together this new body of research on Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain and Zoroastrian places of worship with heritage practitioners, researchers and theorists.

The aim was to provide a platform for a discussion on issues of heritage practice and heritage discourse in the field of multiculturalism, multiple identities and the historic environment. This provided an opportunity for a long overdue debate on the significance and character of buildings whose quality and importance have not been fully recognized in heritage debates.

The conference program was as follows:

– Keynote Speech

Heritage values and setting out the challenge – Dr Noha Nasser (Mela Social Enterprise)

– Session 1: Identifying heritage in minority faith groups – Dr Linda Monckton (Chair, Historic England)

• Building Buddhism – Dr Caroline Starkey (University of Leeds)
• Sikh heritage in transition – Dr Clare Canning (University of Manchester)
• Hinduism in England – Professor Emma Tomalin and Dr Jasjit Singh (University of Leeds)

– Session 2: Significance and social values – Dr Noha Nasser (Chair, Mela Social Enterprise)

• Identifying significance in theory – Associate Professor Randall Mason (University of Pennsylvania)
• Theologies of place and contesting multiple narratives: a comparative analysis of post migrant faith groups – Dr Andrew Rogers (University of Roehampton)
• Panel Discussion – Democratising heritage and shared values: How should we approach this?

– Session 3: How does it really work? – Emily Gee (Chair, Historic England)

• Identifying significance in practice – Nairita Chakraborty (Conservation Officer, Haringey Borough Council)
• British Islamic heritage, a case study in identity – Shahed Saleem (Makespace Architects and University of Westminster)
• Panel Discussion – What can we learn and how are we doing?

– Session 4: Future Strategies – Deborah Lamb (Chair, Historic England)

• What matters most in considering multiple values? – Emily Gee (Historic England)
• Future patterns of development and the impact of a changing faith landscape – Dr Richard Gale (University of Cardiff)
• Concluding Panel Discussion – Where should we be going now, and how should we set a research and policy agenda for the future?

Source: Society of Antiquaries of London