William Morris and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings

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The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, founded by artist and craftsman William Morris in 1877, sought to preserve the integrity of historic buildings by preventing unnecessary repairs and additions. William Morris's intention and that of the SPAB, as outlined by the original manifesto, was that buildings of any period had a life that was best protected through the conservative repair of what was falling into ruin and the prevention of injury to buildings by safeguarding them as much as possible and practical. This practice became known as historic preservation. In this study, Donovan, relying upon many original documents from the SPAB archives in London, traces the history of the SPAB from its foundation in nineteenth-century England to its current activities in England and Western Europe.