PRESERVING THE COUNTRYSIDE.

Evening Star, Issue 19772, 24 January 1928, Page 6

PRESERVING THE COUNTRYSIDE.

In the course of a speech at a function in London recently Mr G. K. Chesterton said that the English habit of life and the appearance of the English village and the whole" tone of existence had been altered entirely by commercial pressure from America. Ho declared that the English inn was becoming an American hotel. Mr Chesterton puts an extreme case, but it is undeniable that the methods of transport to-day are having a profound effect on rural England, and wealthy visitors from across the Atlantic are making use of the opportunities afforded them. Places hallowed by centuries of human endeavor appeal to the imagination of people who come from a land where the historical background is very limited. At the same time it is the advent of the motor car that has chiefly occasioned the conditions of which Mr Chesterton complains. The accommodation at the old inns has been taxed, and in many cases the picturesque has had to give way to utilitarian demands. Further, it may be pointed out that places that were djdicult of access a few years ago arc now within comparatively easy reach of London, and much building activity has resulted. In many cases the speculator and others have erected houses that are a, disfigurement to tho countryside. Mr Chesterton raised a point of tho widest interest, and one in winch some practical work may be done, when he referred to the custom of erecting in many beauty spots advertising signs that are conspicuous by their ugliness. New Zealand is not free from criticism in this respect, and many unsightly hoardings arc to ho observed ns the traveller passes along our highways and byways. Happily, public, opinion has been roused in England on the question of tho urgency of protecting places of natural beauty or of hallowed associations. A movement is on foot to preserve Stonehenge from the encroachment of builders to tho detriment of a proper view of these ancient ruins. As a result of the work of the Stonehenge Protection Committee £16,000 has been raised, and it is hoped to obtain double that sum. If the effort is successful, over two square miles around Stonehenge, “the frontispiece of English history,” will he for ever safeguarded against building. A trust was recently formed with the object of preserving the beauties of Oxford, and £250,000 is set down as the probable ultimate cost of saving one of England’s most noble treasures. Considering the number of well-to-do families who have a direct interest in Oxford through the University, this task should be capable of accomplishment. In North and South Wales the local authorities are combining in efforts to preserve the amenities of their countryside. Already, it is complained, some vandals aro building bungalows of surpassing ugliness, with salmon pink tiles from France, in a country where slate lies close at hand.

Last month the first annual meeting of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England was held in London, when it was shown that forty-one societies were affiliated to the council. It was stated that a study ol the causes and remedies of rural desecration had been undertaken, and the general conclusion arrived at was that there were under the law ample powers to deal with tlie position, but that many of IShora were not used, because ot misunderstanding by the responsible authorities. One ot the fundamental objects of the council is to increase the holdings of the National Trust and other bodies, and a systematic survey ol England will ho made of those particularly beautiful parts which have a small value agriculturally, and a policy laid down by which these may bo either wholly acquired or their essential uses secured for the public. Professor Abercrombie, the honorary secretary, remarked upon the gratifying fact that among the bodies affiliated to the council were organisations of architects in New Zealand, Australia, and Ontario, and the Baltimore Institute of Architects. This showed that the appeal of the movement to the English-speaking races was world-wide. One speaker, referring to the rate at which the country was being devastated, said that the beauties of the popular Continental resorts were being disfigured in the same way, and ended by declaring: “That man has it in his power to preserve beauty and to create beauty, from the constructive point of view, is a message for which the whole world is waiting.”