Manifesto of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings

The Manifesto of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings or SPAB Manifesto is widely regarded as the first document to establish a coherent and logically defensible philosophy for building conservation. The Manifesto, written by William Morris and other founder members and issued in 1877, consists principally of a plea to "put protection in place of restoration" and only the last two paragraphs laud a philosophy of "care". The relatively brief Manifesto statement's primary significance is that it marks the starting point for many later charter and policy statements in which the underlying theme of the SPAB Manifesto is adopted and developed rather than being significantly amended.

Although produced in response to the conservation problems of the nineteenth century, the Manifesto extends protection to "all times and styles" and remains to this day the philosophical basis for the field of historic preservation.