Conservative repair

Conservative repair is a philosophy for conservation. This principle was pioneered by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) from its foundation in 1877.

Principles
Broadly, speaking, conservative repair is a coherent philosophy in itself which calls for the following:
 * respect for the age and character of the building, and for the physical evidence of its history
 * the preservation of as much original fabric as possible in the repair process
 * repairs should be carried out with materials and craft techniques as close as possible to the originals
 * new work should always be subservient to the old, both practically and aesthetically,
 * new work should be carried out honestly, without pretending to be older or of a different type than it is
 * repairs done now should not preclude later repairs when they become necessary