RAHAN MONASTIC SITE - Offaly County Council

APPENDICESAPPENDICESAppendix 1Definitions outlined in the Burra CharterFor the purposes of this conservation plan the following definitions provided by the Burra Charter have beenused:Conservation means all the processes of looking after a place so as to retain its culturalsignificance. Conservation is based on a respect for the existing fabric, use, associations andmeanings. It requires a cautious approach to change best summed up by the dictum – do as littleas possible but as much as is necessary. Surviving traces of accretions, alterations and earliertreatments to the original historic fabric of a place represent important evidence of its history anddevelopment over time. This evidence often contributes greatly to the significance of a building orplace. Conservation action should assist and not impede a clear understanding of such evidence.Conservation may, according to circumstance, include the processes of: retention or reintroductionof a use; retention of associations and meanings; maintenance, preservation, restoration,reconstruction, adaptation and interpretation; and will commonly include a combination ofmore than one of these. There may be circumstances where no action is required to achieveconservation.Place means site, area, land, landscape, building or other work, group of buildings or other works,and may include components, contents, spaces and views. The concept of place should be broadlyinterpreted.Cultural significance means aesthetic, historic, scientific, social or spiritual value, which may havemeaning for past, present or future generations. Cultural significance is embodied in the placeitself, its fabric, setting, use, associations, meanings, records, related places and related objects.Maintenance means the continuous protective care of the fabric and setting of a place, and is to bedistinguished from repair. Regular on-going maintenance is the most sensible and cost-effectiveway to care for an historic building or place.Repair involves the sensitive making good of defects that have occurred to historic fabric, throughwear and tear. Within this process, existing fabric is retained and made good using like materials,without recourse to replacement or renewal.Fabric means all the physical material of the place including components, fixtures, contents, andobjects. Fabric includes building interiors and sub-surface remains, as well as excavated material.Preservation means maintaining the fabric of a place in its existing state and preventingdeterioration.Restoration means returning the existing fabric of a place to a known earlier state by removingaccretions or by reassembling existing components without the introduction of new material.Reconstruction means returning a place to a known earlier state and is distinguished fromrestoration by the introduction of new material into the fabric. This should not be to the detrimentof any place of cultural significance.75