Reviews of "Little Houses"

This collaboration between the NTS and RCAHMS, written by Miles Glendinning and Diane Watters, makes fascinating reading for any one with an interest in social history and housing. It follows the origins and history of the the NTS's Little Houses Improvement Scheme (LHIS) and the work of those that pioneered the restoration and preservation of Scotland's small towns in the inter-war and post war period.
The book is complementary about the work the NTS undertook along side local authorities in the 1950s creating new homes for affordable rents, and its urban regeneration work in the 1980s and 1990s. But it is more critical of the retreat into the narrow preservation of the Fife Burghs in the 1960s and 1970s.
It combines the depth and detail (and good illustrations) one expects from the RCAHMS, while avoiding any sophistry in relation to Ian Lindsay, the architect-campaigner, or the NTS's Earl of Wemyss. At times it lapses into a guarded polemic. The drive to restore traditional houses is a complex one say the authors, but they add - "In to the nation's supposed cultural essence, both from 'English domination' and from internal stagnation".

Penny Lewis, Prospect, Autumn 2006

Any respectable history of the Conservation Movement in Britain will include a mention of the National Trust for Scotland's (NTS) Improvement Scheme for Small Houses and what stemmed from it. It has always been regarded as a model for self-sustaining programmes aimed at securing a safe future for what was a threatened species, the small vernacular house and other buildings with distinctive regional character.
The authors deserve great credit for their narration of one of Scotland's proud achievements. The Little Houses scheme dates form 1960 but was preceded by pioneering work by the NTS, particularly at Culross in Fife in the early 1930s and Dunkeld in the early 1950s.
The problem lay in the precipitous clearance of old housing in what was popularly called slum clearance. The NTS challenged these arbitrary and misguided policies. Much of the impetus for this work and credit for its implementation must go to an architect, Ian Lindsay.
The book is a well-written, comprehensive account of the Little Houses schemes and their impact down to the present day. Beautifully illustrated, it is furnished with chapter notes, a gazetteer and map showing the location of the schemes together with a good index.
My only reservation is that it follows the regrettable trend in printing which results in print size and some visual images reduced until they are virtually unreadable. The problem is exacerbated by the use of a kind of grey ink. Photo-reduction has a lot to answer for.
Having said that, this publication is a fitting, elegant record of one of the great achievements of the early days of the British Conservation Movement and represents an important addition to any respectable bookshelf collection.

Building Conervation Journal, December 2006