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Safeguarding the colonial era's ecclesiastical heritage: towards a sustainable protection-use model

Safeguarding the colonial era's ecclesiastical heritage: towards a sustainable protection-use model The purpose of this paper is to examine the current conservation state of colonial-era ecclesiastical buildings in Yorubaland (South-Western Nigeria) and the mechanics of their upkeep. The article also discusses the parameters of formulating a balanced protection-use model for the management of these buildings.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining participatory observations and documentation, semi-structured interviews and the review of church compendiums. Forty-four church buildings were identified and surveyed, and sixty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted.FindingsA gradual change in how communities value colonial-era churches in contrast to other structures with ecclesiastical legacies has been identified. The challenges and threats to their protection are investigated, revealing a variety of contextual constraints in the current management structure, which prioritizes the expansion of useful space over the conservation of the original fabric, often resulting in extreme modifications. However, there are also opportunities in the current system that could be mobilized to resource a self-sustaining conservation management practice, based on a mutually developed protection-use balance.Originality/valueHeritage policy has not directly addressed the management of ecclesiastical buildings erected during the modern colonial era. This paper is the first in-depth investigation of colonial-era religious structures in the Nigerian context, and one of the few, if not the first, in a former African colonial nation. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development Emerald Publishing

Safeguarding the colonial era's ecclesiastical heritage: towards a sustainable protection-use model

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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
2044-1266
DOI
10.1108/jchmsd-01-2020-0017
Publisher site
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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the current conservation state of colonial-era ecclesiastical buildings in Yorubaland (South-Western Nigeria) and the mechanics of their upkeep. The article also discusses the parameters of formulating a balanced protection-use model for the management of these buildings.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining participatory observations and documentation, semi-structured interviews and the review of church compendiums. Forty-four church buildings were identified and surveyed, and sixty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted.FindingsA gradual change in how communities value colonial-era churches in contrast to other structures with ecclesiastical legacies has been identified. The challenges and threats to their protection are investigated, revealing a variety of contextual constraints in the current management structure, which prioritizes the expansion of useful space over the conservation of the original fabric, often resulting in extreme modifications. However, there are also opportunities in the current system that could be mobilized to resource a self-sustaining conservation management practice, based on a mutually developed protection-use balance.Originality/valueHeritage policy has not directly addressed the management of ecclesiastical buildings erected during the modern colonial era. This paper is the first in-depth investigation of colonial-era religious structures in the Nigerian context, and one of the few, if not the first, in a former African colonial nation.

Journal

Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jan 18, 2021

Keywords: Heritage values; Colonial-era ecclesiastical heritage; Participatory conservation; Protection-use balance

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