What is SAVE?

SAVE has been described as the most influential conservation group to have been established since William Morris founded the Society for the Protection Ancient Buildings over a century ago. It was created in 1975 - European Architectural Heritage Year - by a group of journalists, historians, architects, and planners to campaign publicly for endangered historic buildings. Through press releases, lightening leaflets, reports, books and exhibitions, SAVE has championed the cause of decaying country houses, redundant churches and chapels, disused mills and warehouses, blighted streets and neighbourhoods, cottages and town halls, railway stations, hospitals, military buildings and asylums.

From the start, SAVE has always placed a special emphasis on the possibilities of alternative uses for historic buildings and, in a number of cases, it has prepared its own schemes for re-use of threatened buildings. On repeated occasions SAVE proposals have been instrumental in giving threatened buildings a renewed lease of life. SAVE is also very active on the broader issues of preservation policy.

Architectural Conservation should be accorded the same consideration which is already being shown to the conservation of other resources for the same reasons. Buildings represent energy, labour and materials, which either cannot be replaced or can only be replaced at enormous cost. The fight to save particular buildings or groups of buildings is not the fancy of some impractical antiquarian. It is part of the battle for the sane use of all our resources. The visible link with the past that old buildings give us is important both as a fascinating insight into history and as an expression of the relative permanence of civilised society. Conservation to the architect and public alike is not a fad, fetter or curse: it is a necessity which should also be seem as a stimulating challenge.

THE FIRST SAVE REPORT
The Architect's Journal 17/24 December 1975