International Perspective

I would like to draw attention to a recent news story about an art installation in Brixton celebrating the connection between Vincent van Gogh and the house where he stayed in 1873. Click here to see the BBC version and here to see the Telegraph's account.

Obviously, there is a lesson here that buildings associated with famous artists or writers should not just be saved but need some means to make them accessible to the public. This would easily be achieved in the case of The Three Cups because the most obvious way of saving it is by re-opening it AS A HOTEL. West Dorset District Council, please note.

I would respectfully draw the attention of The Lyme Regis Society to the importance of a blue plaque to saving 87 Hackford Road, Brixton from demolition.

My claim that there is an international perspective to this story is based on looking up what Wikipedia has to say about cultural heritage. Here is the opening sentence of the entry.

"Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artefacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations."

Exactly! That is why The Three Cups should be saved. But for whom? Just the local fans of Tolkien, Chesterton, Jane Austen etc etc? The Wikipedia contributors emphasise the importance of world heritage and I would agree that those whose duty it is to save The Three Cups HOTEL for future generations should consider people from other countries who would want visit and stay. However, it should not be left to UNESCO to save our national heritage. We would lose some of our national identity if that happens.

Regarding famous painters and The Three Cups, we know that Turner and Whistler visited Lyme Regis but have no indication that they stayed at the hotel. However, it would not be difficult to imagine that they sampled the hospitality of its restaurant or bar given the hotel's fame and central location.