The Delvers, Delving along the Derwent — a History of 200 Quarries and the People who Built them

converted to other private use) and private individuals. The restorations recognised by the awards have been extended to cover station roofs, bridges, viaducts, tunnels, signal boxes, goods sheds, tea rooms and coal drops, and smaller projects such as a cast-iron gent’s urinal, lighting columns and mileposts. The competition was extended to the Isle of Man in 1987 and to Ireland in 1992. Some 227 locations are listed in the index, but there is no actual list of award winners, although it might be possible to construct one from information in the text and captions. One feels that there should be mention of the parallels between the ‘listing’ of railway buildings and structures and this annual competition? The former is concerned with safeguarding and the latter with restoration, but the two are complementary. To what extent has the competition inspired the rescue of listed buildings? Has it resulted in new listings? But these questions are not explored. Perhaps the affinity is deliberately downplayed. The invitation to submit entries for the 1983 awards warned ‘that the judges would be paying particular attention to efforts in creating an attractive public image rather than to maintaining strict adherence to a particular historic period’. This pragmatic approach remains a hallmark of the Awards; despite occasional dissension within the Panel of Adjudicators, the Awards have not sought to be a purist architectural composition. Nevertheless this is a worthy record of an enterprise that must have greatly exceeded its founders’ hopes.