Safeguarding the colonial era's ecclesiastical heritage: towards a sustainable protection-use model
Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development
ISSN: 2044-1266
Article publication date: 28 July 2020
Issue publication date: 18 January 2021
Abstract
Purpose
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/approach
This 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.
Findings
A 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/value
Heritage 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.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the interviewees for their invaluable insights and contribution to this research. The authors are especially grateful for the invaluable assistance of Rev. Sunday A. Ogundipe.
Citation
Sabri, R. and Olagoke, O.A. (2021), "Safeguarding the colonial era's ecclesiastical heritage: towards a sustainable protection-use model", Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 121-134. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHMSD-01-2020-0017
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited