Abstract
SEVERAL important aspects of the preservation of English scenery were mentioned by.Dr. Vaughan Cornish in an address to Section E of the British Association at Blackpool on September 14. In the first place, insisting that a scene from which Nature has been expelled is no fit dwelling place for man, he urged the brightening of towns by rebuilding schemes which give higher buildings, and that in a smaller area accommodate the same number of people, and so leave land free for gardens and boulevards. Dr. Cornish went on to insist that the mere preservation of monuments of antiquity is not enough. It is necessary to preserve a contemporary background as in the case of Stonehenge, the Roman Wall, and the ancient earthworks of the Downs. In these respects, however, the danger to natural amenities is less great than in the threat to the cliff-lands of England and Wales. A considerable extent of our five hundred miles of cliff-land is in danger from bungalows, hotels and other buildings. Before it is too late, the last of these cliffs should be acquired and preserved as nationalparks. This would necessitate the acquisition of a strip little more than 100 yards in width. Several stretches of Cornish cliff-land are specially suited for national reservations, but it will have to be accomplished soon or the builder will have damaged them beyond redemption. The concluding part of Dr. Cornish's address was devoted to a plea for the recognition as national parks of the New Forest, the Forest of Dean, the Pennine Moors and the Lake District. Cliff-lands, woodlands and mountains would then be represented, these being the three types of English scenery of special importance.
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Preservation of English Scenery. Nature 138, 538 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/138538b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/138538b0