Interview with Michael Foley

Michael Foley runs an RICS-regulated building surveying practice that deals exclusively with the historic built environment. Before becoming a building surveyor, he was a carpenter and joiner for 25 years, and a labourer before that.

Michael Foley refitting the weather vane on the Grade II* listed Clock House on Ramsgate Harbour.

Who has been your greatest inspiration?

Hugh Perks. I first met him in an interview for an HNC building surveying course at Canterbury College in 2011. He said: ‘I’m going to teach how to survey by using your senses rather than relying on meters.’ He did, and that included using the sense of taste. You should see the look (on) people’s faces when I sometimes pick off a piece of building fabric, put it in my mouth and chew it over. His lecture on lime in 2011 changed the course of my life. Hugh, who died in 2020, was a giant of a man, both physically and intellectually. He was the most accomplished human being I had ever met and a conservation legend.

What has been your best idea?

To get an old sailing boat, fix it up and go off sailing. I had a 10-year run where I would work seven days a week in the winter to be able to work on my boat and go sailing during the summers.

What would you like to have been if you had not become a conservationist?

A professional yachtsman. I was working towards this but the crash of 2008 put a stop to it, so it was back to the building site for me.

How do you reply when at a party someone asks what you do?

‘As much as possible.’ I don’t define myself by what I do for a living.

What is the biggest frustration in your job?

People involved in the game who do not know one end of an old brick from another. I pull my hair out at so-called professionals who cannot distinguish between traditional and modern construction materials, technology and design. I like to remind people that having worked at some level on a listed building is not a conservation qualification.

What would you like to be doing in five years’ time?

Sailing my boat around the British Isles after taking on some staff and handing over the firm to younger and ambitious practice partners. I would take my laptop with me and do some work ‘from home’ on the boat.

What is your favourite building?

West Dean House. I have had the privilege of staying there ten times while completing their residential building conservation master classes (BCMs) to gain the professional development diploma in historic building conservation and repair. Anybody who has stayed there will know that this is probably the ultimate immersive conservation experience in the world. I plan to do some more BCMs, as getting to eat, sleep, drink and learn practical and academic conservation in the comfort of a stately home is a proper busman’s holiday.

Your favourite place?

My hometown of Ramsgate in Kent. I realised a few decades ago how important architecturally and culturally the place is. From the arrival of the Romans to St Augustine and Christianity, and the birth of the modern house – AWN Pugin’s The Grange, and the most exquisite church he built for himself and the Catholic community, the Shrine of Saint Augustine. Ramsgate harbour is probably the most intact Georgian harbour in the world, and the views of the seafront from its pier ends are spectacular. Historic England acknowledged how important the place is by designating it their first heritage action zone in the south of England. I was one of the volunteers who helped put together the new conservation area appraisal. The Ramsgate Conservation Area is so large (for a town) and diverse that it has 13 distinct character areas.

Your favourite book?

Not one but a series: Practical Building Conservation by English Heritage/Historic England. The relevant volumes are the course books for the BCMs at West Dean. I love their quality and how they index each other. Getting to meet some (of) the authors and editors through studying at West Dean makes the books seem even more real and relevant.

What organisations are you a member of?

IHBC (affiliate) and south-east branch committee member; RICS; Ramsgate Heritage and Design Forum; Building Limes Forum; SPAB; Ramsgate Football Supporters Association.

Which one issue would you particularly like the IHBC to campaign on?

Countering inappropriate and misinformed climate change and retrofit ideas that will have a negative impact on old buildings, wasting energy and trashing historic fabric. Historic fabric is precious; once it’s gone, it’s gone. Energy is becoming more and more renewable.