HUTCHINS, Nigel 1945-

PERSONAL: Born June 4, 1945, in Tynemouth, England; married, 1974; wife's name, Donna; children: Dylan, Jesse. Ethnicity: "White Anglo-Saxon Protestant." Hobbies and other interests: Antiques, sailing, diving.

ADDRESSES: Home—Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Office—Limestone Productions, Box 216, Streetsville, Ontario L5M 2B8, Canada; fax: 905-815-9070. E-mail—limestoneprod@aol.com.

CAREER: Film and television designer and decorator; writer; building contractor; preservation consultant. Limestone Productions, Streetsville, Ontario, Canada, affiliate.

MEMBER: Communications Workers of America (Broadcasting and Cable Television sector; member of union chapter 700), Freedom in the Clothworkers Company of the City of London.

AWARDS, HONORS: Ontario Arts Council grants, 1967-68, 1971, 1982; "Insect Play" design selected for World Pavilion "Man and His World," Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 1969; Heritage Ottawa Award, 1975, for overall contribution to the field of preservation; Heritage Canada Award of Honour, 1976, for contribution to the heritage of Canada; Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee Award, city of Brockville, Ontario, Canada, 1987.

WRITINGS:

Restoring Old Houses, Van Nostrand Reinhold (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1980, Grammercy Publishing (New York, NY), 1985.

Restoring Houses of Brick and Stone, Fleet, 1982, Van Nostrand Reinhold (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1983.

Restoring Wooden Houses, Key Porter Publishing (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1999.

SIDELIGHTS: Several reviewers described Nigel Hutchins's first book, Restoring Old Houses, as appealing and attractive because of its many photographs, drawings, and diagrams. With contents ranging from historical information to practical guidelines, it covers topics such as building a stone wall and doing decorative stenciling. Acknowledging Hutchins's vast experience and knowledge of the field (he is a Canadian building contractor and consultant on preservation), Quill and Quire contributor Sally Bird pronounced the book's appendix "helpful" and its bibliography "excellent." The author's viewpoint that "technology and modern lifestyles can harmonize" with historical preservation permeates this work and distinguishes Restoring Old Houses from others on the topic, according to Douglas Birdsall in Library Journal. William Heine stated in the London Free Press that the volume is an "excellent work."

Also visually rich in its inclusion of photographs and sketches of subjects ranging from tools to finished buildings, Hutchins' next work, Restoring Houses of Brick and Stone, chronicles the history of masonry from ancient times to the present. The book covers topics such as stone cutting, brick making, house inspection, the causes of masonry damage, halting and repairing decay, installing new foundations, and refurbishing interior and exterior finishes. Restoring Houses of Brick and Stone uses historic homes in Ontario as examples and includes a bibliography and glossary. In Quill and Quire, James Bugslag assessed Hutchins's second effort as not detailed enough for beginners and said that it dealt more with "routine building maintenance and repair rather than [with] historic preservation or restoration." However, Birdsall, in Library Journal, believed that the useful advice in Restoring Houses of Brick and Stone is balanced by Hutchins's concern for good taste and the preservation of historical buildings. This reviewer called it "a worthy companion to the author's first book." A critic also deemed the work "unique and useful" in Booklist.

Hutchins once told CA: "Living with the past, today, is the essence of good architectural preservation. Although designated historic neighborhoods are important, the challenge is to marry historic structures with contemporary lifestyles and commerce."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Antiques Journal, April, 1981, p. 53.

Booklist, July, 1983, review of Restoring Houses of Brick and Stone, p. 1376.

Century Home, March-April, 1983.

Colonial Homes, May-June, 1981.

Historic Preservation, November-December, 1983.

Library Journal, April 1, 1981, Douglas Birdsall, review of Restoring Old Houses, p. 806; June 15, 1983, Douglas Birdsall, review of Restoring Houses of Brick and Stone, p. 1269.

London Free Press, February 28, 1981, William Heine, review of Restoring Old Houses.

Old-House Journal, July-August, 1991.

Quill and Quire, February, 1981, Sally Bird, review of Restoring Old Houses, p. 48; April, 1983, James Bugslag, review of Restoring Houses of Brick and Stone, p. 32.