ABSTRACT
This chapter explores briefly the history of conservation and the principles and
practices that have developed from the eighteenth century onwards. The main
emphasis is on ideas about conservation and, in particular, architectural
conservation, with its focus on the individual building or monument. After a
brief review of pre-eighteenth century antecedents it considers the dominant
conceptions of the treatment of historic buildings that crystallised in the
nineteenth century – stylistic restoration and conservative repair – the latter
concept equating to the idea of ‘modern conservation’ (Jokilehto 1999).