Join us for another seminar in our series co-supported by the Institute of Historical Research and organised in collaboration with the Oxford Architectural History Seminar. For more information on the series click here. Simon Bradley, Joint Editor of the Pevsner Architectural Guides series, reflects on revising the forthcoming Oxford volume
Nikolaus Pevsner's 'Oxfordshire' appeared in 1974, at the very end of his great survey of The Buildings of England. The entries for Oxford's University buildings are infused with many of his long-standing enthusiasms, including the Picturesque Movement and the role of Modernism in post-war British architecture. In other respects, Pevsner's treatment fell short of full engagement: he ignored much of the impact of restoration work, including the huge refacing campaign that had begun in the late 1950s, while his accounts of 20th-century buildings are sometimes caught between a Modernist narrative of progress and a more inclusive appreciation of other styles and traditions. The revised edition now under way offers the chance to reassess these themes, to explore neglected subjects, and to fill other gaps in our understanding of the University's architecture.
Simon Bradley is joint editor of the Pevsner Architectural Guides, Yale University Press London. He is author or co-author of four books in the revised Buildings of England series, including Cambridgeshire (2014). His current project is the forthcoming volume Oxfordshire: Oxford and the South East.
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