A Short History of British Architecture: From Stonehenge to the Shard

by Simon Jenkins

Synopsis:

The architecture of Britain is an art gallery in itself. From the streets to squares, through the cities, suburbs and villages, magnificent buildings of eclectic styles are found everywhere. A Short History of British Architecture is the gripping and untold story of why Britain looks the way it does, from prehistoric Stonehenge to the lofty towers of today.

Simon Jenkins traces the relentless battles over the European traditions of classicism and gothic. He guides us from the gothic cathedrals of Lincoln, Ely and Wells to the 'prodigy' houses of the Tudor renaissance, and visits the great estates of Georgian London, the docks of Liverpool, the mills of Yorkshire and the chapels of south Wales.

The arrival of modernism in the twentieth century politicized public taste, upheaved communities and sought to reconstruct entire cities. It produced Coventry Cathedral and Lloyd's of London, but also the brutalist monoliths of Sheffield's Park Hill, Glasgow's Cumbernauld and London's South Bank. Only in the 1970s did the public at last give voice to what became the conservation revolution - a movement in which Jenkins played a leading role, both as deputy chairman of English Heritage and chairman of the National Trust, and in the saving of iconic buildings such as St Pancras International and Covent Garden.

Jenkins shows that everyone is a consumer of architecture and makes the case for the importance of everyone learning to speak its language. A Short History of British Architecture is a celebration of Britain's national treasures, a lament of its failures - and a call to arms.

I know basically nothing about literature, and I can’t say I feel I know much more having finished Simon Jenkins’ A Short History of British Architecture — but I really enjoyed reading his enthusiastic survey of British architecture. I feel like it would be better appreciated by someone with a touch more knowledge than me, and it would also definitely reward reading with a device ready to search for images of the buildings discussed (which I didn’t do). There are some colour inserts with images, but not nearly enough to cover all the buildings he discusses.

I did have a couple of critiques — one of course would be that more images would’ve been helpful, and another would be the Anglo-centricism of it. There’s very little about Welsh or Scottish buildings, and particularly not specific buildings. Disposing of William Burges’ work in three paragraphs and Cardiff Castle/Castell Coch in three sentences within that is pretty baffling compared to the wordcount spent on other, English buildings. I think inevitable the book is guided by Jenkins’ taste and preferences, but Castell Coch is an absolute confection of a building, and one of the only buildings I feel genuinely quite passionate about myself (for all that it is a ridiculous daydream of a place; perhaps because it’s a ridiculous daydream).

In general, though, I was pretty lost, and while there is a glossary of terms, it’s at the back. I could’ve done with some definitions as we went along, honestly.

In the end, for me, reading this was like listening to someone talk enthusiastically about a subject they love, which I don’t share. It’s enjoyable, and I can join in the enthusiasm in the moment, but I won’t be taking it up.

Rating: 3/5