Field trip! Things are rather spread out so I’ll probably do a part 1 and a part 2.

BLOG POST: That's it, it's out! Here are some notes on where you can buy it; how you can read it if you don't do Kindle; how I put the collection together; and where I got the title. precastreinforced.co.uk/2026/04/30/t...

Ah, Plymouth. Another month, another unexploded ordinance on a building site. www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymout...

Oh, people should get this! Andrew’s photography is always wonderful: he works out how to get just the right angle to make the buildings beautiful and sometimes abstracted to just a pattern.

Field trip tomorrow, which’ll be in inboxes next week, and a deep dive started with some great leads for research.

Oh! This should be good!

Newsletter is out, and it’s a freebie bringing together some bits of news around the theme of reuse and retrofitting.

Newsletter is out, and it’s a freebie bringing together some bits of news around the theme of reuse and retrofitting.

I've got six subscribers who haven't activated their subscriptions, which means you're not getting the newsletter. If you think that's you, please check your spam folder for the activation link, which will be from [email protected]. I've just sent a reminder as well.

All the information is on the task.

Probably not going in the newsletter but this is a nice little piece on Somerset's 1936 fingerpost design. www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...

We’re hiring a full-time Historic Environment Advisor for our West England District. Work across Exmoor, Dartmoor, Cornwall WHS and the Forest of Dean, supporting biodiversity and sustainable forestry. A rare chance to shape landscapes at scale. www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/jobs.cgi...

Zenith House, Exeter. R. M. Challice and Son, 1933. More here: exetermemories.co.uk/em/_commerci... I’ve been on a half-hearted hunt for more about Chalice for a while.

NEWS: The former Odeon Cinema in Morecambe (1937), now a hardware and bathroom supply shop, has been Grade II listed following support from C20 Society. The Streamlined Moderne style cinema was one of 7 designed for Odeon by architect William Calder Robson; 3 of which survive, all are now listed.

Pottering around Rightmove. Crosstrees in Kingswear is for sale. Originally a pair, according to UK MoHo, built 1960s, no named architect. Very much a modern Kingswear price tag though. www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/8...

I was very good and only snapped a couple of buildings when in Plymouth last week.

ICYMI, my exploration of Seal’s holiday lodges is up for paying subscribers.

In timing I swear was unplanned, @themodernist.bsky.social has announced a talk about holiday lodges and cabins by Peter Halliday (no relation). the-modernist.org/products/the...

NEW! Exploring Mervyn Seal’s holiday lodges, perhaps his quirkiest example of his design philosophy. (£ deep dive)

Just doing the slow bit of loading a deep dive: alt text, credits, dumb typos.

Found a photo of the final statue after it was erected.

A sixties look at high rise living! LOOK AT LIFE: HIGH LIVING (1968) 6:20pm on #TPTV

There are hairy coos at Killerton? I know where I need to go this week.

Our engineers are done retrofitting our house to renewables. I'm trying to tear myself away from watching the live solar generation data to put the last touches to the deep dive. It will not be into this pool.

1960s house, with additions, in Devon for sale. The tiles in one pic means I'm tagging @oldenoughtosay.com bydesignhomes.com/properties/5...

Abandoned Battle of Britain control tower to become a home for holidaymakers … and six species of bat

My deep dive into the former library at Nailsea is now available free to read. buttondown.com/WestCountryM...

It is said that a Yorkshire town in the 60s refused to put a Henry Moore statue in a public place because bored small Yorkshire boys would inevitably get their heads stuck in the hole.

That moment when the press clippings pull up a surprise.

Do you know of someone who might be interested in doing a #PhD on the urban, architectural and environmental history of the University of Liverpool? If so could you point them in my direction?

Moneycentre, Plymouth, 2021 📸 View HD images at modernistdelights.com/moneycentre-p… #iphonephotography #photography #modernism #urbanphotography #urban #architecture #architecturephotography #plymouth

Newsletter? On a Saturday? Am I mad, or was I just waiting for some plans to appear on a portal? Civic power and literal power stations this time. buttondown.com/WestCountryM...

Newsletter? On a Saturday? Am I mad, or was I just waiting for some plans to appear on a portal? Civic power and literal power stations this time. buttondown.com/WestCountryM...

Newsletter will drop into inboxes tomorrow morning when I'll be napping (I hope) on a coach. You can subscribe here. buttondown.com/WestCountryM...

This isn't on the planning portal yet, but hopefully will be later this week as it'll be the first chance to see the detailed plans of what 1962 materials will be retained. (I love the stylised anchor doorhandles, for example.) www.plymouth.gov.uk/news/new-fut...

Cute news about toll booth from the 1962 Tamar Bridge. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Does anyone know much about 1960s Town Maps? I'm researching something and have found local press coverage that says someone objected to inclusion of the site as "white". I'm not entirely sure what that means.

Latest on the campaign to save the 1930s Royal cinema in Plymouth: meeting about it at the uni campus on Saturday afternoon and a Punks Protect the Planet fundraising gig in the evening. www.facebook.com/events/82822...

The House Book by Terence Conran (1976)

Finally watched Meades on BBC buildings from The Late Show in 1989. I probably saw it at the time, I was a Late Show junkie. Two years later I’d be working in one of them (Bush House) for almost 20 years.

EVENT: Join C20 for Adventurous Vents: A Journey through the Ventilation Shafts of Britain, as the authors of a new book explore this most intriguing architectural typology 📆 Mon 23 March at 6.30-8pm 📍The Gallery, Cowcross St, London + Online 🎟️ Book tickets: secure.c20society.org.uk/Default.aspx...

If you wanted a signed Tales of the Suburbs, and a Gaybourhood Watch t and mug, there’s a competition here johngrindrod.substack.com/p/tales-of-t...

This spring I'm celebrating some seaside-themed anniversaries in a series of online talks. The first will be all about the architecture and design of #butlins holiday camps. Tickets from www.ticketsource.co.uk/kathryn-ferry/90-years-of-butlin-s-design-an-online-talk-by-dr-kathryn-ferry/e-yzajrz

This 1957 travel poster for Teignmouth shows what the seafront was like before the 1970s sea wall I mention this week. buttondown.com/WestCountryM...

I've gone down the rightmove rabbithole. But if you'd like a 1974 monopitch house near Falmouth, this is on the market. (UKMoHo ref ukmoho.co.uk/html/buildin...) www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/1...

Ooh, new exhibit for fans of post-war power stations over in Poole. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The 1930s fire station in Bath has now closed its doors. Mollie Taylor's completion of her father work will be demolished during 2026. www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-n...

A field trip to one place has generated field notes on a seaside town. Free newsletter out now.

Such a handsome book about such a brilliant designer.

I'm back on these - out later today. I need chocolate first.