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.

Working on field notes from last week. Please enjoy this accurately named lane.

Not C20 but I could not resist the inside of St James in Teignmouth. One for @fotofacade.bsky.social if he’s not already been there!

This is not good.

Just saw a 1960s modern house. Rubblewall chimney. Asymmetric roof. White render. And fake diamond leaded window on all the windows.

Intermittent sun so far. Popped to Teignmouth sea front whilst waiting for a bus. I adore the witches hat shops on the front. (State of the Victorian pier though!)

The weather is looking...dry. I'm off to see something tomorrow. Might take my walking gaiters just in case though.

I've sent the newsletter on a Monday, just to vary things up. ;) Contains mentions of Owen Hatherley and @jonnelledge.bsky.social as well as looking at some nice Seaside Heritage @seasidenetwork.bsky.social

BREAKING NEWS: We’re absolutely thrilled to announce that the Southbank Centre - the Hayward Gallery, Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall and skaters undercroft - has finally been Grade II listed by DCMS after a 35 year long campaign. ➡️ c20society.org.uk/news/southba...

Here's why there have been no field trips yet. Cornwall, Devon and Somerset all in the top six "very rainy" table.

Theeeeeyre heeeere! Finished copies!!!

There's a water tower being converted in East Devon. (be on Grand Designs, be on Grand Designs...) Also, more seriously, I've been thinking about Molly Taylor, Marlow Moss and the problem with Great Man framings of history. News letter out now.

There's a water tower being converted in East Devon. (be on Grand Designs, be on Grand Designs...) Also, more seriously, I've been thinking about Molly Taylor, Marlow Moss and the problem with Great Man framings of history. News letter out now.

For the rain it raineth every day. Not metaphorically, thanks Shakespeare, but literally. I've not done a field trip or archive visit yet. Working on a newsletter but no chonky stories right now. I will try not to write about rain.

Size isn’t everything. What *is* a nation, anyway?

It's our first Bristol Modernist walk of the year on 20th Feb and you can book here: the-modernist.org/products/all...

Interior shot or two of Plymouth's Civic Centre. Planning application for new designs due "soon".

🚨 New on Substack: Council Housing in Plymouth before 1914: ‘the merry homes of England’ municipaldreams.substack.com/p/council-ho...

For fans of Bath Fire Station (e.g @westcountrymodern.bsky.social), this will be a fascinating tour. www.curiousmindsfestival.co.uk/events/walki...

I pulled this together fairly quickly so all errors and omissions are my own. How it’s coped with Storm Ingrid is unknown.

One for @seasidenetwork.bsky.social and @seasideferry.bsky.social: the end of the Victorian Teignmouth Pier has gone. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Another post-war Catholic Church in danger of demolition. Future generations will shake their heads at our idiocy if this mini-Liverpool Cathedral turns to dust.

Having recently had several midcentury catholic churches demolished in my area- IF YOU DON'T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN, GIVE THE CONGREGATIONS MONEY FOR MAINTENANCE

The newsletter is out, with a look at the 1970 Catholic church of St Peter's. A crown-shaped church in Crown Hill, Plymouth, that has had a demolition request put in. buttondown.com/WestCountryM...

Finally sorting emails after a fortnight of other priorities.

This is a fairly useful summary of what is happening (or not) with several key midcentury buildings in Plymouth. No new news, but I'd missed that the Moneycentre (MWT, 1975) has been bought to be turned into student flats for the uni across from it.

Update this morning. The Millbay bomb is a mere 50kg. The one found on the same day in Exmouth is apparently much bigger. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/ce...

This doesn't really count as news, as rumours of Babcock taking on Dingles have been around for months. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This is in the Millbay Road area of Plymouth. the "bomb book" held at The Box showed many UXBs in the area back in 1944. web.plymouth.gov.uk/archivescata... www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/live-bo...

It's already quite a fun news week for C20 modernism in the west country, huh.

There goes my day.

This #MapMonday we're taking you back in time ⌛ We've just added over 9,000 out of copyright Ordnance Survey maps published in 1975 to our Map Images website. What did your neighbourhood look like fifty years ago? 🗺️ 🔗: maps.nls.uk/additions/#191 #MoreMaps

This other 2015 BBC report gives more background to this 1930s design not completed till 1972 www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-engl...

Back in print! The Radburn Idea 1. Also available, The Radburn Idea 2! Stories of how postwar English architects and planners attempted to produce pedestrian-friendly, car-free housing estates. £10 each, postage free. For sale here: theradburnidea.bigcartel.com

In last week's newsletter I mentioned an exhibition in Bristol. The lovely people @themodernist.bsky.social are offering a guided tour in Feb. Extremely limited places. More details here: the-modernist.org/products/bau...

Was it because the architect was a knight? (Sir Edwin Lutyens)

This is in Gloucestershire. 1972 monastery building to be retained.

I spent some time here years ago & in my book on the artist Joseph Pike I looked at his 1940s drawings, imagining how Prinknash Abbey would have looked had the architect's original, magnificent & wildly ambitious plans been realised, as distinct from the 70s modernism @westcountrymodern.bsky.social

Clay Cross is famous for its 1972 Rents Rebellion. My new post examines the prehistory of this struggle; part II next week covers the rebellion itself. The photo features the Skinner family whose political activism lay at the heart of the event: municipaldreams.substack.com/p/clay-cross...

What was your #ChildhoodCinema? I used to see films at the local civic centre in the Midlands. After we moved as a teen, it was the Savoy in Exmouth.

The Chapter House at Truro Cathedral is by John Taylor of MWT, built in 1967. www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1...

The first newsletter of the year is out! Would anyone like to buy a brutalist church in Somerset? Plus news of a 1930s cinema reopening and some exhibitions and events. Huge thanks to @eberlin.co.uk for permission to use his photographs of the Good Shepherd.

A short thread on The Death of Pubs inspired by that post from @steveuntilnextyear.bsky.social 1. One of our early blog posts, back in 2009, was about *why* people stopped going to the pub boakandbailey.com/2009/03/pubs... “Working class homes are nicer now than they were in the 60s and 70s...”

Got the emergency radio on charge as it’s getting a bit lively across the peninsula tonight. Luckily we’re not in the red warning zone. Good luck, Cornwall.

The first newsletter of the year is out! Would anyone like to buy a brutalist church in Somerset? Plus news of a 1930s cinema reopening and some exhibitions and events. Huge thanks to @eberlin.co.uk for permission to use his photographs of the Good Shepherd.

This house looks like it could be moderne but is actually a 2010 RIBA SW winner by David Sheppard. www.architectsjournal.co.uk/archive/sout... For sale in Exeter. themodernhouse.com/sales-list/w...

Around 500 words written for the main story in this week's newsletter. You can subscribe to get it in your inbox tomorrow. Free subs get some of the newsletters for, er, free. A paying sub also gets you early access to the deep dives, and I'm holding it at £3 a month until the end of January.

✨ Come behind-the-scenes at Kresen Kernow! ✨ Ever wondered how Cornwall’s historic records are cared for? Join us for a strongroom tour and uncover 850 years of stories!