Notice: Revising Pevsner – A New Look At The Buildings Of Surrey

Published on: 4 Nov, 2022
Updated on: 4 Nov, 2022

For anyone who loves exploring Surrey’s heritage or has real interest in architectural style and periods, a lecture on the revised Pevsner Architectural Guides, due for publication on November 22, is a must says the Arts and Crafts Movement in Surrey.

The talk on Wednesday, November 16 at the Guildford Institute is by Charles O’Brien, the series editor of the revised guides. He promises to highlight some of the new material on Surrey’s Arts and Crafts buildings included in the revised Surrey Pevsner.

He has researched, edited and written several volumes since 1997 and will talk about the history of the series, the tasks of revision as well as some discoveries that have come to light in the course of research. The talk will highlight the expanding range of coverage of the Arts and Crafts dimension.

The Pevsner Architectural Guides were begun in 1951 by the architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner (1902- 83) with the aim of providing an up-to-date portable guide to the most significant buildings in every part of the country, suitable for both the general reader and specialist.

The long-awaited fully revised edition of the guide for Surrey, the first since Bridget Cherry’s revision in 1971, will be published on November 22 by Yale University Press.

It revisits Surrey’s major monuments such as Waverley Abbey and Farnham Castle but also extends its scope to a wide diversity of structures of the more recent past with greater appreciation of those of the 20th century, including Guildford Cathedral and postmodern business parks.

Greater coverage is given to its many towns, 18th-century landscape gardens, and the remains of its industrial heritage.

The guide once more brings to the fore the county’s unrivalled collection of Victorian and Edwardian architecture from the celebrated houses by Philip Webb, Norman Shaw, Lutyens, Voysey, and their multiple disciples to major institutions like Royal Holloway College and Charterhouse School.

The Arts and Crafts Movement in Surrey offers a warm welcome to members and non-members who might wish to attend the lecture