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

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The untold and revelatory story of why our country looks like it does, from the bestselling historian The architecture of Britain is an art gallery all around us. From our streets to squares, through our cities, suburbs and villages, we are surrounded by magnificent buildings of eclectic styles. 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. Bestselling historian 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 politicised 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 our national treasures, a lament of our failures - and a call to arms.

Reviews

"Jenkins has produced the sort of work that not only compacts people and places into manageable form but also has wit and insight enough to bring a sense of freshness even to a knowledgeable history buff."Booklist on A Short History of Europe

"Swift, engaging traditional political history.... Entertaining morsels of legend, lore, and gossip add flavour....a pleasurable, erudite tour of 4,000 years of European politics."Publishers Weekly starred review on A Short History of Europe

Author Bio

Simon Jenkins is author of the bestselling A Short History of England, A Short History of Europe, Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations, England's Thousand Best Churches and England's Thousand Best Houses. He is a former Editor of the Evening Standard and The Times, and columnist for the Guardian.