Memorial plaque to Howard Colvin, St John's College Oxford

Sir Howard Montagu Colvin (15 October 1919 – 27 December 2007) was a British

architectural historian An architectural historian is a person who studies and writes about the history of architecture, and is regarded as an authority on it. Professional requirements As many architectural historians are employed at universities and other facilities ...

who produced two of the most outstanding works of scholarship in his field: ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840'' and ''The History of the King's Works''.

Life and works

Born in

Sidcup Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of Bromley and Greenwich. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the ...

, Colvin was educated at Trent College and

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. In 1948, he became a Fellow of St John's College, Oxford where he remained until his death in 2007. He was a member of the

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) was a government advisory body responsible for documenting buildings and monuments of archaeological, architectural and historical importance in England. It was established in 19 ...

1963–76, the

Historic Buildings Council Three separate historic buildings councils were created by the Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953, one for each of England, Scotland, and Wales. Each Historic Buildings Council advised the relevant government minister on the exercise ...

for England 1970–84, the

Royal Fine Art Commission The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) was an executive non-departmental public body of the UK government, established in 1999. It was funded by both the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for ...

1962–72, and other official bodies. He is most notably the author of ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840'' which appeared in its original form in 1954.

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...

produced a third edition in 1995, and he had just completed his work on the fourth edition at the time of his death. On first publication this reference work of heroic scale immediately became the standard in its field: it "changed the face of English architectural history", according to David Watkin. In the revised edition, Colvin expanded the range to include Scottish and Welsh architects as well. The work includes every building within its time range with which the name of an architect can be associated, based on documentary evidence from extensive archival research, both by him and a growing network of correspondents. He was particularly an enemy of attributions based on style alone. This resulted in an index that is an architectural gazetteer, and which also gives a comprehensive listing of architectural books published in Britain, listed by author. The prefatory essay, "The Practice of Architecture, 1600–1840", is divided into two sections, covering the building trades and the architectural profession, both contributions to the broader social history of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. He also was general editor, and wrote large parts, of the official multi-volume study of all the buildings with which the Crown had been associated through history, ''The History of the King's Works'', published in stages between 1963 and 1982. Colvin's work in government parallels his academic achievement. Just as he rose to become the acknowledged authority within academia, he also rose via membership of the bodies listed above and others to be Chair of the committee of

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

that dealt with Britain's

built environment The term built environment refers to human-made conditions and is often used in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, public health, sociology, and anthropology, among others. These curated spaces provide the setting for human a ...

. His most famous coup was to lead a campaign which succeeded in inducing the then Chancellor of the Exchequer

Nigel Lawson Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, (born 11 March 1932) is a British Conservative Party politician and journalist. He was a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Blaby from 1974 to 1992, and served in the cabinet of Margaret ...

to alter the 1984 Budget so as to save

Calke Abbey Calke Abbey is a Grade I listed country house near Ticknall, Derbyshire, England, in the care of the charitable National Trust. The site was an Augustinian priory from the 12th century until its dissolution by Henry VIII. The present building ...

in Derbyshire for the nation.

Honours

Colvin was knighted in 1995. He served as president of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain 1979–81; and a special issue of its journal ''

Architectural History The history of architecture traces the changes in architecture through various traditions, regions, overarching stylistic trends, and dates. The beginnings of all these traditions is thought to be humans satisfying the very basic need of shelt ...

'' was produced in his honour in 1984.

Personal life

Colvin married Christina Edgeworth Butler, a literary scholar and historian of Oxfordshire, in 1943; they had two sons. She predeceased him in 2003.

Archive and library

Colvin's research papers and correspondence associated with the ''Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840'' are held in the archives of the Paul Mellon Centre in London. These arrived along with a number of architectural history publications including country house guidebooks which were bequeathed to the Paul Mellon Centre's library.

Publications

''The History of the King's Works''

* London:

HMSO The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the U ...

(1963–1982) ** Vol. 1–2: ''The Middle Ages'', R. Allen Brown, H. M. Colvin, and A. J. Taylor (also includes plans 1–4) ** Vol. 3: ''1485–1660, part 1'', H.M. Colvin, D. R. Ransome, John Summerson ** Vol. 4: ''1485–1660, part 2'', H.M. Colvin, D. R. Ransome, John Summerson ** Vol. 5: ''1660–1782'', H.M. Colvin, J. Mordaunt Crook, Kerry Downes, John Newman ** Vol. 6: ''1782–1851'', J. Mordaunt Crook, M. H. Port ** Plans 5–7

Other works

* * * * * *Entries for

Charles Long, 1st Baron Farnborough Charles Long, 1st Baron Farnborough (2 January 1760 – 17 January 1838) was an English politician and connoisseur of the arts. Early life Born in London, he was the fourth surviving son of West Indies merchant Beeston Long and his wife Sara ...

and

Isaac de Caus Isaac de Caus (1590–1648) was a French landscaper and architect. He arrived in England in 1612 to carry on the work that his brother Salomon de Caus had left behind. His first known work in England was a grotto that Caus designed in 1623 locat ...

in the ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' *Calke Abbey Derbyshire, a Hidden House Revealed. 1985 National Trust. *

References

Sources

External links

Obituary in ''The Independent''Obituary in ''The Times''Obituary in ''The Daily Telegraph''May 2011 meeting
of

SAHGB The Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain (SAHGB) is a United Kingdom learned society for people interested in the history of architecture. Purpose The Society exists to encourage interest in the history of architecture, to enab ...

in Oxford: "ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY AFTER COLVIN"
The Howard Colvin Archive
Research notes and correspondence {{DEFAULTSORT:Colvin, Howard 1919 births 2007 deaths English architectural historians British biographers British art historians English architecture writers Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of St John's College, Oxford Alumni of University College London People from Sidcup 20th-century biographers Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Royal Historical Society People of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England