Charles Handley-Read
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Charles Harry Ralph Handley-Read (4 April 1916 – 17 October 1971) was an architectural writer and collector and the first serious 20th-century student of the work of
William Burges William Burges (; 2 December 1827 – 20 April 1881) was an English architect and designer. Among the greatest of the Victorian era, Victorian art-architects, he sought in his work to escape from both nineteenth-century Industrial Revolution, ...
, "a pioneer in Burges studies who was the first to assess the historical brilliance of Burges as ''
gesamtkunstwerk A ''Gesamtkunstwerk'' (, 'total work of art', 'ideal work of art', 'universal artwork', 'synthesis of the arts', 'comprehensive artwork', or 'all-embracing art form') is a work of art that makes use of all or many art forms or strives to do so. ...
'' architect and designer."


Life and works

Handley-Read was born in
Steyning Steyning ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Horsham District, Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It is located at the north end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, north of the coastal town of Shoreha ...
, Sussex in 1916 to a father, Harry Handley Read (1870–1935), who was a magazine illustrator and military artist and a mother Eva Handley Read (1878–1965). who, beside being one of the first qualified female doctors and dental surgeons was a militant
suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...
. In the thirties, he went up to
St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The colle ...
to read architecture, and upon graduation became art master at his old school, Bryanston. His career was interrupted by the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
during which, as a
conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...
, he worked at the
epileptic Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activity in the brain that can cause a variety of symptoms, rang ...
colony at
Lingfield Lingfield can refer to: * Lingfield, County Durham, England, a village * Lingfield, Surrey, England, a village ** Lingfield Park Racecourse ** Lingfield Cricket Club, prominent in the 18th century ** Lingfield railway station, serving the villag ...
, developing
art therapy Art therapy is a distinct discipline that incorporates creative methods of expression through visual art media. Art therapy, as a creative arts therapy profession, originated in the fields of art and psychotherapy and may vary in definition. Art ...
for children. On the resumption of his career, Handley-Read's architectural passion was
Modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
and in 1951 he completed his monograph on "''The Art of
Wyndham Lewis Percy Wyndham Lewis (18 November 1882 – 7 March 1957) was a British writer, painter and critic. He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art and edited ''Blast (British magazine), Blast'', the literary magazine of the Vorticists. His ...
.''" However, the subsequent, and very different, course of his life was set when, in 1952, he saw the Exhibition of Victorian and
Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...
Decorative Arts at the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
. Following the exhibition, and his marriage to Lavinia Staunton, a devotee of Victorian sculpture, Handley-Read "pinned all his hopes and dreams on one all-consuming passion, the work of
William Burges William Burges (; 2 December 1827 – 20 April 1881) was an English architect and designer. Among the greatest of the Victorian era, Victorian art-architects, he sought in his work to escape from both nineteenth-century Industrial Revolution, ...
." In the period between the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and the 1960s Victorian architecture reached its nadir of appreciation; "at best an unhappy interlude between Neo-Classicism and Modernism; at worst a period of grotesque bad taste, associated with religious cranks like
Pugin Pugin most commonly refers to Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812–1852), an English architect and designer. Members of his family include: * Augustus Charles Pugin Augustus Charles Pugin (born Auguste-Charles Pugin; 1762 – 19 Decem ...
and Socialist crackpots like
Ruskin Ruskin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ruskin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Ruskin (given name), a list of people Places United States * Ruskin, Florida, a census-designated place * Ruskin, Georgia, an uni ...
and
William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...
." The desire for, and consequently the prices of, the Victorian decorative arts were therefore at an all-time low. Handley-Read and his wife, aided by a considerable inheritance, began to collect on an increasingly gargantuan scale. While his collection expanded, his ability to write about the works he bought did not: "A lifetime spent struggling to write produced just seventeen articles." Accepting his own inability to undertake Burges's biography, Handley-Read wrote to a friend, Joseph Mordaunt Crook; "Now look. You have just edited Eastlake's ''Gothic Revival''...with complete success. You are well soaked in
John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, (12 September 1847 – 9 October 1900) was a Scottish landed aristocrat, industrial magnate, antiquarian, scholar, philanthropist, and architectural patron. When Bute succeeded to the marqui ...
. You know all about Smirke...why not do William Burges?...partnership is less than I am looking for. I want to hand the job over." On 17 October 1971, at 82 Ladbroke Road,
Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a wikt:cosmopolitan, cosmopolitan and multiculturalism, multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting ...
, Handley-Read committed suicide. He left a substantial estate, valued for probate at £161,768."Handley-Read, Charles Harry Ralph of 82 Ladbroke Road London W11" in ''Wills and Administrations 1972 (England and Wales)'' (1973), p. 56 His wife Lavinia killed herself on 9 December of the same year. These events shocked their friends; the architectural historian
Mark Girouard Mark Girouard (7 October 1931 – 16 August 2022) was a British architectural historian. He was an authority on the country house, and Elizabethan and Victorian architecture. Life and career Girouard was born on 7 October 1931. He was educ ...
, who was close to them both, wrote, "they loved each other, had enough money, a pleasant home, plenty of friends, and had achieved something remarkable." In an article he wrote in '' Country Life'' in March 1972, Girouard described his visits to their London home to view their collection. Of Charles and Lavinia, he recalled "two highly strung, vulnerable and complicated people who for 18 years had supported each other". Their collection of Victorian artefacts was broken up at sale. Many pieces were bought by major museums such as the
Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
and Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, as well as private collectors. The largest part of the collection to stay together was the 200 plus pieces purchased by The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum, Bedford, including William Burges's own bed and dressing table. Handley-Read's notes on William Burges were passed to Joseph Mordaunt Crook and became the basis of his seminal work on Burges, ''William Burges and the High Victorian Dream''. The book received very positive reviews and was instrumental in establishing Burges's rehabilitation. A rare criticism is contained in a review written by Anthony Symondson in 1982. Symondson's critique relates not to Burges, but rather to Crook's portrait of Handley-Read; "those of us who knew (him) do not find him in Dr Crook's prelude, however cleverly written and closely researched."


References


Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Handley-Read, Charles 1916 births 1971 deaths People educated at Bryanston School Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge British conscientious objectors British architecture writers British architectural historians Suicides in Kensington 20th-century British historians 1971 suicides