Sir Howard Montagu Colvin (15 October 1919 – 27 December 2007) was a British
architectural historian 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 London Borough of Bromley, Bromley and Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich. It was ...
, Colvin was educated at
Trent College and
University College London
University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
. In 1948, he became a Fellow of
St John's College, Oxford
St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...
where he remained until his death in 2007. He was a member of the
Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England 1963–76, the
Historic Buildings Council for England 1970–84, the
Royal Fine Art Commission 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 Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...
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.
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, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
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 ac ...
.
His most famous coup was to lead a campaign which succeeded in inducing the then
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
Nigel Lawson to alter the 1984 Budget so as to save
Calke Abbey
Calke Abbey is a Grade I listed building, Grade I listed English country house, country house near Ticknall, Derbyshire, England, in the care of the charitable National Trust.
The site was an Augustinians, Augustinian priory from the 12th centu ...
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
Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
, 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 (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
*
* (editor)
*
*
*
*
*Entries for
Charles Long, 1st Baron Farnborough and
Isaac de Caus in the ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...
''
[ ]
*''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 meetingof
SAHGB in Oxford: "ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY AFTER COLVIN"
The Howard Colvin ArchiveResearch notes and correspondence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colvin, Howard
1919 births
2007 deaths
British architectural historians
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 British biographers
Fellows of the British Academy
Fellows of the Royal Historical Society
People of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England
Fellows_of_the_Society_of_Antiquaries_of_London