John Arthur Newman (14 December 1936 – 19 April 2023) was an English architectural historian. He was the author of several of the

Pevsner Architectural Guides The ''Pevsner Architectural Guides'' are four series of guide books to the architecture of the British Isles. ''The Buildings of England'' series was begun in 1945 by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, with its forty-six original volumes pu ...

and was the advisory editor to the series.

Life and career

John Arthur Newman was born on 14 December 1936, and lived most of his life in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. He was educated at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

and

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

where he read Greats (classics). In 1959 he became a classics teacher at

Tonbridge School Tonbridge School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for boys aged 13–18) in Tonbridge, Kent, England, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde (sometimes spelt Judd). It is a member of the Eton Group and has clo ...

. In 1963 he left his teaching post to study for a diploma in the history of European art at the

Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. The art collection is known particularly for ...

, which he passed with distinction. In 1966 he was appointed a full-time assistant lecturer at the Courtauld, where he taught until his retirement.''abstract''
/ref> While a student at the Courtauld, Newman acted as driver to

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...

while Pevsner was undertaking work on ''The Buildings of England'' series, which has subsequently been expanded as the ''

'' to cover Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Pevsner suggested that Newman should research and write the architectural guides on Kent, which were published in 1969.

Bridget Cherry Bridget Cherry (born 17 May 1941) is a British architectural historian who was series editor of the Pevsner Architectural Guides from 1971 until 2002, and is the author or co-author of several volumes in the series.Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

to be "the best of the whole series". From 1983, Newman acted as the advisory editor to the series. From 1975 to 1985 Newman was honorary editor of the 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 ...

''. He has served on the executive committee of the

Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain 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 1986 Newman chaired the Pevsner Memorial Trust, which undertook the restoration of the

murals A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

at the Church of St Michael and All Angels in Garton on the Wolds, in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...

, in memory of Sir Nikolaus. John Newman died on 19 April 2023, at the age of 86.

Publications

* ''

The Buildings of England ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' *: ''Dorset'' (1972) (with Nikolaus Pevsner) *: ''Kent – West and the Weald'' (2012) *: ''Kent – North East and East'' (2013) *: ''Shropshire'' (2006) * '' The Buildings of Wales'' *: ''Glamorgan'' (1995) *: ''Gwent/Monmouthshire'' (2000)

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, John 1936 births 2023 deaths 20th-century English historians 21st-century English historians Academics of the Courtauld Institute of Art Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art Alumni of the University of Oxford Architecture critics English architectural historians British architecture writers Writers from Kent Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London People educated at Dulwich College