Sir John Newenham Summerson (25 November 1904 – 10 November 1992) was one of the leading British architectural historians of the 20th century.
Early life
John Summerson was born at Barnstead, Coniscliffe Road,
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...
. His grandfather worked for the
Darlington and Stockton Railway and founded the family foundry of Thomas Summerson and Sons in Darlington in 1869. After the premature death of his father, Samuel James Summerson, in 1907, Summerson travelled extensively in England and Europe with his mother Dorothea
and then attended a
prep school at
Riber Castle in
Derbyshire, before going to
Harrow (1918–1922)
and the
Bartlett School of Architecture at
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 ...
, where he gained a bachelor's degree.
Career
After graduation, Summerson worked in several junior roles, most notably in the office of
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, but architectural practice was not for him and he became a tutor at the
Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...
, School of Architecture in 1929. Hired by the
Modern Architectural Research Group (MARS), a think tank founded by a group of modernist architects, he settled back in London, moving on to a job as an assistant editor for the magazine ''Architect and Building News'' in 1934.
Following the unsuccessful attempts to become a practising architect, and greater success as an architectural journalist, Summerson embarked on his first book, a biography of the architect
John Nash (1752–1835). Published in 1935, it was "outstandingly successful".
He continued to write mainly about British architecture, especially that of the
Georgian era
The Georgian era was a period in British history from 1714 to , named after the House of Hanover, Hanoverian kings George I of Great Britain, George I, George II of Great Britain, George II, George III and George IV. The definition of the Geor ...
. His ''Architecture in Britain: 1530–1830'' (1st edition 1953; many subsequent editions) remained a standard work on the subject for students and general readers after his death. ''
The Classical Language of Architecture'' (1963) is an introduction to the stylistic elements of classical architecture and traces their use and variation in different eras. He also wrote many more specialised works, including books about
Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones (15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was an English architect who was the first significant Architecture of England, architect in England in the early modern era and the first to employ Vitruvius, Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmet ...
and ''Georgian London'' (1945) illustrated by
Alison Sleigh, as well as ''The Architecture of the Eighteenth Century'' (1986), in which he describes
Boullée in a distinct positive manner, stating that Boullée was clearly the point of departure for one of the boldest innovators of the century,
Claude Nicolas Ledoux. His 1945 book ''Georgian London'' was called "a masterpiece of British art history" by
Simon Jenkins in a ''
Sunday Times'' review of the 1988 edition.
One of the founders of the
National Buildings Record (NBR) in 1941, Summerson served as its deputy director yet also took to the streets taking photographs for the organisation.
He was also a Commissioner of the
Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) for 21 years from 1953 to 1974, writing the introduction to the book celebrating the NBR's fiftieth anniversary in 1991.
[''RCHME Newsletter'' 9. Spring 1993. ISSN 0957-0241] He sat on many other public bodies and committees, including the
Royal Fine Arts Commission (1947–54) and the
Historic Buildings Council (1953–78)
and was an early and active member of
The Georgian Group that was founded in 1937.
In 1945, Summerson was appointed Director and curator of
Sir John Soane's Museum
Sir John Soane's Museum is a Historic house museum, house museum, located next to Lincoln's Inn Fields in Holborn, London, which was formerly the home of Neoclassical architecture, neo-classical architect John Soane. It holds many drawings and ...
, a post he held until his retirement in 1984.
He was
Slade Professor of Fine Art at the
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, 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 List of oldest un ...
for 1958–59 and Slade Professor at
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
for the 1966–7 academic year.
He gave the 1964 Master-Mind Lecture on
Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones (15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was an English architect who was the first significant Architecture of England, architect in England in the early modern era and the first to employ Vitruvius, Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmet ...
. Summerson lectured at
The Courtauld Institute of Art on the history of Georgian architecture in London,
Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a Public university, public research university located in London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London. Establ ...
, and the
Architectural Association and became a good friend of his student
Roger Westman, who himself went on to become a noted architect.
Summerson was noted for his somewhat elitist approach, and he was not always a consistent friend of the conservation movement. He was hired by the
ESB in Ireland to speak in favour of their demolition of 16 Georgian townhouses in Fitzwilliam Street,
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. The doomed terrace, he said, was "simply one damned house after another".
Honours
Summerson was
knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity.
The concept of a knighthood ...
ed in 1958; was awarded the
Royal Gold Medal of the
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...
in 1976; and was created a
Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 1987. He was a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...
and elected a Fellow of the
British Academy
The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...
in 1954.
Legacy

The term
Bristol Byzantine, referring to a style influenced by
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
and
Moorish architecture and applied mainly to warehouses, factories, and other industrial buildings in the city of
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, is thought to have been invented by Summerson.
He invented the term "
prodigy house" for showy Elizabethan and Jacobean courtier houses. He had many notable students, including
Phoebe Stanton.
There are a number of portraits of Summerson in the collection of the
National Portrait Gallery, London
The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...
; one in oils by the artist
Leonard Rosoman and the others by the photographers,
Walter Stoneman,
Walter Bird, Barry Beattie, and Stephen Hyde.
Photographs attributed to Summerson are held in the
Conway Library whose archive, of primarily architectural images, is being digitised under the wider Courtauld Connects project.
In March 2012, an
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 ...
blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
commemorating Summerson was erected at his former residence in
Chalk Farm, London,
where he lived with his wife Elizabeth Hepworth, the sister of Dame
Barbara Hepworth, the sculptor, and his three sons.
Footnotes
References
Sources
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External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Summerson, John
1904 births
1992 deaths
20th-century English historians
20th-century English male writers
Academics of Birkbeck, University of London
Academics of the University of Cambridge
Alumni of University College London
British architectural historians
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
English architecture writers
English curators
English male non-fiction writers
Fellows of the British Academy
Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Knights Bachelor
Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour
People educated at Harrow School
People from Darlington
People of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England
Recipients of the Royal Gold Medal
Slade Professors of Fine Art (University of Oxford)