Peter Smith (1926–2013) was an architectural historian. His most important work, ''Houses of the Welsh Countryside'', has been described as having "a defining influence on the understanding, enjoyment and conservation of Welsh traditional architecture".

Life and works

Smith was born on 15 June 1926 at Winlaton-on-Tyne, then part of

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

. He was educated at King Edward VI School, Southampton, before reading Modern History at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. In 1949 Smith joined the

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; ; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectural and historic environment of Wales. ...

as a researcher. Working under Cyril Fox, who inspired his life-long interest in the

vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture (also folk architecture) is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. It is not a particular architectural movement or style but rather a broad category, encompassing a wide range a ...

of Wales, in 1973 he was appointed Secretary of the commission. In 1975, the commission published Smith's seminal work, ''Houses of the Welsh Countryside'', a "remarkable" thematic study which received much critical praise and in 1978 won Smith the Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion from the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain. Smith's obituary in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' linked the book with St Fagans National Museum of History, with which Smith was also involved, as having "a defining influence on the understanding, enjoyment and conservation of Welsh traditional architecture". His ''

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'' obituary noted the work's "profound influence on the understanding and appreciation of domestic architecture in the Principality". The Chairman's foreword to the book recorded the commission's thanks for "a valuable contribution to an aspect of the past of Wales which has received too little attention". In the concluding chapter to John B. Hilling's, ''The Architecture of Wales: From the First to the Twenty-first Century'', Simon Unwin wrote; "it was, and remains, an exemplary overview of the traditional regional architecture of Wales". Smith died in a nursing home in Devon in 2013.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Peter 1926 births 2013 deaths British architecture writers British architectural historians Architecture in Wales People from Winlaton People educated at King Edward VI School, Southampton