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Just published, and well in time for Christmas, is my study (fully illustrated) of one of Chichester’s most prominent buildings and its architect. Besides County Hall the booklet discusses other buildings by Stillman in Chichester and elsewhere, for instance the Chichester Court House at Southgate: Copies (cost £5) can be obtained from the West SussexContinue reading “ARCHITECT OF COUNTY HALL”

Previous posts on this blog have mentioned buildings in Classical styles in Bognor Regis, Littlehampton and Worthing.  For anyone interested in seaside architecture in West Sussex (in both Classical and non-Classical styles) the West Sussex Record Office has announced a talk ‘Building-by-the-sea’ by Dr Kathryn Ferry, author of various books on the subject including oneContinue reading “ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY TALK”

Country houses in Classical style particularly from the 18th century are among England’s glories.  One thinks of Sir John Vanbrugh’s Blenheim and Castle Howard, the Palladian Holkham and Houghton in Norfolk, and the refinement of Robert Adam’s Syon House near London and Kedleston in Derbyshire. So it’s unsurprising that Classical design is regularly to beContinue reading “CLASSICAL COUNTRY HOUSES”

Classical design was felt to be specially appropriate for the architecture of banks, signalling solidity, probity, and security.  Perhaps the grandest example is the Bank of England in the City of London, where Sir John Soane’s majestic ring of Corinthian columns and pilasters survives, though now somewhat spoilt by Sir Herbert Baker’s 20th-century additions above. Continue reading “BANKERS’ CLASSICAL”

Small Classical structures were favourite ingredients of parks and gardens in the 18th century.  The parks of some great estates had multiple examples, often alluding to the landscapes in 17th-century paintings by Claude Lorrain.  Stowe near Buckingham and Shugborough in Staffordshire are the classic sites.  The less grand West Sussex equivalents are Goodwood with, forContinue reading “CLASSICISM IN PARK AND GARDEN”

Post Offices in the past were often among the most prominent and striking buildings in towns; though nowadays many are empty or have been converted to other uses. Variety of architectural style was the norm in the 19th and early 20th centuries, local materials often being used.  The former Post Office in East Street, Petworth,Continue reading “POST OFFICE GEORGIAN”

Though Classicism as an architectural style seems particularly appropriate for war memorials (see previous blog post WAR MEMORIALS), it has also suited many other commemorative contexts from Classical antiquity onwards. Numerous Greek grave stelai survive from the 5th century BCE onwards, for example the serene memorial to Dexileos in the Kerameikos cemetery in Athens (theContinue reading “CLASSICAL COMMEMORATION”

War memorials since the early 20th century have often been in Classical style, which in some ways is especially suitable for them.  Classical design is based on simplicity, symmetry and the proportion of parts, creating a mood of serenity that easily provokes remembrance.  This is enhanced by the abstract geometry of for instance columns andContinue reading “WAR MEMORIALS”

Paralleling Brighton and other Sussex seaside resorts, much of Worthing’s seafront in the early 19th century was of Classical design. Some terraces survive; though one west of the town on the corner of West Buildings is a modern recreation.  Worthing’s Pier, originally a simple jetty, was reconstructed in 1889.  A large pavilion designed by anContinue reading “WORTHING’S SEASIDE”

Interwar Worthing was a boom town, its population doubling between 1921 and 1951.  The great expansion is reflected in new building. The concept of a ‘civic centre’ was a 20th-century one.  There could be a single architect, as for instance at Southampton in the 1920s and 30s (architect E Berry Webber).  Or the work ofContinue reading “WORTHING’S CIVIC CENTRE”

‘What is Classical architecture?’ is a question often asked.  The architectural historian Sir John Summerson felt it was a mistake to try to define Classicism.  But although not every building in Classical style has columns (or their flattened equivalent, pilasters), they are certainly one defining feature. The various types of column/ pilaster and their decorations,Continue reading “THE FIVE ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE”

One of C G Stillman’s first tasks on his appointment as County Architect in 1932 was to design new offices for West Sussex County Council – County Hall, built between 1933 and 1936.  The County Council had decided in 1930 to bring all its administrative, clerical and technical staff (then totalling about 200) for theContinue reading “C G STILLMAN, COUNTY ARCHITECT – 2: COUNTY HALL, CHICHESTER”

Cecil George Stillman (1894–1968) was County Architect of West Sussex from 1932 to 1945. He is seen here in his Home Guard uniform during the Second World War. Stillman had served in the Great War in the Royal Engineers, winning the Military Medal during the Battle of the Somme and later reaching the rank ofContinue reading “C G STILLMAN, COUNTY ARCHITECT – 1”

Wakeham House alias The Solar House, a few miles east of Petersfield, is a most unusual Classical creation, in that its energy is provided by passive solar power.  But then Classical architecture throughout its long history has been endlessly inventive.  It has demonstrated both charm and severity; and has embodied both democracy (whether ancient AthenianContinue reading “ROBERT ADAM AND THE SOLAR HOUSE”

The description ‘Renaissance city’ is that of the town planner Thomas Sharp, referring to the large number of buildings put up between the mid 17th and mid 19th centuries.  The tradition of Classical design was continued in some new buildings of the 20th century.  See CHICHESTER – RENAISSANCE CITY? – 1 A different story, however,Continue reading “CHICHESTER – RENAISSANCE CITY? – 2”

There had been Classical buildings in Chichester in Roman days.  Their appearance can be guessed at from the remains of columns and other architectural features in the museum at Fishbourne Roman Palace.    The early-18th-century Council House in North Street explicitly harked back to the city’s Roman past with its proud crowning inscription naming theContinue reading “CHICHESTER – RENAISSANCE CITY? – 1”

One architect who has been a keen proponent of Classicism for most of his life is Quinlan Terry (born 1937). Terry’s career began, first as pupil and later as partner, in the firm of Raymond Erith (1904–73).  Erith had played much the same role as Terry did later, during what (for Classical architects) were theContinue reading “QUINLAN TERRY AND KINGSHAM FARM, MILLAND”

Littlehampton at the mouth of the river Arun never seemed a predominantly Classical town as Bognor once did, though some of the buildings of Beach Town (the resort area at its south-east corner) were stuccoed in early-19th-century style.  The old village centre lay inland, with (then) a small medieval church.  Expansion during the 19th andContinue reading “LITTLEHAMPTON”

Like actors, architects sometimes run in dynasties – for instance the descendants of Charles James Blomfield, Bishop of London (1786–1857). The bishop’s fourth son Arthur William Blomfield (1829–99) was a prolific if uninspiring church architect, designing mostly in the Gothic style.  However, his largest work in West Sussex, the former Graylingwell Hospital (built as theContinue reading “THE BLOMFIELDS AT STANSTED AND CHICHESTER”

Residents of Aldwick and Felpham would probably be very upset at the idea that they lived in a suburb; but a modern OS map shows what is in effect a single conurbation stretching from Pagham west of Bognor Regis to Middleton and Elmer in the east. The most impressive house in Aldwick, Craigweil House, hasContinue reading “BOGNOR SUBURBS”

No-one would consider Bognor Regis a town of Classical buildings like Bath or Brighton.  But in its origins as a seaside resort around 1800 it showed a largely Classical face. Surviving buildings include The Dome (part of Chichester University’s Bognor campus); Hotham Park House with its elegant arcade; and the red brick Spencer Terrace inContinue reading “BOGNOR REGIS”