"Ian Nairn taught a generation to look, and another one to write"Ian Nairn lit up the pages of the architectural press, broadsheets and TV screens with his incandescent reports on the uglification of Britain, not just by standard eyesores but by the prissy and the pretentious and the blunderings of planners and architects creating new buildings and roads which show no respect for the places they invade. There is spreading across the country, he warned, a blight of ...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 BERGER PRIZEA *FINANCIAL TIMES* BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024**A Country Life 'Architecture Book to Read in 2025''Elegant, erudite and entertaining ... a superbly detailed picture of an architectural era' The Times'A magnificent monument in itself to a fine architectural writer' Simon Heffer, TelegraphBritish architecture b...

Since 2004 Gavin Stamp, one of Britain’s most eminent and readable architectural historians, has written a monthly column for Apollo, the esteemed architecture and fine art magazine. The subject is simply whatever in design or architecture happens to take his fancy. It might be the splendid reopening of the magnificent Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras Station, or the dilapidation of a little-known church in Eastbourne; the much-lamented demise of the original Routemaster bus, or ...

Edwin Lutyens' Memorial to the Missing of the Somme at Thiepval in Northern France, visited annually by tens of thousands of tourists, is arguably the finest structure erected by any British architect in the twentieth century. It is the principal, tangible expression of the defining event in Britain's experience and memory of the Great War, the first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916, and it bears the names of 73,000 soldiers whose bodies were never found at the end of that blo...

Delve into London's architectural curiositites and discover the unexpected gems waiting around every corner.London is full of extraordinary, enigmatic and, above all, unexpected buildings: a pirate castle in Camden, an art gallery made of shipping containers, underground ghost stations, and much more. Here David Long reveals the very best of the capital's extraordinary buildings, some of which are passed by every day, hidden in plain sight.

The streets and public spaces of London are rich with statues and monuments commemorating the city's great figures and events.From Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square and Sir Christopher Wren's Great Fire Monument to the charming Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens, the range is glorious. Some commemorate events, while others celebrate people real or fictional; some take the form of small reliefs, while others are huge bronzes on pedestals, larger than life-size...

The streets of London flourish like possibly no other city on earth, with stories from its rich history, stories of death - fire - disease, of riots, and grisly murders, but also of tales of hope, happiness, determination and success. Behind every story and every street however, are the people who lived, worked, played, and even murdered there. Did you know for instance that when Great Scotland Yard was being built in 1890, that the dismembered body of a woman was discovered by workmen, du...

Lost London is the story of the city as told through the buildings, parks and palaces that are no longer with us. Places like the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, the leading venue for public entertainment in the city for over 200 years, or the Palace of Whitehall whose 1500 rooms made it the largest royal residence in Europe until it was destroyed by fire at the end of the 17th century. From bull rings to ice fairs, plague pits to molly houses, this is a fascinating journey through London's for...

This illustrated Travel Guide is a part of the Mobi Sights series, our concise guides that only feature the most essential information on city attractions. This guide is designed for optimal navigation on eReaders, smartphones, and other mobile electronic devices. Inside you will find a locator map and a list of top attractions linked to individual articles. Addresses, telephones, hours of operation and admissions information are included. The guide also features an itiner...

This illustrated Travel Guide is a part of the Mobi Sights series, our concise guides that only feature the most essential information on city attractions. This guide is designed for optimal navigation on eReaders, smartphones, and other mobile electronic devices. Inside you will find a locator map and a list of top attractions linked to individual articles. Addresses, telephones, hours of operation and admissions information are included. The guide also features an itiner...

In this book you will find the best of that wit - ripe plums of humour taken from Churchill's parliamentary replies and ripostes, prepared addresses, asides and off-the-cuff remarks - all revealing a trenchant sharpness of mind, fine appreciation of humour and devastating sense of fun.

During her 70 years on the throne, few got to know the Queen well, but there is one body of work that sheds new light on her thoughts, personality and the issues that really concerned her: the Queen's own speeches.For many years, the Queen's Christmas address was the most-watched programme on television on Christmas Day, and millions regularly tuned in to hear what she had to say. Now, in this wonderful, intimate portrait of Her Majesty, Ingrid Seward uses the Quee...