Victor Farrar
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Victor John Frederick Farrar RIBA PPFAS FRSA (1930 – 23 August 2007), also known as V.J.F. Farrar, was an architect known for his restoration work at a time when respect for architectural heritage was at a low ebb.[1][2][3][4] His obituary in The Guardian stated that ‘he put a training in classical design techniques to good use in his speciality of building restoration’.[1] Farrar’s obituary in his old school magazine reflected that, at the time, ‘it was rare to find a professional willing to take a public stand against the post war establishment, which in Bedford, as in many towns, saw little merit in the preservation of what we now call heritage’.[2]
Farrar was a President of the Faculty of Architects and Surveyors and a member of the Architects’ Benevolent Society.[2][5] He was elected to the Great Barford parish council in 1959 which he served for 21 years and was, towards the end of his tenure, its Chairman.[2] He was Honorary Treasurer of the Bedfordshire Parish and Town Council Committee, Chairman of the Bedford Society, a member of the Great Ouse Restoration Society and an organiser of the Bedford River Festival.[2]