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British charity From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Twentieth Century Society (abbreviated to C20), founded in 1979 as The Thirties Society, is a British charity that campaigns for the preservation of architectural heritage from 1914 onwards. It is formally recognised as one of the National Amenity Societies,[1] and as such is a statutory consultee on alterations to listed buildings within its period of interest.
Abbreviation | C20 |
---|---|
Formation | 1979 (as The Thirties Society) |
Headquarters | 70 Cowcross Street, London |
Director | Catherine Croft |
Chairman and Trustee | Hugh Pearman |
President | Catherine Slessor |
Website | c20society |
The catalyst to form the society was the proposal to replace Lloyd's of London's Classical-style 1920s headquarters with a new modernist Richard Rogers building. Marcus Binney (founder of Save Britain's Heritage), John Harris (director of the RIBA drawings collection) and Simon Jenkins (editor of London's Evening Standard) felt that the existing building "represented a whole body of important architecture of the period that deserved more sympathetic assessment".[2] Ultimately the façade of the 1920s building was retained and received a Grade II listing in 1977. It was incorporated into Rogers' 1986 design.[3]
Established in December 1979, the Thirties Society, as it was initially called, had offices at 21 Cambridge Street, London.[4] Its organisation was modelled on the Georgian Group and the Victorian Society, and its initial intention was to preserve architecture from the 1930s,[5] by calling for "statutory protection from the Department of the Environment for the protection of important buildings and interiors".[6] Speaking of the need for the society, Jenkins, the vice-chairman, said "It's easier to find examples of architecture from the 1890s than the 1930s, and although there are buildings which I find absolutely hideous, there are architectural reasons why they should be preserved."[7] In 1992, a spokesperson for English Heritage said, "We have found the Thirties Society proposals are usually well supported. It has been very influential in saving some of the best twentieth-century buildings."[8]
Founding members included:
The society of "young fogeys" as they were called[8] invited Maxwell Fry, Jane Drew, Sir Sacheverell Sitwell, Lady Diana Cooper, Sir John Betjeman and Peter Fleetwood-Hesketh[10] to be patrons.[6][11] They also considered Douglas Fairbanks and David Niven but "there was some concern that the stars of the Twenties and Thirties might not be around long enough to warrant putting their names on the letterhead."[6] Norman St John Stevas, Minister for the Arts, attended the launch party.[12]
Catherine Croft, the current director, took over the position from Kenneth Powell in 2002.[13]
There was a debate over the society's name. The Inter-War Society was considered too martial and it was joked that The Twenties and Thirties Society sounded too much like a dating service.[6] The name The Thirties Society was eventually settled on. The name was changed to The Twentieth Century Society (abbreviated to C20) in 1992, about which Stamp said, "Much as I like the very English anomaly of a body called The Thirties Society defending buildings of the 1950s, the fact is that our name obscures our aims. We defend buildings put up as late as the 1970s."[14]
In 1982, a Manchester branch of the society was formed, with a focus on the Grosvenor Picture Palace on All Saints Street, which was under threat of demolition.[15]
The society held its first conference, on the seventies, in 1999.[16]
The society published a journal between 1981 and 2018; initially entitled The Thirties Society Journal it became Twentieth Century Architecture from 1994.[17]
In 2019, to mark the society's 40th anniversary, they curated a list of 40 Buildings Saved, a collection of 40 "buildings which would not have survived without our intervention" including Jubilee Pool in Penzance, Plymouth's Civic Centre and St. Augustine in Manchester.[18]
In 1998, the society released a Buildings at Risk report, which included Pimlico School, Romney House and Simpson's Building. Of the report, Bronwen Edwards, a C20 caseworker, said, "What is indisputable is these buildings are a unique record of social, economic and architectural history – a vivid reminder of the way people lived, worked and played through the century."[19]
Starting in 2015, the society has published The Risk List (a play on the Rich List)[20] every two years, which highlights ten buildings that the society believes are "in danger of either substantial alteration or demolition".[21]
The bi-annual lists are as follows:
Year | Building | Location | Status |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Channel 4 headquarters | London | |
2023 | Museum of London | London | |
2023 | Jagonari Centre | London | |
2023 | Bastion House | London | |
2023 | Norco House | Aberdeen | |
2023 | Riviera Hotel | Weymouth | Currently listed |
2023 | Point | Weymouth | |
2023 | Ringway Centre | Birmingham | |
2023 | County Hall | Cardiff | |
2023 | Power station cooling towers | West Burton | |
2023 | Scottish Widows building | Edinburgh | Currently listed |
2021 | Oasis Leisure Centre | Swindon | Granted Grade II listing[22] |
2021 | City Hall | London | Certificate of Immunity |
2021 | Civic Centre | Swansea | Plans to retain (as of 2023)[21] |
2021 | Assembly Halls | Derby | Plans to retain (as of 2023)[21] |
2021 | Bull Yard | Coventry | |
2021 | The Lawns, Halls of Residence | Hull | Listed Grade II* |
2021 | Cressingham Gardens' Estate | London | Bid to be listed was rejected |
2021 | Electricity Board HQ | London | Bid to be listed in 2017 was rejected |
2021 | Swimming pool | Halifax | |
2021 | Shirehall | Shrewsbury | |
2019 | Alton Estate | Roehampton | No longer threatened (as of 2023)[21] |
2019 | Fawley Power Station | Hampshire | Demolished (2021) |
2019 | Walton Court | Surrey | Demolished |
2019 | Richmond House | London | Grade II* listed |
2019 | British Library Centre for Conservation | London | |
2019 | BFI IMAX Cinema | London | Certificate of Immunity |
2019 | Civic Centre | Sunderland | Demolished (2022) |
2019 | Homebase Superstore | Brentford | At risk of demolishing for new housing (2022) |
2019 | Ardudwy Theatre and Residential Tower | Merionydd | Grade II* listed. Up for sale. |
2019 | All Saints' Pastoral Centre and Chapel | Hertfordshire | Occupied by an international school |
2017 | Dunelm House | Durham | Granted Grade II listing (2021) |
2017 | BHS murals | Stockport and Hull | Granted Grade II listing (2019) |
2017 | Reform Synagogue and Police Station | Manchester | |
2017 | Central Hill | London | Bid to be listed was rejected (2019) |
2017 | The Elephant and Swimming Baths | Coventry | Baths are listed Grade II. Elephant was refused listing |
2017 | High Cross House | Devon | Awaiting restoration |
2017 | Cumberbatch North and South Buildings | Oxford | Demolished |
2017 | St. Leonards Church | St. Leonards-on-Sea | Grade II listed |
2017 | 60 Hornton Street | West Kensington | Demolished |
2017 | Holborn Library | Holborn | Bid to be listed was rejected (2010) |
2015 | St Peter's Seminary | Cardross | Positive solution found[23] |
2015 | Western Morning News HQ | Plymouth | Positive solution found[23] |
2015 | Hyde Park Barracks | London | Bid to be listed was rejected (2015) |
2015 | Robin Hood Gardens | London | Demolished |
2015 | New Congregation Synagogue | Liverpool | Grade II* listed. Approval given to turn it into a series of apartments (2017) |
2015 | Bernat Klein Studio | Edinburgh | Listed Category A. On Buildings at Risk register for Scotland. |
2015 | Church of the Holy Cross | Merseyside | Listed Grade II |
2015 | Town Hall | Hove | Bid to be listed was rejected (2014) |
2015 | Salvation Army hostel | Newcastle | Grade II listed. Put up for sale (2021) |
2015 | Sainsbury's Millennium Store | Greenwich | Demolished |
2015 | Civic Offices | Durham | Demolished |
The following are some of the buildings and objects that the society has successfully campaigned to save:
The society published a journal between 1981 and 2018; initially entitled The Thirties Society Journal[77] it became Twentieth Century Architecture from 1994.[78]
The following books were published by C20, unless otherwise stated:
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