Part 3 – Charles Holden, an Architect of Many Styles and Subtle Forms

Lecture Summary:

The architect Charles Holden (1875-1960) worked through the first half of the twentieth century, mainly in the London area.  Charles Reilly, professor of architect and a leading critic, described him as ‘austere and fine .. though he is not a tall man physically, one feels he is spiritually’, and his simple habits and modesty are reflected in his buildings.  Stylistically, he bridged the gap between the Arts and Crafts Movement and modernism, and was confident in a classical idiom where he thought it appropriate, in a range of mainly public buildings from libraries and hospitals to many of the stations for London’s Underground.  He also worked for the Imperial War Graves Commission.  Operating slightly outside the architectural mainstream, Holden produced some of the finest buildings in Britain built between 1900 and 1950.

Speaker: Elaine Harwood

Biography

Elain Harwood is an architectural historian with Historic England and a specialist in post-Second World War English architecture.

Interlocutor: Alan Powers

Biography

Alan Powers is a leading historian of twentieth century British architecture, art and design. He was Chairman of the Twentieth Century Society 2007-12, and currently a Trustee and co-editor of its journal, Twentieth Century Architecture, and the monograph series, Twentieth Century Architects, published by Liverpool University Press. He is History Leader at the London School of Architecture, and also teaches for New York University, London, and the University of Kent. His books include Modern, the Modern Movement in Britain (20005), Britain – Modern Architectures in History (2007) and Bauhaus Goes West (2019).