Gavin Stamp in the David Wilson Library

Gavin Stamp, the architectural historian and journalist, sadly died over Christmas. Through his work as a scholar, columnist for Private Eye and campaigner he did a huge amount to restore the reputation of Victorian architecture and helped to save several important buildings from being demolished. He was part of generation of writers who changed attitudes in Britain towards its built heritage.  

The David Wilson Library has at least sixteen books written or edited by Stamp, reflecting the University's strengths in urban and local history, and Victorian Studies. These include ephemera in our specialist print collections. One of Stamp's specialisms was the architecture of Edward Lutyens, who designed the war memorial in Victoria Park next to our main campus. He was also interested in memorials more widely, and had strong opinions on how the dead should be remembered in built form. These arguments will be particularly interesting to think about as we approach the centenary of the University, which was intended as a living memorial to the people of Leicester who served during the Great War. 

I have created an online reading list on Stamp's work here. Below are some highlights from our collections. 


End of the line?: the future of London Underground's past - Alan Powers, Gavin Stamp, Victorian Society, Thirties Society , 1987. Shelf mark: F AA 726 END.

This report, jointly published by the Victorian and Thirties Societies, criticised London Underground for neglecting its architectural and design heritage. Indeed, it followed on from meetings held between conservationists and London Transport. Stamp and his co-author, argued for a proper conservation policy that would retain historic features such as lighting, signs and furniture. They even complain about the removal of original 1930s lettering. The report ends practically, with a guide to interesting stations.This item comes from our Transport Collection. 

Clumber Chapel, Nottinghamshire - Gavin Stamp, Anthony Symondson, National Trust (Great Britain) , 1982. Shelf mark: LOCAL HISTORY 942 NOT/CLU /STA

This guide book, in our English Local History Collection, describes Clumber Chapel, the only remaining building of Clumber House, near Workshop in Nottinghamshire. The chapel was built for the 7th Duke of Newcastle  by the firm of Bodley & Garner between 1886-89. The Duke was influenced by the Anglo-Catholic movement in the Church of England. The Chapel is therefore, "not only a masterpiece of Gothic Revival architecture ... it is also a monument of Victorian piety". Clumber House combined two of Stamp's great interest: the Gothic revival and 'lost' buildings. These themes formed the basis of his later books such as Lost Victorian Britain: how the twentieth century destroyed the nineteenth century's architectural masterpieces.