Twentieth Century Society

History

Founding members

• Bevis Hillier, chairman
• Simon Jenkins, vice-chairman
• Sir Osbert Lancaster, president
• Clive Aslet, secretary
• Stephen Bayley
• Marcus Binney
• William Feaver
• Celina Fox
• John Harris
• Dennis Sharp
• Gavin Stamp

Name

Manchester branch

Other activities

The Risk List

Cases and campaigns

1970s

1979

• The Oxo Tower, designed by Albert Moore in 1929 was threatened with redevelopment, but was subsequently designated part of a conservation area.

1980s

1980

• The society's first high-profile case was the Art Deco Firestone Tyre Factory in West London. In anticipation of it being listed, the building was demolished by its owners over a bank holiday weekend.

1982

• The society protested the proposal to develop Memorial Court, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott at Clare College, Cambridge, saying the new building would "destroy the vista which gives coherence to Scott's design".

1983

• Arthur Scargill "incurred the formidable wrath" of the society, when the National Union of Mineworkers moved headquarters, leaving its 1950s 222 Euston Road location open to threat of demolition. The building was saved.

1984

• Terence Conran's application to change the windows of 1930's Heal's on Tottenham Court Road was opposed by the society. Of Conran, Stamp said "He has turned out to be rather a crude shopkeeper." Their objection ultimately failed.

1985

• The society spoke out against British Telecom's (BT) attempt to remove the traditional Giles Gilbert Scott-designed red phone boxes. They campaigned for as many as possible to be saved, by contacting every local authority in Britain. A spokesman for the society said, "They fit extraordinarily into their surroundings, whether urban or rural, and they are the most satisfactory neighbours to historic buildings." Ultimately 500 boxes were saved, under a 1987 agreement between the British government, BT and English Heritage. By 1992, 1,200 of the early designed boxes were listed, with a further 18,000 kept in use by BT.
• The society's objection to the alteration to Hoover's cafeteria was unsuccessful, with permission to renovate granted by Ealing Council.

1986

• A fundraising campaign, in conjunction with Save Britain's Heritage, was launched to save Monkton House in Sussex, a surrealist mansion. Stamp said "I cannot think of another 20th century house with its contents intact which is so worth keeping."
• Sudbury Town tube station,, was updated in consultation with the society, among others.
• Together with Save Britain's Heritage, the society proposed that Brynmawr rubber factory designed by Architects' Co-Partnership in Gwent, Wales, was repurposed as a re-training centre. The building was given a Grade II* listing, the first post-war building in the UK to receive such a listed status but remained empty. The building was ultimately demolished in 2001.

1987

• The society joined several groups in opposing British Coal's plans to demolish the Grade II listed Frizzell baths at Lynemouth Colliery in Northumberland. The campaign was successful, with the Secretary of State for the Environment rejecting British Coal's proposal.
• After publishing a report The End of the Tunnel, in conjunction with The Victorian Society, the society held "top level talks" regarding concerns over "widespread destruction" of older underground stations.
• Together with Save Britain's Heritage, the society opposed the demolition of Bracken House in the City, London, with Stamp describing it as "the one thing that isn't rubbish." It was listed in August 1987, becoming "the first major post-war building to be listed".
• After pressure from the society, the British government changed its stance on listing post-war buildings, allowing "buildings of special architectural or historical importance" to be listed if they were minimum 30 years old, or in exceptional circumstances 10.

1988

• The society joined the Urban Design Group's list of signatories in support of the Prince of Wales' "role as scourge of glass stumps and carbuncles".

1989

• The society urged Wandsworth Council and English Heritage to save Battersea Power Station from "demolition by demoralisation".

1990s

1991

• Concern was expressed about the future of London Zoo, which needed £13 million worth of repairs to 70 buildings.
• The society backed CAMRA's campaign to save historic pubs from "bogus 'period' facelifts". One success was Prospect Inn in Thanet, Kent, designed by Oliver Hill, which was listed as Grade II.
• The society called for the preservation of the Cheltenham Estate in North Kensington, designed by Ernö Goldfinger. The society called for the Nottingham Playhouse to be declared architecturally significant.
• The "Lido campaign" called for the preservation of outdoor pools, including the Jubilee Pool in Penzance.
• Odeon House, designed by C Edmund Wilford was to be saved from demolition in Sutton Coldfield. It received Grade II listing in 1998.
• The society objected to a proposed 25-foot-tall fountain to commemorate the Queen's 40 years as monarch, planned for Parliament Square, London. The fountain was not built.

1994

• The society suggested ten concrete bridges spanning the M1 to be listed as historic monuments.
• The society successfully encouraged the National Trust to add Erno Goldfinger's home, 2 Willow Road, to its portfolio. It was opened to the public in 1995.
• The society successfully prevented the demolition of Tunstall's Barber's Palace cinema frontage citing it as an "interesting example of 1920s Modernist Movement architecture".

1995

• The society protested a glass lift being installed in Liverpool Cathedral, saying it would "reduce the awe and majesty of this fine building".
• The society joined English Heritage in successfully protesting the modernisation of Totnes' post office on Fore Street.

1996

• The society backed Humberston Fitties residents' appeal to become a conservation area. The appeal was successful, followed by an Article 4 direction in 1998, which ensured the area's character was preserved.
• The society saved a 1960s concrete frieze in Coventry city centre from being removed, stating it was "one of only two examples of Mexican-style public art on pub fronts in the country".
• The society objected to the demolishing of the Dunlop Semtex Factory, Gwent. It was the focus of "many students of architecture, including Frank Lloyd Wright" for the dome structure of its roof and concrete contours. It was authorised for demolition in the same year.
• The society objected to the demolishing of the Empire Pool in Cardiff. It was authorised for demolition in 1999 to make way for the Millennium Stadium.
• The society called for the preservation of Uxbridge's Lido, calling for it to be listed. It was granted Grade II listing in 1998.

1997

• Together with English Heritage, the society proposed Derby bus station, the UK's first purpose-built bus station, be granted listed status. It closed in 2005 and was demolished the following year.

21st century

2002

• The society joined the Ancient Monuments Society in trying to save the grade II listed private home Greenside in Virginia Water designed by Connell, Ward and Lucas, from demolition. The following year the owners demolished it without consent, "arguing that the Human Rights Act justified his actions".

2005

• The society submitted an application for Sheffield's Crucible Theatre to be listed. The application was successful, with Grade II listing status given in 2007.

2013

• The society's appeal for Swindon's Renault Distribution Centre, designed by Norman Foster to be listed was successful.
• After many years of campaigning for the listing of Building Design Partnership's 1969 Preston bus station, it was granted listed status.

2015

• The society called to save parts of the Eduardo Paolozzi mosaic, installed at the Tottenham Court Road station. Threatened with permanent removal as part of the station's overhaul, the Society arranged for the decorative arch designs to be restored at the University of Edinburgh, where Paolozzi studied.

2022

• The society called for the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in Deptford to be listed. If successful, it would become "the youngest building on the list – and the first 21st Century building to make the cut".

2023

• The society campaigned to save Bristol's NCP Rupert Street Car Park,. The car park, which was built in 1959–1960 was set to be replaced with a 21-storey apartment building, but the Twentieth Century Society argued that the car park should be preserved because it was "a good example of an absolutely pivotal building type from the 20th century".

Successes

Publications

Journal

Books

• Art Deco Interiors and Decorative Art in Britain 1920–1940 The Modern House to 1939 Small Houses 1920–1940 The Heroic Period of Conservation Ed. Alan Powers, Elain Harwood British Modern: Architecture and Design in the 1930s Ed. Alan Powers, Elain Harwood, Susannah Charlton Housing the Twentieth Century Nation McMorran & Whitby: Twentieth Century Architects Edward Denison, Twentieth Century Society. Pub. RIBA Publishing The Seventies: Rediscovering a Lost Decade Ed. Alan Powers, Elain Harwood Twentieth Century Architecture: Oxford and Cambridge Elain Harwood 100 Buildings, 100 Years: Celebrating British Architecture Pub. Batsford 50 Architects, 50 Buildings: The Buildings that Inspire Architects Ed. Pamela Buxton 100 Houses 100 Years Pub. Batsford The Architecture of Public Service Ed. Elain Harwood, Alan Powers 100 Churches 100 Years Ed. Clare Price, Elain Harwood, Susannah Charlton. Pub. Batsford 100 20th-Century Gardens and Landscapes 100 20th Century Houses Pub. Batsford 100 Twentieth Century Shops Pub. Pavilion Books