John Summerson

Sir John Newenham Summerson CH CBE (1904-1992) was one of the leading English architectural historians of the 20th century. Born at Coatham Munderville, near Darlington, at Hall Garth originally the home of his grandfather who worked for the Darlington and Stockton Railway and founded the family foundry of Thomas Summerson and Sons in Darlington in 1869. John Summerson was educated at Harrow and University College London where he gained a bachelor's degree in 1928. He wrote mainly about British architecture, especially that of the Georgian era. His "Architecture in Britain: 1530-1830" (1st edition 1953; many subsequent editions) remained a standard work on the subject for students and general readers after his death. "The Classical Language of Architecture" (1963) is an introduction to the stylistic elements of classical architecture and traces their use and variation in different eras. He also wrote many more specialised works including books about Inigo Jones and Georgian London. He was curator of Sir John Soane's Museum from 1945-1984.

The term Bristol Byzantine, which has influences from Byzantine and Moorish architecture applied mainly to industrial buildings such as warehouses and factories in the city of Bristol, is thought to have been invented by Sir John Summerson.cite book |last=Brace |first=Keith |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Portrait of Bristol |year=1996 |publisher=Robert Hale |location=London |isbn=0709154356 ]

Summerson was noted for his somewhat elitist approach, and was not always a consistent friend of the conservation movement. He was hired by the ESB in Ireland to speak in favour of their demolition of sixteen Georgian townhouses in Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin. The doomed terrace, he said, was "simply one damned house after another".

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He also wrote The Architecture of the Eighteenth Century, where he criticises Boullee in a distinct positive manner; stating that Boullee was clearly the point of departure for one of the boldest innovators of the century---Claude Nicolas Ledoux.

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