Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion

About

The Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion - awarded since 1959 - is given annually to the author of a monograph which provides an outstanding contribution to the study or knowledge of architectural history. The work must be by a British author or deal with an aspect of the architectural history of the British Isles or the Commonwealth, and have been published within the past two years. The winner of each year’s award is announced at the Annual Lecture and Awards Ceremony at the end of the year. Previous winners include Sir Howard Colvin, Dorothy Stroud, Sir John Summerson, Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, Hermione Hobhouse, Jill Lever and Mark Girouard.

The Medallion was presented to the Society by Professor Henry-Russell Hitchcock at a dinner in the Merchant Taylors’ Hall, York in 1959 in memory of his mother. The medallion - still issued today - consists of a Wedgwood portrait of James ‘Athenian’ Stuart.

Judging Panel

Professor Elizabeth McKellar (President, SAHGB) (Chair)

Dr Zoë Opacic  (Birkbeck)

Professor Florian Urban  (Glasgow School of Art)

Dr Patrick Zamarian  (University of Liverpool)

Professor Gary Boyd (University College Dublin)

Professor Hilary Grainger (UAL, London)

Criteria and Eligibility

The work must be by an author based in the United Kingdom, or should deal with an aspect of the architectural history of the British Isles or the Commonwealth, and have been published within the past two years (i.e after 1 January 2023).

A work may be submitted for consideration only once.

Works will be judged according to the following broad criteria:

Originality – the degree to which the research produces new insights in architectural history and its methodologies. 

Impact – the degree to which the research has the potential to increase the understanding of, or influence innovation in the practice of architectural history. 

Rigour – the intellectual precision and/or systematic method and/or integrity embodied in the research. 

Communication – the degree to which the work communicates clearly through written, visual and spatial formats, and whether there is evidence of engaging audiences beyond specialists in the field. 

Judging Process

Stage 1 - Nomination

Individuals are able to nominate eligible works using the online form below. You do not need to be a member to nominate, and authors may self-nominate if they wish. Nominations closed on 6 May 2025.

Following a nomination, the work's author will be contacted by the SAHGB with a link to submit an entry, uploaded as PDF files. 

The submission form will ask for the following information.

• 1000-word Extended Abstract - further guidelines given

• Letter of support from the Publisher

• Contents of book or resource (i.e. a list of chapters/subdivisions)

• Review in peer-reviewed journal OR letter of endorsement from an academic peer 

• The introduction to the work (typically the first chapter - optionally, a single chapter may be submitted if the introduction is very short).

• Images that belong with the above (if applicable), at a size and resolution suited to the uploading guidelines.

Stage 2 - Longlist Submission

Authors of nominated titles are invited to submit their work to a longlist for initial assessment by the judging panel. Only nominees who submit this information and whose works are deemed to meet the current selection criteria can be assessed at this stage. Authors will be guided to upload a number of pdf files, with letters of support from their publisher and peers. The judging panel will determine a shortlist of titles based on these submissions.

Stage 3 - Shortlist Submission

The SAHGB will publish a shortlist following the first meeting of the judges, which will be available from the website.

Stage 4 - Award and Commendations

The judging panel will assess the shortlisted titles and decide on a winner and any special commendations. All shortlisted entrants will be invited to our Annual Awards Ceremony in winter 2025, where the winner will be announced.

Nomination

Nominations are closed for 2025.

Please contact info@sahgb.org.uk if you have any further questions about this award.