70 Years of the SAHGB
The Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain turns 70 years old this year. It was founded on 2 March 1956 at a meeting at the Three Tuns Hotel in Durham by a group including Frank Jenkins (who was the prime mover), Bruce Allsopp and the great American historian Henry Russell Hitchcock who happened to be in the country at the time. The transatlantic connection was significant as originally it had been planned to make the Society an affiliated chapter of the American Society of Architectural Historians, although in the end thankfully it was established as an independent entity.
The inaugural General Meeting was held in the Merchant Taylors Hall, York in June 1957 sponsored by the Institute of Advanced Architectural Studies, York, which became the unofficial home of the Society in its early years. King’s College, in the University of Durham, generously placed its printing facilities at the Society’s disposal for the production of its first publications.
The Society’s founders envisaged an organisation that would provide a forum for the discussion and dissemination of ideas related to the history of architecture, embracing periods ‘from earliest times to our own century.’ Moreover, they sought not only to encourage research and raise standards of scholarship, but also to facilitate what the early reports memorably described as ‘enjoyable contacts between those whose special interests lie in these fields.’ That is to say, to form a network of individuals concerned with Architectural History.
The first issue of Architectural History was published in 1958, its Editorial noting that as regards a journal ‘in the field of architectural history there was a gap to be filled.’ This established the Society’s determination to make available original documents, drawings and research material that might otherwise remain unpublished. Produced in its early years with characteristic resourcefulness and supported by a rapidly growing membership, the journal quickly established itself as the Society’s intellectual cornerstone.
Seventy years on, the SAHGB’s activities have brought us to a moment that both honours and extends those founding ambitions. Through sustained scholarship, spirited debate and an ever-widening field of enquiry, it has grown from a small gathering of committed individuals into a broad and outward-looking organisation.
Members are warmly invited to explore the attached archival documents, which offer a fascinating glimpse into the Society’s formative years and early ambitions.
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