Eva Dorothy Brown (14 January 1927 – 8 October 2013) was a campaigner who was recognised with an MBE (1988) for her work to save buildings in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
and in the Avon area.
Biography
Early life and family
Dorothy Brown was born in
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...
. She grew up in a farm and was a student at
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
where she met her husband Tom. Tom, a
vet, accepted a job in Bristol and they moved settling in a town house in
Clifton
Clifton may refer to:
People
*Clifton (surname)
*Clifton (given name)
Places
Australia
* Clifton, Queensland, a town
**Shire of Clifton
*Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong
*Clifton, Western Australia
Canada
*Clifton, Nova Scotia ...
. They had five children.
Campaigns
She started her heritage work when, after moving to Bristol, she got involved in a campaign to stop the construction of a hotel in the
Avon Gorge
The Avon Gorge () is a 1.5-mile (2.5-kilometre) long gorge on the River Avon in Bristol, England. The gorge runs south to north through a limestone ridge west of Bristol city centre, and about 3 miles (5 km) from the mouth of the r ...
(1970). The year after she founded th
Bristol Visual and Environmental Group(BVEG), through which she continued her fights against the Bristol development plan which threatened the destruction of hundreds of historic buildings. Brown, and some of her collaborators, used the "spot listing" designation to stop the demolition of many buildings, some of which were bought by the BVEG, restored, and sold again to move to the rescue of other buildings. Many battles ended up in front of the
Secretary of State and many more were pursued through public enquiries where Dorothy Brown was successful in providing historic evidence and analysis to stop the demolitions.
Buildings saved
*
Acton Court
Acton Court is the historic manor house of the manor of Iron Acton in Gloucestershire, England. It is a grade I listed building of Tudor architecture and was recently restored. It is situated, at some considerable distance from the vil ...
, Iron Acton
*
The Lido, Bristol
* 42 Old Market Street, Bristol
* 8-10 West Street, Old Market, Bristol
* 18th-century Brunswick Square in St Paul's
* Wool-merchant's house and coach house in Frome
Bibliography
* ''Bristol and How it Grew'', 1975,
* ''Just look at Bristol!'', 1976,
* ''Avon Heritage – The North: The Vale and the Forest'', 1979,
* ''Rediscovering Acton Court and the Poyntz Family''
* ''Canons' Marsh'', 1988
External links
Bristol Visual and Environmental Group*
ttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/nov/04/dorothy-brown-obituary Dorothy Brown obituaryat ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''
Dorothy Brown
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Eva Dorothy
1927 births
2013 deaths
Members of the Order of the British Empire