Hubert de Cronin Hastings (18 July 1902 – 4 December 1986), often referred to in contemporary works as H. de C. Hastings (and known to friends as "H. de C."),D. A. C. A. Boyne, ‘Hastings, Hubert de Cronin (1902–1986)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 9 June 2014
/ref> was chairman of the Architectural Press and editor of ''

Architectural Review ''The Architectural Review'' is a monthly international architectural magazine. It has been published in London since 1896. Its articles cover the built environment – which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism � ...

'' and ''

Architects' Journal ''Architects' Journal'' is an architectural magazine published in London by Metropolis International. History The first edition was produced in 1895. Originally named ''The Builder's Journal and Architectural Record'', from 1906 to 1910 it was kn ...

''.

Early life and family

Hastings was born at Merton, Surrey, on 18 July 1902, the third son of Percy Hastings, proprietor of Architectural Press and founder of ''Architectural Review'', and his wife Lilian Julie, née Bass.Obituary, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 8 December 1986. Published in Massingberd, H. (1995) ''The Daily Telegraph Book of Obituaries'', Pan Books. He was educated at Berkhamsted School, and worked first for his father's company before enrolling at

Bartlett School of Architecture Bartlett may refer to: Places * Bartlett Bay, Canada, Arctic waterway * Wharerata, New Zealand, also known as Bartletts United States * Bartlett, Illinois ** Bartlett station, a commuter railroad station * Bartlett, Iowa * Bartlett, Kansas ...

, part of University College, London. Disenchanted with the course's '' beaux arts'' leanings, he moved to UCL's art school, the Slade, where he was influenced heavily by

cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

. On 23 July 1927, Hastings married Hazel Rickman Garrard, a daughter of Charles Frederick GarrardGeneral Register Office, ''England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes'', Q3, vol. 6d, p. 2193 and had two children with her: a son, John Hastings, and a daughter, Priscilla Hastings.

Early years as editor

In 1927, Hastings took over (alongside Christian Berman) the editing of ''Architectural Review'' and ''Architects' Journal''; he set about rearranging the format, including changes in typography and image (for which he commissioned artwork from

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...

), but also the content. From then on, the weekly ''Journal'' would be concerned with practical architecture, while the monthly ''Review'' was concerned with architecture as an art, regularly featuring articles on

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

and architectural history. In the following years, he employed a new generation of writers to contribute to the publications, including Osbert Lancaster, Robert Byron, Evelyn Waugh,

Cyril Connolly Cyril Vernon Connolly CBE (10 September 1903 – 26 November 1974) was an English literary critic and writer. He was the editor of the influential literary magazine ''Horizon'' (1940–49) and wrote '' Enemies of Promise'' (1938), which combin ...

, Sacheverell Sitwell,

P. Morton Shand Philip Morton Shand (21 January 1888 – 30 April 1960), known as P. Morton Shand, was a British journalist, architecture critic (an early proponent of modernism), wine and food writer, entrepreneur and pomologist. He was the paternal grandfat ...

and (from 1930)

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

; during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...

assisted, while

J. M. Richards Sir James Maude Richards, FRIBA (13 August 1907 – 27 April 1992) was a British architectural writer. James Maude Richards was born in 1907, at Ladypath, Park Lane, Carshalton, Surrey. His father, Louis Saurin Richards, was a solicitor, ...

was serving in the armed forces. Hastings was known to have had difficult working relationships with some of these young writers he employed. Betjeman's relationship with Hastings was largely amicable, though at times, as Hasting's ''Telegraph'' obituary states, "Betjeman was openly impatient of the petty rules imposed by the management" and nicknamed him "Old Obscurity". Although rarely contributing articles, he is known to have written several, under the pseudonym Ivor de Wolfe. He also authored ''The Alternative Society'' (1980), as well as a caricature book produced during his art-school years. As an individual, he was a "romantic" and an "idealist", but also a "perfectionist." He rarely talked publicly and was known to go on vacations without announcement and miss editorial meetings, returning, though, with a new draft article or photographs of continental cities.

CIAM

During the late 1930s Hastings contributed to the work of the International Congress of Modern Architecture (CIAM). In 1936, with

William Tatton Brown William Eden Tatton Brown (13 October 1910 - 2 February 1997) was an English architect. From 1959, he was the first chief architect to the UK's Ministry of Health, taking charge of large-scale hospital building until the mid-1970s. Early caree ...

and his wife Aileen, Hastings formed a three-strong 'Town Planning Committee' within CIAM exploring ideas related to 'linear cities'; Tatton Brown subsequently presented a paper based on the work, ''The Theory of Contacts and its Application to the Future of London'', at the CIAM V Congress in Paris in September 1937. These ideas were then explored further through the MARS Group and its exhibition at the

New Burlington Galleries The New Burlington Galleries was an art gallery at 5 Burlington Gardens, Mayfair, London. From 11 June to 4 July 1936, they held the ''International Surrealist Exhibition'', the first full exhibition of surrealist art in the UK. From 7 June to 28 ...

in 1938.

Later years and legacy

Throughout the 1930s, he promoted

modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

, with the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' commenting that he "saw the logic of this as a bright new future for society", although he later campaigned for 'new monumentalism' and 'new empiricism', before going on to favour the "picturesque" in town planning, in reaction to the more rigid axial-planning which was fashionable at the time amongst architectural circles; this led to his promotion of the notion of "townscape" and his criticism of poor planning in British architecture. A special publication of the ''Review'' which highlighted his criticisms was produced and influenced the creation of the Civic Trust. In recognition of his service to architecture in Britain, he became the first architectural editor to receive the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture from the Royal Institute of British Architects; their citation described him as a "leading campaigner in drawing attention to many of the most crucial and controversial issues that have concerned the architectural profession in this century." Hastings died on 4 December 1986 at Bedham Farm, Fittleworth,

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

; he was cremated and his ashes interred at Bedham.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hastings, H. de C. 1902 births 1986 deaths 20th-century English architects People from Merton (parish) People from Fittleworth Architects from Surrey Architects from Sussex Recipients of the Royal Gold Medal Alumni of University College London