Sir James Maude Richards,

FRIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

(13 August 1907 – 27 April 1992) was a British architectural writer. James Maude Richards was born in 1907, at Ladypath, Park Lane,

Carshalton Carshalton () is a town, with a historic village centre, in south London, England, within the London Borough of Sutton. It is situated south-southwest of Charing Cross, in the valley of the River Wandle, one of the sources of which is Carshalton ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. His father, Louis Saurin Richards, was a solicitor, and his mother, Lucy Denes (''née'' Clarence), was born in Ceylon, now

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Educated at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Day school, day and boarding school) in Holt, Norfolk, Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Bac ...

Holt Holt or holte may refer to: Natural world *Holt (den), an otter den * Holt, an area of woodland Places Australia * Holt, Australian Capital Territory * Division of Holt, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives in Vic ...

, and

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, he trained as an architect at the Architectural Association. He worked at J. Lyons & Co., assisting

Oliver Percy Bernard Oliver Percy Bernard OBE MC (8 April 1881 – 15 April 1939) was an English architect, and scenic, graphic and industrial designer. He was instrumental in developing conservative Victorian British taste in a modernist European direction; mu ...

, before being sent to work as an architectural assistant for the engineer, Owen Williams. But his main career was as a writer on architecture. As well as publishing many books, he served as editor of the ''

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 � ...

'' from 1937 to 1971, the longest period in office of any of its editors. He had a short, unhappy marriage to artist

Peggy Angus Margaret MacGregor Angus (9 November 1904 – 28 October 1993) was a British painter, designer and teacher. Born in Chile, she spent her career in Britain. Biography Early life Angus was born in Chile on 9 November 1904, in a railway station, t ...

, with whom he had a daughter, Victoria, and a son Angus. The couple married in 1936 and divorced in 1948. In 1954, he married Kit Lewis, also an artist; the couple had one son. He died in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, on 27 April 1992.

Major publications

* "Towards a Rational Aesthetic: An Examination of the Characteristics of Modern Design with Particular Reference to the Influence of the Machine," in ''Architectural Review'' 77 (1935): 211-18. * ''High Street'' (1938) * ''An Introduction to Modern Architecture'' (Penguin Books, 1940, revised 1953 and 1963) * ''The Castles on the Ground'' (Architectural Press, 1946), 2nd edn with subtitle ''The Anatomy of Suburbia'' (John Murray, 1973) * ''Functional Tradition in Early Industrial Buildings'' (Architectural Press, 1958) * ''Miniature History of the English House'' (Architectural Press, 1960) * "

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

's New Commercial Centre," in ''

'' 130 (August 1961): 104-14. * ''Guide to Finnish Architecture'' (1966) * ''The Anti-rationalists'' (University of Toronto Press, 1973) (ed. with Nikolaus Pevsner) * ''The Professions: Architecture'' (David & Charles, 1974) * ''Provision for the Arts in the Republic of Ireland'' (Gulbenkian Foundation, 1976) * ''Who's Who in Architecture from 1400 to the Present Day'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1977) * ''Eight Hundred Years of Finnish Architecture'' (David & Charles, 1978) * ''Memoirs of an Unjust Fella'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1980) * ''National Trust Book of English Architecture'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1981) * "Marcel Breuer: 1902-81," in ''Architectural Review'' 170, no. 1014 (1981): 69-70. * "Carl Ludwig Engel, Finland's Neo-Classical Master," in ''Architectural Review'' 171, no. 1021 (1982): 52-59. * "Peter Reyner Banham," in ''Architectural Review'' 183, no. 1095 (1988): 9-10.

References

Bibliography

* *Kelly, Jessica (2015). "Vulgar modernism: J.M. Richards, modernism, and the vernacular in British architecture," ''Architectural History'', Vol.58, pp. 229–259 *Kelly, Jessica (2016). "To Fan the Ardour of the Layman: The Architectural Review, The MARS Group and the Cultivation of Middle Class Audiences for Modernism in Britain, 1933-1940," ''Journal of Design History'', Vol.29(4), pp. 350–365

External links

*
James Maude Richards at isbn.pl
1907 births 1992 deaths Knights Bachelor English architecture writers People educated at Gresham's School Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects 20th-century English architects 20th-century English male writers {{England-writer-stub