James Stevens Curl
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James Stevens Curl (born 26 March 1937)Contemporary Authors, vols. 37–40, ed. Ann Every, Gale/Cengage Learning, 1979, p. 110 is an architectural historian, architect, and author with an extensive range of publications to his name.


Early life and education

The son of George Stevens Curl (1903–1974), who worked as an inspector of agents for the
Eagle Star Insurance The Eagle Star Insurance Company plc (formerly Eagle Star Insurance Company Limited) was a leading British insurance business. It underwrote the full range of risks including liability, fire, accident, marine, motor, life, contingency and Pluvius ...
Company, and Sarah (née McKinney), Curl was born in
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. He was educated at
Campbell College Campbell College located in Belfast, Northern Ireland and founded in 1894 comprises a preparatory school department (junior age) and a senior Northern Ireland 'Voluntary Grammar' school, the latter meaning, in terms of provision of education, a ...
, Belfast, at
Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...
, and at
Belfast College of Art The Belfast School of Art, is a School in thUlster University Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciencesand is physically located at the Belfast campus. Following the results of the Research Excellence Framework 2014 Ulster is ranked within ...
before studying at the Oxford School of Architecture (now part of
Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic (United Kingdom), Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and High ...
) where he qualified in Architecture (1963) and – having studied under Arthur Korn – in Town Planning (1967). He read for his doctorate at
University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...
, which he received in 1981.


Career

Curl is
Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
at the School of Architecture and Design,
Ulster University sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...
,Official website
(Accessed 1 October 2014)
Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
at
De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was tak ...
, Leicester, and has been a
Visiting Fellow In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...
at
Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...
(1991–92, 2002). An honorary Doctor of Arts degree was conferred on him by De Montfort University in 2014 in recognition of his "distinctive contribution to the study of Architectural History" and of his "outstanding contributions to the intellectual and cultural life of the nation and the region".


Honours

Curl is a Member of the
Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...
, a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...
, a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usua ...
, a Fellow of the
Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) is the professional body for architects in Scotland. History Previously the (lapsed) Architectural Institute of Scotland, it was re-founded in 1916 as the Incorporation of Architects in ...
, a member of the
Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland ( ga, Institiúid Ríoga Ailtirí na hÉireann) founded in 1839, is the "competent authority for architects and professional body for Architecture in the Republic of Ireland." The RIAI's purpose ...
, a member of the
Royal Institute of British Architects 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 ...
, and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects of the City of London. In September 2017, he was awarded the President's Medal of the
British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
"for his contribution to the study of the History of Architecture in Britain and Ireland".


Memberships

Curl was the first Chairman of
Oxford Civic Society The Oxford Civic Society is a civic society that was founded in 1969 to oppose plans to build inner relief roads in Oxford, England. The Society comments on all aspects of urban planning and is a founder member of the Oxfordshire Blue Plaque ...
, which was founded in 1969. He is Joint Patron of the Mausolea and Monuments Trust, President of the Friends of Southampton Old Cemetery, a Vice-President of the Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery, a member of the
Art Workers' Guild The Art Workers' Guild is an organisation established in 1884 by a group of British painters, sculptors, architects, and designers associated with the ideas of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. The guild promoted the 'unity of a ...
, and a member of the Oxford & Cambridge Club.


Personal life

In 1960, Curl married psychiatrist Eileen Elizabeth Blackstock; they had two daughters. His second marriage, in 1993, was to Professor (Stanisława) Dorota Iwaniec.Making Dystopia: The Strange Rise and Survival of Architectural Barbarism, James Stevens Curl, Oxford University Press, p. xxxvi


Selected works

* *''English Architecture: an Illustrated Glossary'' (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1987). New revised edition of the book originally published in 1977. *''The Londonderry Plantation 1609–1914. The History, Architecture, and Planning of the Estates of the City of London in Ulster'' (Chichester: Phillimore, 1986). *''English Architecture: an Illustrated Glossary'' (Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax, Winnipeg, Edmonton. & Vancouver: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 1987). *''Victorian Architecture'' (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1990). *''Simon Stringer, Sculptor Catalogue of Exhibition at the Goldmark Gallery, Uppingham'' (Uppingham: Goldmark Gallery, 1990). *''The Art and Architecture of Freemasonry. An Introductory Study'' (London: B T Batsford, 1991). Winner of the RIBA Sir Banister Fletcher Award for Best Book of the Year on Architecture, 1992. *''The Art and Architecture of Freemasonry. An Introductory Study'' (Woodstock & New York: Overlook Press, 1993). *''Classical Architecture. An Introduction to Its Vocabulary and Essentials, with a Select Glossary of Terms'' (London: B T Batsford, 1992). *''Victorian Architecture'' (Newton Abbot: David & Charles Publishers plc, 1992) Paperback edition of the 1990 hardback. *''Classical Architecture. An Introduction to its Vocabulary and Essentials, with a Select Glossary of Terms'' (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992). *''Encyclopaedia of Architectural Terms'' (Wimbledon, London: Donhead Publishing, 1993). *''Georgian Architecture'' (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1993). *''A Celebration of Death. An Introduction to Some of the Buildings, Monuments, and Settings of Funerary Architecture in the Western European Tradition'' (London: B T Batsford, 1993). *''Egyptomania. The Egyptian Revival as a Recurring Theme in the History of Taste'' (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1994). (hbk.) and 0‑7190-4127-9 (pbk.) *''The English Heritage Book of Victorian Churches'' (London: B T Batsford & English Heritage, 1995). and 0-17134-7490-4 *''Georgian Architecture'' (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1996). . Paperback edition *''Encyclopaedia of Architectural Terms'' (Shaftesbury: Donhead Publishing, 1997). *''Oxford Dictionary of Architecture'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999). *''Oxford Dictionary of Architecture in the Oxford Paperback Reference Series'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000) *''The Honourable The Irish Society and the Plantation of Ulster, 1608–2000: The City of London and the Colonisation of County Londonderry in the Province of Ulster in Ireland. A History and Critique'' (Chichester: Phillimore, 2000). *''The Victorian Celebration of Death'' (Thrupp, Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2000). *''Classical Architecture. An Introduction to its Vocabulary and Essentials, with a Select Glossary of Terms'' (London: B T Batsford, 2001). *''Classical Architecture. An Introduction to its Vocabulary and Essentials, with a Select Glossary of Terms'' (New York & London: W W Norton, 2001). *''The Art and Architecture of Freemasonry. An Introductory Study'' (London: B T Batsford, 2002). *''The Art and Architecture of Freemasonry. An Introductory Study'' (Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press, 2002). *''Piety Proclaimed. An Introduction to Places of Worship in Victorian England'' (London: Historical Publications, 2002). *''Death and Architecture. An Introduction to Funerary and Commemorative Buildings in the Western European Tradition, with Some Consideration of their Settings'' (Thrupp, Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2002). *''Georgian Architecture'' (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 2002). *''The Victorian Celebration of Death'' (Thrupp, Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2004). *''The Egyptian Revival: Ancient Egypt as the Inspiration for Design Motifs in the West'' (Abingdon & New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2005). and 9-78-0-415-36118-7 *''A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006). and 0-19-2806300 *''Victorian Architecture: Diversity & Invention'' (Reading: Spire Books, 2007). *''John Claudius Loudon (1783–1843) and the Cemetery Movement'' (Southampton: Friends of Southampton Old Cemetery, 2008) *''Two Outstanding Monuments in the General Cemetery of All Souls, Kensal Green: The French Connection and Other Matters.'' Special Issue 53 of the ''Magazine of the Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery'' (September 2009), ISSN 1753-4402 (London: Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery) *''Spas, Wells, and Pleasure-Gardens of London'' (London: Historical Publications, 2010). *''The Protestant Cemetery in Rome''. Special Issue 55 of the ''Magazine of the Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery'' (January 2010) ISSN 1753-4402 (London: Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery) *''Freemasonry & the Enlightenment: Architecture, Symbols, & Influences'' (London: Historical Publications, 2011) *''Georgian Architecture in the British Isles 1715–1830'' (Swindon: English Heritage, 2011). *''Funerary Monuments and Memorials in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh'' (Whitstable: Historical Publications, 2013) and 978-1-905286-48-5 *''Making Dystopia: The Strange Rise and Survival of Architectural Barbarism'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018)


References


External links


Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery
last accessed 22 November 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Curl, James Stevens 1937 births Academics of De Montfort University Alumni of Oxford Brookes University Alumni of University College London British architectural historians Fellows of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Irish architectural historians Living people Members of the Royal Irish Academy Recipients of the President's Medal (British Academy) New Classical architecture