''Nairn's London'' is a 1966 book about the architecture of London. It is authored by British writer

Ian Nairn Ian Douglas Nairn (24 August 1930 – 14 August 1983) was a British architectural critic who coined the word "Subtopia" to indicate drab suburbs that look identical through unimaginative town-planning. He published two strongly personalised criti ...

and this is the work for which he is the best known. Architecture critic

Jonathan Meades Jonathan Turner Meades (born 21 January 1947) is an English writer and film-maker, primarily on the subjects of place, culture, architecture and food. His work spans journalism, fiction, essays, memoir and over fifty highly idiosyncratic tele ...

has praised the work as an "imperious mongrel: part vade-mecum, part polemic, part poetic contemplation, part deflected autobiography and part conversation with himself – wholly original" and "the testament of a man steeped in London". Nairn himself described it as a "personal list of the best things in London" and a "record of what has moved me between

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...

and

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Forest ...

." ''Nairn's London'' drifted in and out of print in the decades following its publication but became a cult classic. It was regularly recommended by American film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

to students seeking to improve their prose, and he wrote an introduction for the book in a 2002 printing. Ebert, however, had to caveat his recommendation with an acknowledgement that it was, at that time, difficult to obtain a copy. That relative scarcity continued until the 2010s, with high prices for second-hand copies. Since 2013, there has been a major revival of interest in Nairn and his work, leading to a 2014 reprinting of ''Nairn's London'' by the book's publisher,

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

, a town he would later claim to be the "most characterless

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

". On his deathbed, at

Cromwell Hospital The Cromwell Hospital is a private sector hospital located in the South Kensington area of London. It is operated by international healthcare company Bupa. History The hospital, which was designed by Holder Mathias, was established by Bank of Cre ...

in London, he told the doctors that he had been born in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. He served in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

as a pilot and studied

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

Birmingham University , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

. He later moved into architectural criticism, coining the influential term "subtopia" in 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 � ...

in 1955 to describe the drab failures of British town planning in the postwar period. That earned him considerable attention in the press. He also co-authored the magisterial

Pevsner Architectural Guides The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of Great Britain and Ireland. Begun in the 1940s by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the original Buildings of England series were published b ...

for

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. ...

and

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 worked with his second wife, Judy Perry, on the writing of the ''Surrey'' guide, and its dust cover noted that the "only way she could ensure the volume's appearance on time was to marry him." When ''Nairn's London'' was published, he had lived in London for less than ten years. Nairn would also go on to host a series of BBC travel programmes around the UK. He wrote extensively on

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

as well, publishing a sequel to ''London'' in 1968. Before writing his ''London'', Nairn had earlier written a book about the modern architecture of the capital, ''Modern Buildings In London'' (1964). He was originally quite optimistic about the prospects of postwar modernism to positively reshape Britain's cities, but though the 1960s, his attitude became much more negative. He dismissed much recent architecture in a fiery 1966 article in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' as "a soggy, shoddy mass of half-digested clichés", leading to

Lord Esher Viscount Esher, of Esher in the County of Surrey, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 11 November 1897 for the prominent lawyer and judge William Brett, 1st Baron Esher, upon his retirement as Master of the Rolls ...

, then President 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 ...

, to (unsuccessfully) call for his dismissal from that newspaper. He died less than two decades after the publication of ''Nairn's London'' of

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

at the age of 53. The book contains almost 30 entries for pubs and a postscript on London's breweries. His favorite was Fuller's London Pride then sold primarily in West London.

New Scotland Yard, Victoria Embankment (geograph 5650866)

The book is composed of 450 descriptions of various London buildings, including parish churches,

pubs A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, office buildings, bridges, monuments, markets, monuments, homes, as well as traditional tourist draws. ''Nairn's London'' extends far beyond the urban core and stretches from

, roughly corresponding to the borders of

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

. The book is divided into eleven sections: #

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

# The Northern Ring:

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

Finsbury Finsbury is a district of Central London, forming the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Islington. It borders the City of London. The Manor of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man called Finn ...

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...

# Kensington and Chelsea # Thames-Side West:

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

to Staines # East End and East London:

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romford ...

# Thames-Side East:

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North London ...

Kensal Green Kensal Green is an area in north-west London. It lies mainly in the London Borough of Brent, with a small part to the south within Kensington and Chelsea. Kensal Green is located on the Harrow Road, about miles from Charing Cross. To the w ...

to London Airport There are 89 black-and-white illustrations in the book, of which 82 were photographs taken by the author. The book was edited by David Thomson at

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

that covers twelve pages. Gala Bingo, Tooting, SW17

The style is idiosyncratic. His entry on

St George's, Bloomsbury St George's, Bloomsbury, is a parish church in Bloomsbury, London Borough of Camden, United Kingdom. It was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and consecrated in 1730. The church crypt houses the Museum of Comedy. History The Commissioners for the ...

, for example, does not actually focus on the Georgian church designed by

Nicholas Hawksmoor Nicholas Hawksmoor (probably 1661 – 25 March 1736) was an English architect. He was a leading figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Hawksmoor worked alongside the principa ...

. Instead it follows the course of the alleyway next to it that he argues, with six steps and a sharp corner, "has the drama of a full symphonic movement, charged up by the stupendous classical detail that bores a hole in your right flank". He noted that an elephant on the

Albert Memorial The Albert Memorial, directly north of the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington Gardens, London, was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband Prince Albert, who died in 1861. Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the Gothic ...

has "a backside just like a businessman scrambling under a restaurant table for his cheque-book." He particularly enjoys

Sir John Soane's Museum Sir John Soane's Museum is a house museum, located next to Lincoln's Inn Fields in Holborn, London, which was formerly the home of neo-classical architect, John Soane. It holds many drawings and architectural models of Soane's projects, and ...

which he terms "an experience to be had in London and nowhere else, worth travelling across a continent to see in the same way as the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel (; la, Sacellum Sixtinum; it, Cappella Sistina ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its name ...

or the

Isenheim altarpiece The ''Isenheim Altarpiece'' is an altarpiece sculpted and painted by, respectively, the Germans Nikolaus of Haguenau and Matthias Grünewald in 1512–1516. It is on display at the Unterlinden Museum at Colmar, Alsace, in France. It is Grünewal ...

". The book is dedicated to Sir John Nash, as well as to his publisher, and he contends that the "generalized sense of the capital" is "almost entirely due to the genius of John Nash", singling out

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

and

Carlton House Terrace Carlton House Terrace is a street in the St James's district of the City of Westminster in London. Its principal architectural feature is a pair of terraces of white stucco-faced houses on the south side of the street overlooking St. James's ...

for particular praise. The book is more mixed on postwar modernism. He writes appreciatively about the work of

Denys Lasdun Sir Denys Louis Lasdun, CH, CBE, RA (8 September 1914, Kensington, London – 11 January 2001, Fulham, London) was an eminent English architect, the son of Nathan Lasdun (1879–1920) and Julie ('' née'' Abrahams; 1884–1963). Probably his ...

but is dismissive of the Loughborough Estate as an "arid geometrical exercise" and the

Alton Estate The Alton Estate is a large council estate situated in Roehampton, southwest London. One of the largest council estates (public housing) in the UK, it occupies an extensive area of land west of Roehampton village and runs between the Roehampton ...

Roehampton Roehampton is an area in southwest London, in the Putney SW15 postal district, and takes up a far western strip running north to south of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large council house estates and is home to the U ...

as a place where the "eye of technique and elegance in individual buildings is wide open; the eye of understanding and feeling for a total place is firmly shut". Temple Church 2, London, UK - Diliff

Reception and legacy

In the 1966 review of the book in

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 ...

, Nairn is described as playing "the part of (yet another) enfant terrible of his profession" and being "of blood and, yes, guts, and beer, in full swing". That review goes on to say that the book was "necessary for all who love London, though they fall dead from apoplexy reading it", as Nairn attacks many of the capital's most respected buildings, including

Bedford Square Bedford Square is a garden square in the Bloomsbury district of the Borough of Camden in London, England. History Built between 1775 and 1783 as an upper middle class residential area, the square has had many distinguished residents, inclu ...

and

Horse Guards Parade Horse Guards Parade is a large parade ground off Whitehall in central London (at grid reference ). It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the monarch's official birthday, and the Beating Retreat. Hi ...

David McKie David McKie (born 1935) is a British journalist and historian. He was deputy editor of ''The Guardian'' and continued to write a weekly column for that paper until 4 October 2007, called "Elsewhere". Until 10 September 2005, he also wrote a sec ...

wrote in 2014 that the book's relatively obscurity until recently had much to do with London's transformations since the 1960s. He contended that the decision to not print any more copies was "no doubt on the bleakly practical calculation that London today is no longer ''Nairn's London''" In 2014, it was republished with identical text and typeface by Penguin to glowing reviews, with

writing that it was a "Horatian monument in words more lasting than bronze" and a "funny and poetic, highly subjective and slightly mad" depiction of the metropolis.

Rachel Cooke Rachel Cooke (born 1969) is a British journalist and writer. Early life Cooke was born in Sheffield, and is the daughter of a university lecturer. She went to school in Jaffa, Israel, until she was 11, before returning to Sheffield, and atten ...

said it was the book she most wanted for Christmas 2014, saying it was the "best short book about the capital ever written". A 2017 review in

The New Criterion ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

said that it was a "a sort of bleary-eyed love letter to the buildings that define the city" and that it offered an alternative future for London.

Owen Hatherley Owen Hatherley (born 24 July 1981 in Southampton, England) is a British writer and journalist based in London who writes primarily on architecture, politics and culture. Early life Hatherley was born in Southampton in 1981, growing up in a 1930s ...

has written that Nairn was "arguably the finest architectural writer of the twentieth century" and that Nairn's "masterpiece" was "a work of architectural criticism and architectural history of huge sophistication and erudition, a rum, bawdy, and drunken dance up a back alley, a hymn to those rare moments where the individual and the collective meet." The book is regularly cited in disputes over planning and

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

in London, concerning everything from

New Zealand House New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, East London shops,

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lo ...

, and

gasometers A gas holder or gasholder, also known as a gasometer, is a large container in which natural gas or town gas is natural gas storage, stored near atmospheric pressure at room temperature, ambient temperatures. The volume of the container follows th ...

Publication history

The original 1966 edition was published in London by Penguin Books in 1966. It was later reprinted once in 1967 and again in 2002 and 2014.

wrote an introduction to the 2002 printing and

Gavin Stamp Gavin Mark Stamp (15 March 194830 December 2017) was a British writer, television presenter and architectural historian. Education Stamp was educated at Dulwich College in South London from 1959 to 1967 as part of the "Dulwich Experiment", then a ...

wrote an afterword for the 2014 printing but the text of the book for both was otherwise unchanged. In 1988, Peter Gasson edited a new edition of the book
''Nairn's London: Revisited''
for

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

. That updated version contained more accurate locations for entries as well as updates on the buildings that had been renovated or demolished since 1966.

External links

''Nairn's London'' is available to borrow for free on the Internet Archive

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite news , last1=Lezard , first1=Nicholas , title=Nairn's London by Ian Nairn review – each entry is a masterpiece of construction , url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/28/nairns-london-by-ian-nairn-review , access-date=6 July 2021 , work=The Guardian , date=28 October 2014 {{cite news , last1=Cooke , first1=Rachel , title=Nairn's London: a grand unflattering tour of the capital in the 50s , url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/16/ian-nairns-london-buildings-funny-acerbic-50th-birthday-architecture-critic-shelflife , access-date=6 July 2021 , date=16 February 2016 {{cite book , last1=Nairn , first1=Ian , title=Nairn's London , date=2014, publisher=Penguin Books , location=London , isbn=978-0141396163 {{cite news , last1=Ebert , first1=Roger , title=Nairn's London: An Introduction , url=https://www.rogerebert.com/roger-ebert/nairns-london-an-introduction , access-date=6 July 2021 , date=16 September 2001 {{cite news , last1=Riley , first1=Benjamin , title=A better London , url=https://newcriterion.com/issues/2017/5/a-better-london , access-date=6 July 2021 , work=The New Criterion , date=2017 {{cite news , last1=Elgood , first1=Giles , title=Trip Tips: 50 years on, quirky guide to London still shows the way , url=https://www.reuters.com/article/travel-london-idUKL6N0UD1PI20150206 , access-date=6 July 2021 , work=Reuters , date=6 February 2015 {{cite news , last1=Piper , first1=David , title=Nairn's guide to London , url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/mar/31/ian-nairn-london-guide-architecture-book-archive-1966 , access-date=6 July 2021 , work=The Guardian , date=31 March 1966 {{cite news , last1=Bradley , first1=Simon , title=Architecture's friend and implacable foe , url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/books/architecture-s-friend-and-implacable-foe-9001004.html , access-date=6 July 2021 , work=Evening Standard , date=13 December 2013 {{cite news , last1=Meades , first1=Jonathan , title=The critical brilliance of Ian Nairn , url=https://www.theoldie.co.uk/article/jonathan-meades-the-critical-brilliance-of-ian-nairn , access-date=6 July 2021 , work=The Oldie , date=2020 {{cite news , last1=Engel , first1=Matthew , title=Ian Nairn: flight from Subtopia , url=https://www.ft.com/content/011b6942-5cf1-11e3-81bd-00144feabdc0 , access-date=6 July 2021 , work=The Financial Times , date=6 December 2013 {{cite journal , last1=Stamp , first1=Gavin , title=Ian Nairn , journal=Twentieth Century Architecture , date=2004 , issue=7 , pages=20–30 , jstor=41859671 , url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41859671 {{cite news , last1=Beanland , first1=Christopher , title=Gasometers: Icons of energy architecture , url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/architecture/gasometers-icons-energy-architecture-9854779.html , archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/architecture/gasometers-icons-energy-architecture-9854779.html , archive-date=2022-06-18 , url-access=subscription , url-status=live , access-date=7 July 2021 , work=The Independent , date=11 November 2014 {{cite news , last1=Birchenough , first1=Tom , title=The Brits Who Built the Modern World, BBC Four / The Man Who Fought the Planners, BBC Four , url=https://theartsdesk.com/tv/brits-who-built-modern-world-bbc-four-man-who-fought-planners-bbc-four , access-date=7 July 2021 , date=21 February 2014 English-language books 1966_books Books_about_London Architecture books

Contents

Reception and legacy

Publication history

External links

References