The Victorian Society is a UK

amenity society In England and Wales, an amenity society is an organisation which monitors planning and development. National societies National amenity societies preserve historic art and architecture and operate at a national level. In England, the six princip ...

and membership organisation that campaigns to

preserve The word preserve may refer to: Common uses * Fruit preserves, a type of sweet spread or condiment * Nature reserve, an area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or other special interest, usually protected Arts, entertainment, and media ...

and promote interest in Victorian and

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

architecture and heritage built between 1837 and 1914 in England and Wales. It is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

Goals

The Society, a

, fights to protect Victorian and Edwardian heritage from demolition or careless alteration. As a membership organisation, the majority of its funding comes from subscription fees and events. As one of the National Amenity Societies, The Victorian Society is a statutory consultee on alterations to

listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, and by law must be notified of any work to a listed building which involves any element of demolition. The society: * Provides advice to churches and local planning authorities on how Victorian and Edwardian buildings and landscapes can be adapted to modern use, while keeping what is distinctive about them. * Advises members of the public on how they can help shape the future of their local Victorian and Edwardian buildings and landscapes. * Provides information to owners of Victorian and

Edwardian houses Edwardian architecture is a Neo-Baroque architectural style that was popular in the British Empire during the Edwardian era (1901–1910). Architecture up to the year 1914 may also be included in this style. Description Edwardian architecture is ...

about how they can better look after their buildings. * Helps people understand, appreciate and enjoy the architectural heritage of the Victorian and

Edwardian period The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

through its publications and events.

History

Foundation

The society's foundation was proposed in November 1957 by

Anne Parsons, Countess of Rosse Anne Parsons, Countess of Rosse (''née'' Messel, previously Armstrong-Jones; 8 February 1902 – 3 July 1992), was an English socialite and one of the founders of The Victorian Society. She was the mother of Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of ...

at her remarkably-preserved

Victorian home In Great Britain and former British colonies, a Victorian house generally means any house built during the reign of Queen Victoria. During the Industrial Revolution, successive housing booms resulted in the building of many millions of Victorian ...

18 Stafford Terrace 18 Stafford Terrace, formerly known as Linley Sambourne House, now renamed to Sambourne House, was the home of the ''Punch'' illustrator Edward Linley Sambourne (1844–1910) in Kensington, London. The house, now Grade II* listed, is currently ...

, Kensington (Linley Sambourne House), with the intention of countering the widely prevalent antipathy to 19th- and early 20th-century architecture. From the 1890s into the 20th century, Victorian art had been under attack, critics writing of "the nineteenth century architectural tragedy", ridiculing "the uncompromising ugliness" of the era's buildings and attacking the "sadistic hatred of beauty" of its architects. The commonly-held view had been expressed by

P.G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jee ...

in his 1933 novel, ''

Summer Moonshine First US edition ''Summer Moonshine'' is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 8 October 1937 by Doubleday, Doran, New York, and in the United Kingdom on 11 February 1938 by Herbert Jenkins, London.McIlvaine, E., S ...

'': "Whatever may be said in favour of the Victorians, it is pretty generally admitted that few of them were to be trusted within reach of a trowel and a pile of bricks." The first meeting was held at Linley Sambourne House on 28 February 1958. Among its thirty founder members were the first secretary

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, ...

Henry-Russell Hitchcock Henry-Russell Hitchcock (1903–1987) was an American architectural historian, and for many years a professor at Smith College and New York University. His writings helped to define the characteristics of modernist architecture. Early life He ...

and

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 ...

, who became Chairman in 1964.

Directors

Peter Fleetwood-Hesketh was secretary from 1961 to 1963. Former

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes ( Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years following ...

codebreaker, Jane Fawcett, managed the society's affairs as secretary from 1964 to 1976. Christopher Costelloe took over as Director from Dr Ian Dungavell in 2012. Joe O'Donnell succeeded Christopher Costelloe as Director in September 2020.

Work

The society has worked to save numerous landmark buildings such as

St Pancras Station St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It is ...

Albert Dock Albert Dock may refer to: *Albert Dock, Hull, in Kingston upon Hull, England *Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool, a dock and warehouse system in Liverpool, England *Royal Albert Dock, London The Royal Albert Dock is one of three docks in the Royal ...

in Liverpool, the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

and

Oxford University Museum The Oxford University Museum of Natural History, sometimes known simply as the Oxford University Museum or OUMNH, is a museum displaying many of the University of Oxford's natural history specimens, located on Parks Road in Oxford, England. It a ...

. Its campaigns have not always been successful, notably its failed attempts to save the

Euston Arch The Euston Arch, built in 1837 (and demolished in 1962), was the original entrance to Euston station, facing onto Drummond Street, London. The arch was demolished when the station was rebuilt in the 1960s, but much of the original stone was later ...

from demolition in 1961. Examples of the society's work with churches include making complaints against proposals of church PCCs to use upholstered chairs during renovation, and appealing against proposals to raise money by selling original features. In 2015 the society launched a campaign to preserve Victorian

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 ...

, after utility companies announced plans to demolish nearly 200 of the now-outdated structures. Christopher Costelloe, the society's director, commented: "Gasometers, by their very size and structure, cannot help but become landmarks.

hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...

are singularly dramatic structures for all their emptiness." The society publishes an annual list of the Top Ten Most Endangered Victorian or Edwardian Buildings in England and Wales.

''The Victorian'' magazine

Published three times a year since 1998 for the members of the Society, ''The Victorian'' magazine contains book reviews, society news and events, casework reports, and interviews.

Victorian Society in America

The Victorian Society has a sister organisation in the United States, the Victorian Society in America, founded in 1966 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, by such champions of historic preservation as

Brendan Gill Brendan Gill (October 4, 1914 – December 27, 1997) was an American journalist. He wrote for ''The New Yorker'' for more than 60 years. Gill also contributed film criticism for ''Film Comment'', wrote about design and architecture for Architectu ...

, and

Margot Gayle Margot McCoy Gayle (Born Sarah Margaret McCoy May 14, 1908 – September 28, 2008) was an American historic preservationist, activist, and writer. She led the effort to designate the SoHo Cast Iron Historic District, which preserved Victor ...

; it was borne from the outrage they felt at the 1964 destruction of New York's magnificent

Pennsylvania Station Pennsylvania Station (often abbreviated Penn Station) is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) to several of its grand passenger terminals. Several are still in active use by Amtrak and other transportation services; others have been ...

. the Victorian Society in America is based in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

with 12 registered chapters, mostly in the

Eastern United States The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...

Counterpart bodies

The counterpart organisations to the society for the protection of the heritage of earlier and later periods are the

Georgian Group The Georgian Group is a British Charitable organization, charity, and the national authority on Georgian architecture built between 1700 and 1837 in England and Wales. As one of the Amenity society, National Amenity Societies, The Georgian G ...

(for buildings erected between 1700 and 1840) and

The Twentieth Century Society The Twentieth Century Society (C20) is a British charity which campaigns for the preservation of architectural heritage from 1914 onwards. The society's interests embrace buildings and artefacts that characterise 20th-century Britain. It is form ...

(for post-1914 buildings).

Notes

References

* * * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Victorian Society Organizations established in 1958 Architecture organisations based in the United Kingdom Cultural heritage of the United Kingdom Heritage organisations in the United Kingdom Historical societies of the United Kingdom *Victorian Society 1958 establishments in the United Kingdom