Pevsner's Legacy: A Monumental Guide to England's Architecture Concludes

In the 1940s, Nikolaus Pevsner, a refugee from Nazi Germany, embarked on a remarkable journey through England. Armed with meticulous research, he meticulously documented the country's architectural treasures, creating a heartfelt homage to his adopted home and its resilient heritage. This labor of love resulted in the renowned Buildings of England series, a collection of county-by-county guidebooks, now collectively known as Pevsners.

Pevsner's meticulous work culminated in 1974, but the process of revision continued. In 1983, Penguin began publishing expanded editions in a larger format, a task taken over by Yale University Press in 2002. The final volume, focusing on Staffordshire, has now been released, marking the end of this epic endeavor, spanning nearly 80 years.

The 56-volume series stands as a publishing cathedral, a testament to the collaborative spirit of countless individuals across time. Throughout its evolution, the series has been guided by several editors, including Bridget Cherry, Elizabeth Williamson, Charles O’Brien and Simon Bradley, and numerous authors, contributors, and researchers. The Staffordshire guide, updated by the late Christopher Wakeling, an expert on nonconformist chapels, incorporates insights from specialists in various fields, from alabaster sculpture to British Rail architecture.

The series' enduring success stems from its focus on what Pevsner considered "high architecture": churches, country houses, museums, castles, and works by celebrated architects. While later editions incorporated a wider appreciation for industrial buildings, vernacular barns, and homes, venues of popular entertainment received less attention. This bias, exemplified by the omission of Alton Towers, Staffordshire's most famous theme park, while exhaustively detailing the nearby stately home, highlights a preference for the traditional and refined.

Pevsners' unique approach blends meticulous factual detail with evocative judgments. Each entry provides a comprehensive inventory of features, identifying dates, architects, artists, patrons, stylistic elements, and even counts arches and spires. The guidebooks are steeped in art-historical labels, employing a rich vocabulary of architectural detail – lucarnes, *œil de bœuf

windows, reticulation – with a helpful glossary provided for the uninitiated.

Pevsner's personal voice shines through in his sometimes whimsical assessments. He describes Lichfield Cathedral's west front as "not wholly satisfactory… It has two spires, and if spires are meant to aspire, these aspire too little," revealing a subtle moral undercurrent in his critiques. Buildings deemed "odd" or worse fail to meet his standards of architectural propriety.

The Pevsners evoke a bygone era, a time when travel involved Morris Minors, packed lunches, and overnight stays in quaint country inns. The books, with their detailed facts, arcane terms, and cascading place names, create a sense of nostalgia for an England that, while geographically unchanged, feels increasingly distant.

Despite this nostalgic aura, Pevsners were never merely exercises in sentimentality. Pevsner, himself a champion of modern architecture, believed that studying the past illuminated how contemporary buildings could evolve from similar principles. The guides consistently included new constructions alongside older ones, often accompanied by the professor's characteristically sharp and opinionated observations. This ensured that the series was not a mere exercise in national myth-making but a dynamic reflection of architectural evolution.

Pevsners remain the definitive guides for those seeking to explore England's architectural landscape. They offer invaluable insights into the buildings themselves and the stories they hold. The series embodies an extraordinary respect and devotion to its subject, a testament to the enduring wonder of architecture. While the printed editions have concluded, their legacy as a testament to England's architectural heritage will undoubtedly continue to inspire generations to come.