Geoffrey Grigson on Pevsner: "What caused faint enduring resentment, which never quite died away with some people, was the existence and extraordinary and benison of his architectural guides, county by county, parish by parish, especially parish church by parish church.
They were an adaption of of German guides which listed the good things throughout Germany (though without much detail) and they were seen as interfering with the cosy art amateurism of English church crawling".*
Yesterday on the radio Grayson Perry was talking about Nikolas Pesvner. Coincidence, as I had only been thinking of Pesvner the last few days. Feeling rather guilty at being critical of his book, and there were many of them. My Catholic (ex) guilt of being troublesome over a person who had done such a lot for architecture and the churches of England.
So this morning I found an old video of Jonathan Meade on BBC 4 and watched a fascinating part of our history and how we have changed over time. Meade who is an good observer of our society did Pesvner justice but also stressed his omissions in the writings.
You can gather from the programme that Pesvner is a workaholic and is exceptionally intelligent but starting from the emigre's point of view in a strange country. There lies the answer to my question. I love the very bones of my country, its stories and myths, its landscapes and shores, Pevsner had come with an European mindset. An Europe that was so more sophisticated than England was.
He lightly travelled the country, (his wife drove him) twice a month, made notes on the buildings and churches, wrote them up in the evening in their bed and breakfast and then they were published. He just sort of floated over the surface of churches, methodically layering them down to a few points of his making.
There was also the stigma of being Jewish and German in a country heading for war. He was held for a time, along with many other intellectuals imprisoned as internees, though in houses. There is a brief glimpse of these people stuffing straw into bedding sheets, how times have changed
* Grigson explored the hate that Pevsner suffered at the time, racism of course, but I think Betjeman and others were just jealous of his ability to write voluminously and be published!
How times have changed indeed (although can't help thinking about migrants - not attacked but methinks not arriving in the land of milk and hjoney exactly.) I have an old paperback Pevsner somewhere among my books - haven't looked at it for years. At one time he was such a source.
ReplyDeleteYes he made his livelihood from writing and did a great service. If you watched the first episode of the Meade programme you would see the most terrific protest (against the Vietnam War) at the beginning, we have definitely travelled to a quieter period in this country than there.
DeleteI'm glad to have my copies of Pevsner, though I don't consult them as often as I used to. There are now so many books available on church architecture (and many about the vernacular architecture which he mostly ignored) - and there's so much available on line - I found about ten sources on Blythburgh church before my recent visit! No one will ever write the definitive book on such a vast subject.
ReplyDeleteYou took many excellent photos of Blythburgh church, it is sad that Pevsner never had the same equipment it would have enriched his words. Occasionally I use 'British History Online' which is also a good source.
ReplyDeleteIf I look at Pevsner again, I will now be more critical.
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ReplyDeletein the end his grasp of history was centered on his understanding of his own German culture. Interestingly his wife Ola mended the dishcloths, now that probably tells us more about the times then.
I first encountered Pevsner in the sixth form at Beverley Gammas School when for my written paper I opted for The History of European Architecture. I was bowled over by the breadth and passion of his observations. Jonathan Meades seems quite churlish to me - a dwarf next to Pevsner.
ReplyDeleteWell obviously he is a hero of yours and I can see how he must have felt when he looked at our culture and found it wanting compared to European culture. Some things he was wrong on though I think but then we all see things differently.
ReplyDeleteHaving recently read Pevsner on Sussex I now think he was like an old woman picking holes in the cloth that is the glory of our architecture. He was of his time and I don’t think his views are much adhered to by today’s architectural historians. I used to enjoy Jonathan Meades’ writing and TV programmes - he was refreshing and offered a new way of seeing. I wonder what he is up to now. Sarah in Sussex
ReplyDeleteHe does look like that, if not write like that Sarah. He wrote of the 'Bauhaus' movement in enthusiastic tones, not my most favourite art form. But then you begin to look at the artists of that period and find they are immersing themselves in this strange world of geometric shape.
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