Harriet Richardson Blakeman

On 19 February, we'll hear about the history of Glasgow's Kingston Bridge: THE HIGHWAY OVER THE CLYDE

Stewart Baird (Scottish Roads Archive) will talk in EDINBURGH AND ONLINE, showing historic and rare photographs.

tickettailor.com/events/docomomoscotland

#architecturetalk #glasgow #edinburgh

Save the date 26 April 2026: ‘Fern Fever on the Fells’. I’ll be giving a Sunday afternoon talk at the lovely Higham Hall, Bassenthwaite, followed by tea & cake. It will tell the story of the Victorian fern craze in the Lake District. Booking details to follow.

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-deep-his...

If you happen to be in Edinburgh on 5th Feb, there’s a free talk. Also note venue change - now to be held in the old Royal Infirmary’s new event space.

Oops. (Quickly deletes ‘pivotal’ from current work in progress.)

Alborz's Cambridge Half Marathon for Macmillan Cancer Support Help Alborz Dianat raise money to support Macmillan Cancer Support

In two months, I'll be running a half marathon in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, in case anyone wants to chip in to a good cause: www.justgiving.com/page/alborz-...

bedding in Dunelm reduced for clearance, marked 'Deranged'.

How's your Christmas shopping going? Hopefully not as bad as this.

Post Image

Sad to see the old Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary at Nithbank in a ruinous state. Prompted a short post on this and the 1970s infirmary.

https://historic-hospitals.com/2025/12/13/dumfries-and-galloway-royal-infirmary/

Sign the Petition Save the John Princes Street LCF Building - Don’t Erase London’s Fashion Heritage LCFJPS20

this is such a good building! Oxford Street would be much poorer for its absence c.org/bfP6b6zGHt

THIS THURSDAY, 30 October, Bruce Peter talks about "Art Deco and the Modern Movement in Scotland"

Join us ONLINE AND IN EDINBURGH for a fascinating history talk. Bruce is professor at Glasgow School of Art. His new book Modernist Scotland will be out soon.

tickettailor.com/events/docomomoscotland

How lovely! We planted a pear tree 8 years ago. This year it finally produced half a dozen pears - it is next to the chicken run.

Tempt me not!

A corner of our kitchen, with bowls of apples on the table and more on the windowsill.

Bumper crop of apples this year, for us and the rest of Europe, probably. Picked as many as we could before storm Amy arrived to give a helping hand.

I’d hit the like button, but ‘like’ really isn’t what I’m going for on this.

Alexandra Road Retrofit: Stop Potential Fuel Poverty, Mould, and Inequality Camden Council’s proposed heating retrofit for the iconic Grade II* listed Alexandra Road Estate risks locking residents into permanently high bills, colder homes, damp and mould and greater inequalit...

Please sign: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/al...

I don’t know - but please do share if you find out!

I just signed the open letter & joined the campaign. Access to the written archives was vital to the book I’m completing about BBC Broadcasting House.

Black and white cat lying in the sun on step. Patio and garden beyond.

Cat on a hot concrete step
#caturday

‘Cathedrals of commerce’ : A guide through the Golden Age of the British High Street | The Past In her new book about High Street heritage, Kathryn Morrison takes us on a trip down memory lane and reminds us that design quality was once a proud part of ...

A long piece about 'Chain Stores' by Christopher Catling for the new edition of Current Archaeology - if you fancy a read!
the-past.com/feature/cath...

July News in August July was not my most productive month, but I have enjoyed being side-tracked by a few enquiries. These have had me investigating the birthplace of Vivian Stanshall – the musician, writer, and…

Just out, a round-up of news and progress on historic-hospitals in the latest post.
An unidentified chapel, a Humphreys iron hospital in Uppingham, a new book on hospitals in the Scottish Highlands, and a wander round Lincoln County Hospital.
historic-hospitals.com/2025/08/10/j...

Beautifully written obituary, and a marvellous portrait by Chris Redgrave.

A modernist church, with a grey brick wall and pyramidal roof with standing seam cladding, above which rises a further small pyramid on slender posts

Sad news overnight of serious damage by fire to St Mungo's church, Cumbernauld - designed by Alan Reiach 1963-64. Its dedication echoed Glasgow cathedral & recognised the Glaswegian roots of many early residents in the new town, which had been begun a few years before

photo of a smallish chapel, simple gothic style, probably brick with small fleche, roughly three bay nave, with twin lancet windows separated by buttresses, and broader chancel end with triple lancet window in centre.

Mystery Chapel:
Does anyone recognise this chapel? It is most likely in the South East of England, might be a hospital or institutional chapel, and was photographed in the 1950s. The photographer was a TB patient around this time, from St Paul's Cray and latterly at Eversfield Hospital, Hastings.

Image credit: Iain Masterton

💥The Bernat Klein Studio has been saved! This morning the coalition of Scottish heritage organisations secured the property at auction with a winning bid of £279,000.

The studio will now be restored and brought back into public use, creating a new venue for creative arts in the Scottish Borders.

Fantastic! So pleased.

Auction day. My fingers are firmly crossed.

Alan Reiach and Stuart Renton’s church, completed in 1962. I’ve been to this one, it’s stupendous

Applications are open to become the new Graduate Trainee at HES - after seeing how much fun our most recent trainee had I’m quite jealous! Please share widely: ekov.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

This is exciting and very welcome news!

Support Scottish heritage organisations to buy Bernat Klein Studio, near Galashiels

www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/qr/7nPrRvgl

The late-Modernist building of 1972, designed by architect Peter Womersley, is to be auctioned on 30 July. Listed and vacant, this architectural marvel needs urgent saving!

The Bloomsbury Global Encylopedia of Women in Architecture 1960-2020 is now online! A huge achievement by Karen Burns & Lori Brown. Pleased to have had the chance to write some of the entries. preview31.sspbloomsbury.co.uk/bloomsbury-g...