Remembering Gavin Stamp

We are very sad to hear of the death of Gavin Stamp on December 30^th 2017.

Gavin Stamp played a pivotal role in C20 Society, from its earliest days. He was a founder member of the Thirties Society in 1979, and a very active long-term Chairman for over twenty years, from 1983-2007.  He continued to be involved in our casework, events and publications right up to his death, contributing to our most recent books (both 100 Buildings and 100 Houses), where his pithy judgements combined the forthright opinions and deep knowledge of his best journalism.

Many members will remember the inspirational tours of C20 architecture abroad which he led for us, to destinations including Budapest, New York and Ljubljana, at a blistering pace and with an energy and critical eye that always ensured fresh insights.   The notes of his five C20 Society tours of war cemeteries across France, Belgium and Italy have never been published, but can be downloaded from our website  https://c20society.org.uk/war-memorials/.  We are also posting a complete list of all the Gavin tours below, as a tribute to the breadth of his interests, and his generosity in sharing his passions.

Although some of our more recent casework (such as the listing of Richard Rogers Lloyd’s building, and Stirling’s No 1 Poultry) called for the protection of buildings which themselves replaced ones he had previously championed, he was always willing to assess the architectural qualities of a building without prejudice. We will miss him very much.

An obituary by Alan Powers will appear in the next issue of C20 Magazine, and we are inviting members and supporters to add their memories to our Facebook page.   An obituary has appeared in the Telegraph. Further information about memorial events will be posted shortly.

Foreign Trips led by Gavin Stamp for C20 Society

Belgium Coast – 1988

Paris – April 1989

Netherlands (Amsterdam, Hilversum, Rotterdam) – September 1990

Glasgow September 1990 (Year of Culture)

Prague – September 1991

Copenhagen – May 1992

Milan and Como – May 1993

Ljubljana – May 1994

Stockholm – May 1995

Chicago (and Milwaukee) – March 1996

Berlin – October 1997

Budapest – October 1998

Rome – November 1999

New York – October 2000

Bucharest – October 2001

Riga – October 2002

Genoa – October 2003

Tallinn, Estonia May 2006

Lisbon – October 2004

Turin – October 2005

First War Cemeteries Event, Northern France – September 2006

Havana – February 2007

Second War Cemeteries Event, France and Belgium – September 2007

Third War Cemeteries Event, Eastern France – September 2010

Fourth War Cemeteries Weekend, Italy – September 2012 (with Nicholas Long)