Professor James Stevens Curl - Architectural Historian & Author

‘The book... is sumptuously produced, with good binding, plentiful illustrations, and an attractive jacket. There is a huge Bibliography and a large index... Dr. Curl has written a lively study, fully researched, that tells the story of a brilliant man... Roberts’ meteoric career ... is chronicled in Dr. Curl’s painstaking study. The illustrations are fascinating, varied, and often beautiful, and include reproductions of family portraits... as well as nearly all the architects designs’ The Hampshire Chronicle (29 July 1983)

‘ ... a well researched new book... The text is illustrated with a comprehensive record of Roberts’ buildings in the form of photographs, original drawings and other relevant material...’ Theo Snoddy in The Belfast News-Letter (14 September 1983)

‘Not even in this age of the cult of youth would a likely young architect of twenty-eight be commissioned by a group of City Fathers to build a hall appropriate to their greater glory. Yet that, in 1832, was the achievement of the subject of a new biography... The author tells what proves to be a surprising tale with authority and verve. He is one of the few architectural historians who manages to absorb prodigious research which he imparts effortlessly in sustained and lively narrative... [a] valuable and interesting book’ House and Garden (October 1983)

‘It comes as something of a surprise to see that the British establishment is just as capable as any totalitarian state of erasing from the records any figure, however famous, who transgresses its code. Not, admittedly, by rewriting history, but simply by ignoring the offender. James Stevens Curl has rightly put the record straight, as far as Henry Roberts is concerned, in this very scholarly and detailed study. Henry Roberts had produced the winning design for the new Fishmongers’ Hall while still in his twenties. He went on to become the architect of London Bridge Station..., as well as receiving commissions for country houses, churches, public buildings, and urban housing. He was an active reformer, a prolific writer, and a much sought- after lecturer, as well as being a founder member of (and honorary architect to) the Society for Improving the Condition of the Labouring Classes. The famous model houses at the Great Exhibition of 1851 were his, and not by Prince Albert as most people seemed to believe’ Geoffrey Lee in Country Life 13 (October 1983)

‘Dr. Curl brings Henry Roberts to life for the reader, and demonstrates that his social contribution was of great importance’ F. A. Kirk in The Annual Report of the York Georgian Society (1983)

‘The Victorian period comes to life with particular vividness in studies of middle-class professional people, who continually amaze us with their energy, confidence, and achievement... Dr. Curl has written an account of the life and work of Henry Roberts that is rich in interest to the general reader... and full of scholarly detail. The book is, as always with this author, splendidly illustrated with ... drawings, engravings, lithographs, and photographs. Dr. Curl’s personal admiration of an unjustifiably neglected reformer and a fine architect gives warmth and vivacity to this strongly three- dimensional portrait, set in the historical context of Evangelism and philanthropy in mid-nineteenth- century Europe’ Helen Turner in The Oxford Times 21 (October 1983)

‘As Dr. Curl’s lively biography explains... Roberts’ ... designs were widely used both by colleagues and by conscientious landlords and employers... This ... (comprehensive) ... book provides a lot of valuable information not only on Roberts and his career ... but also on low-cost housing’ Hermione Hobhouse in The Architects' Journal (23 November 1983)

‘Dr. Curl’s ... The Life and Work of Henry Roberts describes ... (one of)... Prince Albert’s great interests. After being introduced to the young architect who won a competition in 1831 for the Fishmongers’ Hall in London when he was only in his 20s, we are brought face to face with the realities of life for the poor. Dr. Curl writes of this relatively little-known architect who played an important role in improving the conditions of a large part of the population. James Stevens Curl has offered us another valuable insight... in his book he has revealed a man "who at first appeared to be a faceless enigma" but whom we now recognise as “among the most humane, inventive, and original minds of the Victorian age”. The Prince and Roberts seem to have been destined to meet’ Derek Linstrum in The Yorkshire Post (21 November 1983)

‘Curl has exhumed the details of this unjustly forgotten architect with energy, accuracy. scholarship, and assurance. He well proves his claim that Roberts should rank higher than he has hitherto... among... social reformers and architects’ Andrew Saint in The Times Literary Supplement (18 November 1983)

‘Dr. Curl’s book is an essential adjunct to our understanding of the dynamics of urban housing, not only for the contextual frame of reference for the varied contributions of Roberts’s successors ... Dr. Curl has evidently unearthed a wide array of prime sources from surviving members of the family as well as international records’ Mervyn Miller in Planning History Bulletin vi/1(1984)

‘Dr. Curl offers a useful background to what he calls “that peculiarly Victorian phenomenon, the provision of housing by philanthropists”, and in this activity Roberts’ zeal matched that of any of his colleagues ... Roberts is to be remembered as a major figure in the history of working-class housing, and in Dr. Curl he has found a sympathetic biographer’ Derek Linstrum in the Journal of the Royal Society of Arts (May 1984)

On The Londonderry Plantation 1609-1914

‘After six years of meticulous research and another two to put the material together, Dr. James Stevens Curl has written one of the most impressive books on Ulster ... This scholarly study is no book for an evening’s light reading... it is a complicated tale well marshalled by facts. In this great work the author of A Celebration of Death has left that and all other of his publications in the shade’ Theo Snoddy in The Belfast News Letter (20 October 1986)

‘This sumptuous and scholarly book... is a rounded study... that deserves more than a specialised readership... Dr. Curl deals in detail with the estates of 12 of the City Companies, whose building work in Ireland he has made the subject of the most thorough study over many years. The variety,. charm, and dignity of the towns and country houses he describes are made apparent in the nearly 400 plates’ Helen Turner in The Oxford Times (12 December 1986)

‘This book, as the publisher’s puff asserts, is a big book in every sense of the word. It is also the product of the fortunate conjunction in the author of the insights of an Irish upbringing with the perspective of English academic and scholarly disciplines, which results in a lucid and balanced study of a process rarely adequately understood on either side of the Irish Sea... Having equipped the reader to appreciate the difficulties and opportunities facing those involved, the author then deals in comprehensive detail with the estates of each of the Livery Companies, and in doing so fills a glaring gap in the literature on the subject by concentrating on the buildings actually erected ... during the period. This is ... a volume which demonstrates what is meant by the term “the definitive work”. It unfolds with commendable balance a story of endeavour and struggle which is all too often treated with more heat than light. It is constantly saved from heaviness by such little details as references to the campaign caravan designed for King William by Sir Christopher Wren... In increasing understanding it can only tend to increase harmony which must make it a book which no-one with an interest in modern Ireland should leave unread’ Denis McCoy in The Planner: The Journal of the Royal Town Planning Institute (March 1987)

‘Space is too brief for adequate praise of this pioneering study... Although daunting in its scholarship, this is no dry work of reference. The text is gracefully fluent and vivid with anecdote ... The author has produced a major reappraisal of “one of the most enchanting places on earth”‘ Naomi May in the RIBA Journal (November 1987)

‘ ... an encyclopaedic work on a subject which is likely to fall outside the knowledge of most architectural historians. Dr. Curl ... provides a wealth of information, excellent photographs ... and charming reproductions of drawings ... Despite its weight and size the book will be particularly valuable to readers actually acquainted with the area or able to explore it ... the author has organized his enormous mass of material skilfully into manageable sections. The notes, arranged under chapter headings, give a good indication of the scope of the text and there is an exhaustive index. It is a handsome volume, attractively produced, and is unlikely ever to be superseded as an authority on the unique Plantation enterprise which was so important an element in the tangled history of Ulster’ Lesley Lewis in The Antiquaries Journal, being the Journal of the Society of Antiquaries of London lxvii/Pt.I (1987)

‘Curl’s pioneering study of the Plantation unfolds the little-known story of a major development over three centuries ... He has unearthed a wealth of original documents ... many of the drawings are fascinating. Architecture, for once, is seen in its proper social and political context. The sheer amount of information in the book is daunting, but it is well organised into manageable sections; the author’s vivid and fluent prose, and flair for anecdotes, make it a much less formidable read than might be expected. Throughout, Curl’s love of his native country - "hauntingly lovely and beyond compare" - shines through and his book will surely remain the definitive account of a crucial episode in history’ Richard Weston in The Architects' Journal (17.1.88)

‘Dr. Curl, a distinguished architectural historian, clearly shares Sir Arthur Chichester’s contemporary view that “I would rather labour with my hands in the plantation of Ulster than dance or pray in that of Virginia”. This large and impressive volume is indeed a valuable addition to the literature on the Plantation of Ulster ... it provides the local historian with a fresh synthesis of a most complex subject. The author rightly sees the Londonderry Plantation as the core of the entire Jacobean plantation of six of the nine Ulster counties. In this he is not parochial, for he points to the significance of the involvement of the London Companies in Ulster in terms of their increasing opposition to the arbitrary rule of the Crown and the onset of the Civil War. He also points to the European implications ... as part of the wider conflict between opposing Catholic and Protestant groups, and subsequently as part of the struggle against the France of Louis XIV. The Londonderry Plantation ... is a detailed and scholarly exposition ... it breaks new ground ... based not only on meticulous research in the archives ... but on detailed and prolonged field work. It is a... superb guide ... peopled with fascinating characters... Dr. Curl has done in this magnum opus for the Londonderry Plantation what Maurice Craig has done for Dublin...or for the ... Georgian houses. His aim is to enable us to understand and accept the past with its complexity and many paradoxes. Dr. Curl’s landscape ... and many excellent illustrations ... enable us to see the Plantation... in a way which contrasts with the...historicism and technical legalities of...earlier work’. Grenfell Morton in The Local Historian 17/8 (November 1987)

‘An interesting book... the interest should spread beyond the regions that are described so exhaustively in Dr. Curl’s massive book. it weighs four and a half pounds and its 500 closely printed pages are proof of prodigious research...lovingly detailed ... The book is caparisoned with maps, plans and photographs, each helping the coverage of what must be the last word about what is recorded as having happened in this Plantation of the north-west. The book is simply a rare achievement and a monument to love and care ... By contrast with the academic rigour of Dr. Curl’s book others are amateur ...’ Seán McMahon in Linen Hall Review (Autumn 1987)

‘In this monumental publication of over five hundred pages... Professor Curl describes the ...consequences of the occupation by the English... It is not a pretty story, ...but Curl tells it with a scholarly detachment which contrives to be sympathetic both to the colonists and to the native Irish resistance. Clearly, a book of this scale is a labour of love, and it is clear that Professor Curl ... is primarily motivated by a wish to record and preserve the buildings put up by the colonisers, mainly in the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. In an extensive text, accompanied by nearly 400 illustrations, Curl provides an astonishingly painstaking study of an understated style which is the product of the “saga that links 55 Companies of the City of London with a large tract of one of the most beautiful parts of Ireland”. This judiciously written book is ... “a tale of coercion, of heroism, of disaster, of failure, of noble aspirations, of ineptitude, of perfidy, of perjury, of cupidity, and of remarkable achievements against considerable odds”.’ David Watkin in The Salisbury Review (March 1990)

‘No one before has assembled so rich a body of information and illustration dealing with the buildings of the plantation. With Rolf Loeber, Curl is a pioneer among architectural historians in publishing archivally based research on seventeenth-century Irish architecture. His illustrations are particularly valuable...Curl’s archival work on the nineteenth century is equally rewarding, and greatly enlarges our knowledge of who built what. He casts light on William Tite’s involvement, and on that of the elder Dance. The publicity described this as “a very big book, in every sense”. So it is: the prodigious amount of detail is sustained by Curl’s passionate interest in the subject, and his sense of its importance. He takes great pains to set the Londonderry plantation in its historical contexts.’ Edward McParland in The Times Literary Supplement (12 June 1987)

On Victorian Architecture

‘Professor Curl marshals his facts and the well-chosen illustrations skilfully to range over a chronological and geographical panorama which includes all the major figures and buildings and a good proportion of minor ones... As the author of a pioneering study of Henry Roberts, Professor Curl might have been expected to develop the important theme of philanthropy and model housing that was so characteristic a concern of the nineteenth-century evangelical conscience; and so he does, succinctly describing the evolution of model housing and industrial villages. The Victorian obsession with death and mausolea, one of the author’s specialities, is allowed room for full treatment as a grand finale which combines the Beautiful, the Picturesque, and the Sublime... Identified in the eighteenth century as philosophical categories, Professor Curl uses them as a three-ply thread (or cable) linking his essays; but on his showing the greatest of these is the Sublime’ Derek Linstrum in The Journal of the Royal Society of Arts cxxxviii/5409 (August 1990)

‘Professor Curl’s spirited survey ... is ... aimed at the general reader ... The text is enlivened by some excellent photographs, many of them taken by the author ... The book is provided with a useful bibliography’ Martin Cherry in English Heritage (June 1990)

‘Both the influence, of E.-E. Viollet-le-Duc and the Scottish-Baronial style are duly described in the course of two substantial chapters entitled “The Question of Style” that makes up most of the first part of James Stevens Curl’s Victorian Architecture; so too, necessarily, are other setters of aesthetic trends, Pugin and Ruskin, and a range of other fashions in building, from the Egyptian Revival through the Rundbogenstil to the Arts and Crafts movement’ Nicholas Adams in The Times Literary Supplement (27 July-2 August 1990)

‘Victorian Architecture benefits from Curl’s particular knowledge of, for example, cemetery architecture and the buildings of Northern Ireland ... Its tone is that of a thorough-going lecture course in the subject... Curl is an enterprising writer ... who has opened up several new areas of study...’ Kenneth Powell in The Architects’ Journal (13 June 1990)

‘Curl’s scholarly but lively book on Victorian Architecture is considered the most up-to-date survey currently in print’ The Bookseller (9 October 1992)

‘Rejecting prejudice against Victorian architecture as ugly and derivative, Dr Curl celebrates both its exuberance and diversity and its technological daring in a survey which covers every type of building. A lucid analysis of the “Battle of the Styles”... is followed by chapters on philanthropy, hygiene, cemeteries, leisure, the variety and charm of domestic architecture and problems involving new materials,... Quoting Lord Chesterfield’s “style is the dress of thoughts”, the author also conveys the flavour and aspirations of the period... For anyone curious about the Victorian heritage, this scholarly book will greatly enhance their pleasure and interest.’ Naomi May in RIBA Journal (November 1990)

‘With over 200 illustrations, many taken by the author, Victorian Architecture is the most up-to-date and comprehensive survey of the subject now in print. Curl is particularly strong on the European context of Victorian architecture. Familiar with developments in France and Germany, he is also unusually thorough on Irish architecture, so that Belfast, for example, emerges more strongly than in other accounts of the subject. (Victorian Architecture) ... is a delight ... combining impeccable scholarship with lively interpretation.’ David Watkin in Apollo (February 1991)

‘Curl’s new book ... begins with a laudatio of the Victorian City and the chiding of later trends of suburbanization. (It) attempts to present a neat survey of the whole subject...at its price and with its very numerous and well-chosen illustrations (specially interesting are some lesser-known buildings in Northern Ireland), is very welcome, even more so because of the fact that, again, books on Victorian architecture are few and far between’. Stefan Muthesius in Newsletter 44 of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain (Summer 1991)

On The Art and Architecture of Freemasonry

‘Freemasonry has not had a good press recently; James Stevens Curl’s book redresses this balance, describing the role of Freemasonry in Europe during the Enlightenment, and its contribution to music, architecture, and landscape design... The book is magnificently illustrated and has a useful glossary. It puts in context a movement which has left a great legacy of architecture and design...’ Hermione Hobhouse in The Architects’ Journal (19 June 1991)

‘This book defines clear limits to an inquiry which might quickly become otherwise lost in the much larger and broader topics that in fact do inform its structure: the obscure yet historically significant traditions, ways of thinking, symbolic languages, metaphysical and alchemical mysteries et al that constitute the imaginative and inspirational primordial soup out of which, incidentally, Freemasonry arose. An introduction to this material and a sketch of how it survived the Enlightenment to enter the modern consciousness as social engineering is the undeclared centre of this book. Getting started on this material is clearly Dr Curl’s main objective – Freemasonry is a kind of locational talisman for his brisk review of the paradigms of alchemical, neoplatonic and Hermetic or Egyptian speculation. His work in this regard is very impressive. To the reader to whom all or aspects of such material is largely new, this book presents a clear and eminently readable survey. One will come to see in relatively clear obscurity, for example, the pathways and linkages between the art of memory, universal harmony, the cults of Isis and the Virgin Mary, the prototype of the Temple, the geometry of sundials ... and so on. The twist ... is the way in which this extraordinary and lyrical display contrives in a systematic way to uncover through the rational basis of Enlightenment and later programmatic architecture the development of the idea of art and architecture as the effective vehicle of social and political reform ... the belief in the efficacy of architecture as an agent of moral reform, as Dr Curl clearly demonstrates, is a recurrent theme throughout the Renaissance, particularly in Giordano Bruno, and in various aspects of the Protestant Reformation. Dr Curl traces ... transformations both in masonry itself and in its art and architecture admirably. In the process he brings together quite an amazing wealth of material, a significant amount of which has not been published before. The ... sections on landscape gardening and the origins of the modern cemetery involved typical Curlian themes, developed, it should be said, with customary vigour. This is a highly entertaining book that is a cornucopia of idiosyncratic anecdotes. The author clearly has a passion for revealing the high cultural origins of the prosaically modern.’ Richard Patterson in Building Design (6 September 1991)

‘It is extremely valuable for its superb illustrations, many of which are not readily available elsewhere. The book is ... beautiful. unusual, and ... useful.’ Wallace McLeod in The Royal Arch Mason Magazine (Winter 1991)

‘It is rare to be able to welcome an important new book on an entirely new subject. After many years research ... Professor Curl has developed a wholly new interpretation ... In his book, written with passion and scholarship Curl reaches ... exciting conclusions. This stimulating book is beautifully written, richly documented, and handsomely produced with numerous illustrations in colour and black and white. Every student of eighteenth-century European culture should read it and ponder its many implications’. David Watkin in Apollo (December 1991)

‘For me, the most thought-provoking architectural book of 1991 is James Stevens Curl’s The Art and Architecture of Freemasonry (Batsford £45). Curl proposes an entirely new interpretation of eighteenth-century neo-Classical architecture, garden design, and even music, in terms of a masonic style.’ David Watkin in The Architects’ Journal (4 December 1991) 55

‘The Art and Architecture of Freemasonry is an important book dealing with a subject that has intrigued many but has also received only scant attention or sensational treatment. The most valuable aspect of it is the wealth of illustrative material ... The glossary is extremely clear and useful and there is a full bibliography’. Colin Amery in The Financial Times (12 August 1991)

‘What a delight to welcome a scholarly, but eminently readable, text on a new subject so beautifully produced and copiously illustrated! The thoroughness of Professor Curl’s research is amply demonstrated by the select bibliography and the lucidity and cogency of his writing. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in the cultural influences on the development of Freemasonry and the effect of Masonic ideals on the development of European culture. Professor Curl, modestly, describes his book as an introduction to the subject, stimulated by his interest in, and previous study of, the European fascination with Egypt and the various Egyptian revivals in the history of taste. He has more than matched his intention and has not only provided much material for thought but also lines for future research. The ... section...on Egypt (is) the most satisfying and stimulating part of the book. The continuing masonic fascination with Egyptian themes is amply demonstrated by the very detailed Egyptian decorations of lodge rooms as far apart as Edinburgh, Philadelphia and Sydney; supremely so in the purity of the Egyptian style of the external architecture of the Masonic Hall built in Boston, Lincolnshire, between 1860 and 1863. With clarity Professor Curl takes us through the literary antecedents of the eighteenth-century Egyptian revival, the major influence of Mozart’s Magic Flute and other stage designs and the spread of Egyptian idea, into masonic and public architecture. Meticulous in everything, Professor Curl is very much aware of reading too much into allusive references and avoids the pitfalls into which many other writers, masonic and non-masonic, have fallen in the past. This is an important study which I would recommend to anyone interested in the arts and the history of ideas. Professor Curl describes his work as an introduction; I hope that we shall see further studies from his pen- perhaps a study of the effects of neoclassicism on American masonic architecture at the turn of the century? At £45 the book might appear expensive. It is not. Up to the usual high standard expected of Batsford it is a visual delight, superbly produced. The illustrations alone, particularly the designs for buildings never built, are a delight to the eye and a challenge to the intellect’. John M Hamill in Ars Quatuor Coronatorum. Transactions of Quatuor Coronati Lodge/2076 104 for the year 1991 (1992)

‘After reading Curl’s book on Freemasonry one wonders whether there was any artist of note in the eighteenth century who was not in some way concerned with Masonic ideas. Curl deals with the entire history of Freemasonry right into the twentieth century. But eighteenth-century France – as one might expect –takes up a substantial number of his pages. His book is an immensely useful, and sane, introduction to a field often fraught with speculative sensationalism. Curl’s book is a mine of information, to take the area of eighteenth-century French gardens as just one instance... The Masonic an occult world of the eighteenth century is indeed strangely interwoven. Curl’s book is a fascinating introduction to it’. David Irwin in The British Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies, published by the Voltaire Foundation in Oxford (Spring 1993)

‘The erudite yet easily comprehensible text, combined with the copious and well-chosen illustrations and the very high standard of printing and production make this new book a pleasure to read from all points of view’. Masonic Square (December 1991)

‘This book completes an overlapping trilogy – with A Celebration of Death and The Egyptian Revival – in which Curl has looked at some-of the more exotic and esoteric aspects of European Neoclassicism... The Art and Architecture of Freemasonry is beautifully produced, reads easily, and is handsomely illustrated. Tapping Masonic as well as architectural sources, Curl has produced many unfamiliar pictures...’ Frank Kelsall in Newsletter 45 of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain (Winter 1991)

‘This is a generous book, lucidly ordered, incisively and imaginatively written, with abundant, high-quality illustrations. James Stevens Curl presents Masonry’s history and central legends: Its Renaissance associations in Scotland and England (since Stevenson’s work, I agree, in the right order); Solomon’s Temple as archetype (he is masterly on the design of the Karlskirche); Masonic affinities in eighteenth-century architecture; Egyptian lore and Mozart’s Magic Flute; elegiac gardens and early cemetery and commemorative designs (with Egyptianisms among his persisting enthusiasms); and modern Masonic building...Much here is valuable...’ Jay MacPherson in Royal Institute of British Architects Journal (June 1992) 25

‘one likes to think of scholars as courageous, adventurous individuals, resolute in their search for truth. But there are two subjects in particular which scholars tend to avoid: mysticism ... and secret societies. The latter, by their very nature, are difficult to research; rumour abounds and documentation can be unreliable... None the less, there have been excellent models for such investigations ... and now James Stevens Curl has offered us an explanation of the artistic and architectural influence of the Freemasons. Such a book is long overdue. The importance of Freemasonry in social history has long been recognised, as has the presence of a distinct and recognisable visual symbolism, that can be found in places as varied as gravestones .... The Magic Flute, and the Great Seal of the United States. But there has hitherto been no publication that draws together these diverse threads and allows one an overview of the development and dispersion of Masonic motifs in art and architecture. Any future attempt to assess the development of the landscape garden on the Continent will have to take ... (this book) ... into account. If the jardin anglais or anglo-chinois was an imitation of English models, why did the Continent not follow the English line of development, leading to the simplified Edenic landscapes of Capability Brown? Why the heavy emphasis on tombs and symbolic garden buildings, to the extent of seeming a discordant clutter to an English eye? ... If the landscape garden is seen in terms of the image of Nature, its Continental manifestations are, and have often been regarded as, somewhat unsatisfactory. Professor Curl’s interpretation in terms of Masonic tradition makes better sense of the Continental landscape than the previous accounts I have found. It also reveals a curious blind spot in the work of previous historians of the subject: once the Masonic symbolism in Goethe’s Wahlverwandtsschaften has been spelled out, it become astonishing that (other) works could ignore the issue. Professor Curl deserves our thanks for having opened the subject up, and any future studies on the Continental landscape garden and on the emergence of garden cemeteries will have to take his work into account’. Brent Elliott in Garden History xx/2 (Autumn 1992)

‘.... a huge and handsome volume... (which) ... postulates ideas that will set the traveller and historian thinking. (The book) is one that is likely to remain the standard work. Curl explores the symbiotic links between Freemasonry and the Enlightenment... The author is to be congratulated on his unique and innovative work’. R Llewellyn-Jones in Chowkidar, vi/5 (Spring 1993)

‘Curl…. has… provided a fascinating entire history of freemasonry and its manifestations in art and architecture. He modestly subtitles it “An Introductory Study”, so does not make claims for its completeness. Curl gives Vidler full credit for his work, but goes far beyond him, first in providing a thorough and learned history of freemasonry through the ages (more complete than Yates’s study) and then by discussing such recurring themes as the Temple of Solomon, medieval guilds and Mason’s tools, the hermetic tradition, and the concern with ancient Egypt… An invaluable glossary of Masonic terms and of words with implications for Masonry is not only a major contribution but evidence of the author’s thoroughness. In the introduction and throughout the book the excellent, unusual, and well-chosen illustrations not only enrich the text but amplify it by the very complete explanations published beneath them. It is this part of the book in which Curl makes his greatest contribution. In the succeeding chapters the author proceeds by a skilled combination of chronological and topical approaches to discuss subjects such as the legends of the two columns or pillars, the story of Hiram and the building of the temple, and the mysteries… This is followed by excellent summaries of freemasonry during the Renaissance and of the Temple of Solomon and its influences on such architects as John Wood and J. B. Fischer von Erlach. In all these, Curl describes overt and covert Masonic symbolism. On the whole he is very convincing… Perhaps the most valuable chapter for architectural historians is that devoted to Masonic design and architecture in the eighteenth century. This includes a discussion of works built specifically for Masonic purposes such as lodges, as well as those influenced by or exhibiting Masonic symbolism… The book concludes with a useful summary that poses the question “Is there a Masonic Style?”… One must remember that this fascinating and provocative work is merely a beginning. Curl has laid a firm foundation and brilliantly illuminated the history of freemasonry…’ Thomas J. McCormick in Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians liii/4 (December 1994) 494-5

‘In this fascinating work Professor Curl manages to blend two opposing tasks: his book satisfies all the demands of scholarship yet, by virtue of extensive illustrations and elegant prose, it also addresses the different demands of a general reader who wishes not only to understand a wider perspective but to embark upon an intellectual journey. Curl casts his net widely: and what a rich and extraordinary history he presents. The book is a gift to Freemasonry, revealing and explaining the wide heritage of Masonic architecture and symbolic design. It is an unsurpassed achievement and can be read with pleasure by both professional scholars and those who simply enjoy the fascination of discovery.’ Michael Baigent in Freemasonry Today, 22 (Autumn 2002) 56

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On Classical Architecture

‘Professor Curl’s new book is not a work of reactionary criticism, although in the preface he rightly points out the difficulties of treating the subject today, when most schools of architecture deliberately avoid discussing the specifics of classical vocabulary, syntax, and theory ... Curl’s book is well suited to the student or professional who seeks a general survey ... the carefully captioned illustrations and the fifty-two page glossary at the end of the text are by far the most illuminating and useful aspects of the book ... Professor Curl provides the reader with an enjoyable and well-written introduction to the vocabulary and essentials of architectural classicism, He should be particularly commended for his inclusive perspective, insofar as he covers the architecture of several countries and continents, and treats of the diversity of ideas – occasionally even contradictory ones –which constitute the history of classicism...He enables the beginning student to understand the richness and complexity of its tradition’. Victor Deupi in The Classicist the Annual of the Institute for the Study of Classical Architecture i (1994)

‘Classical Architecture ... by the indefatigable Professor Curl ..notes that “much of the new ‘Classicism’ consists, in fact, of applied motifs from pattern books on facades that are unrelated to what is happening behind” ... This well-illustrated and thorough book discusses the Orders themselves and gives a potted history of the Classical periods up to the present. It may therefore be of as much use to art history students as to practising architects. Typical of Curl is that he illustrates points with nicely perverse modern examples – Troost as well as Schinkel, nineteenth-century cemetery chapels, and, of course, “Greek” Thomson – so emphasising continuity.’ Gavin Stamp in The Architects’ Journal (15 July 1992) 50

‘Classical Architecture ... is an invaluable companion to the study of the subject and illustrates examples in a most informative manner. The preface is a marvellous cri de coeur for the necessity of retaining the Classical language of architecture in the modern world – not for imitation’s sake but to understand the rules that for four thousand years have evolved into a dynamic form of expression ... The author’s passion for his subject is evident, as when he describes the Bavarian Rococo Wallfahrtskirche Vierzehnheiligen ... As a book to refer to ... Classical Architecture is ... invaluable’. Julian Watson in The Literary Review (October 1992)

‘... clear and illuminating it succeeds in explaining what Classical architecture is all about. Curl has found a unique niche by returning to the essential basics… It contains an excellent illustrated glossary...Curl presents a complete and well-organised foundation... the book will serve well as a reference tool’ Leslie E Abrams in Art Reference Services Quarterly

‘In this lucid survey Professor Curl traces the persistent vitality of (the Classical ideal) from Graeco-Roman origins... The historical outline is admirably succinct, the stylistic detail thorough and precise, while the extensive illustrations make the book a delight’. Naomi May in R I B A Journal (March 1993)

‘... a lively and polemical book ... The book begins with an admirably clear and detailed account of the Orders of Architecture and their application. For clarity of presentation and accuracy of detail this could scarcely be bettered. It is followed by a fully illustrated historical survey of Classical buildings from the Renaissance to Neo-Classicism...The final section of the book is the spaciously laid out glossary, illustrated with many elegant engravings from Batty Langley, as well as photographs of buildings and details, and numerous clear drawings by Stevens Curl...’ David Watkin in The Architectural Review (April 1993)

‘The best introduction for beginners’ Archetype Preview ‘93

‘I hailed this book when it appeared in hardback. Now, with much improved… [text and] … illustrations, I hail it with ever more enthusiasm. James Stevens Curl explicates expertly and elegantly the origins of Classical architecture in Greek and Roman Antiquity and traces its influences down to the 20th century. To the expert it will be a revelation in presentation; to the newcomer to the subject a source of enlightenment in daily environmental appreciation. James Stevens Curl has produced a masterpiece of its kind’. Maurice Lindsay in The Scottish Civic Trust Newsletter xxiii (Spring 2002) 19

‘With Howard Colvin, Professor Curl is the great lexicographer of architecture, his Oxford Dictionary of Architecture (1999) being… incomparably the best now available. Classical Architecture is the clearest and most accessible account of the history and use of the language which has produced most of the great masterpieces of Western architecture. [It]… contains both recondite as well as practical information. Modestly priced, yet lavishly and beautifully illustrated with useful drawings, diagrams and photographs, Classical Architecture should be in every architect’s library’. David Watkin in The Architectural Review ccxi/1264 (June 2002) 104/6.

‘A masterly study... Profusely illustrated, it is both an invaluable textbook with detailed information about the handling of the Orders as well as an informative history of Western architecture’. The Georgian: The Magazine of The Georgian Group (Spring 2003) 34-5

‘In 1992, when Curl first published his acclaimed study, he expressed the hope that his book would “help students of Architecture to begin to have a feeling for a great language that can still be studied, not only in some of the best buildings in the world, but in thousands of decent works of Architecture that serve to enhance our towns, cities, and countryside with their well-mannered reticence”. In the ensuing decade, Classical design has enjoyed a resurgence in both the built environment and in the schools that train architects — thanks in no small measure to the impact of Curl’s work. … In response to the growing interest in Classical principles, W. W. Norton has reissued Classical Architecture as an affordable paperback… Much to Curl’s credit, however, his book is aimed not just at the architectural trade but at any and all persons who are interested in better understanding the design concepts that have dominated Western architecture for more than 2,000 years. Curl explains the basics of Classical design, describing its techniques and outlining its history, with a directness and lucidity which set him apart from other commentators in the field… [His book] also features an extensive, 52-page glossary, which is in fact nothing less than an authoritative dictionary of Classical terminology. The full spectrum of information, from Aaron’s Rod to zotheca, is defined simply and clearly, and exemplified with a rich helping of Curl’s illustrations. In his epilogue, Curl modestly states that he wrote his book as an “attempt to provide an introduction to Classical Architecture, with definitions of terms, illustrations, and a brief narrative of its most significant features, in order to help to foster an understanding of the vocabulary and language of such Architecture”. In truth, his book is far from being just at attempt: it is one of the definitive works of architectural thought and practice’. Nicole V Gagné in Traditional Building (Jan./Feb. 2004) 214

On Georgian Architecture

‘an elegant study...a beautifully illustrated celebration of the styles of the period...This book will help anyone interested in the Georgian period to look at the surviving architecture with informed and discerning eyes’ The Softback Preview (December 1993)

‘At the level of production and attractiveness Georgian Architecture is undoubtedly an excellent buy. The quality of the binding, the typography, paper and illustration, are of a very high standard. The format is just right. It is easy to hold and peruse. Everything appears to be in the right place. The subject matter is arranged in a sensible way. Layout is comprehensible, logical and above all conducive to readability.. ... the book will delight and stimulate and serve as a very useful reference to complement the more accepted sources of information on the period.’ JH in Building Conservation Newsletter (Winter 1993)

‘This reprint of Curl’s Georgian Architecture (1993) is especially welcome as it is the best book available on its subject and, as such, should be on the shelves of every member of the Georgian Group… . Professor Curl is at once authoritative and lively, qualities not always found in conjunction… . His approach… is challenging… and charming… . His book is far from being a mere record of stylistic change, for Curl relates buildings to life at every stage, with accounts of topics such as Georgian mealtimes and sanitary arrangements. A widely-read scholar, he includes quotations from Winckelmann to Jane Austen and relates new aesthetic sensibilities of the Georgian period to philosophers from Burke to Kant. In short, his elegant and modestly priced book cannot be recommended too highly’. David Watkin in The Georgian: The Magazine of The Georgian Group (Autumn/Winter 2002) 28-9

‘Once again Professor Curl has brought his formidable scholarship to bear on a subject which ... has not received the attention It deserves ... Curl moves with majestic logic through the strange history of this 2000-year-old European obsession ... Curl’s mastery of his material is as impressive as ever, and this book will be, without doubt, the last word on the subject’ Dan Cruickshank in The Architects’ Journal (6 October 1994)

‘Prof. Curl’s Egyptomania is an enlightening rethink of the vital role played by the Egyptian in most periods of Western art over the last two millennia. From Hellenistic civilization to English Art Deco, the Egyptian style is assimilated and quoted to various effect. Most fascinating are the motives for this ongoing revival, and in this respect Prof. Curl leaves no stone unturned... Extensively illustrated with both obscure and well-known imagery, Egyptomania is a compelling account of Egyptian sources as a central theme in the development of our visual cultures’ RD in Art Book Review (September 1994)

‘a comprehensive survey ... packed with many illustrations.... an extensive bibliography, and a very useful glossary’ Arlis News-Sheet cxi (November/December 1994)

‘Certainly the influence of Egyptian architecture in the West has been constant, if not permanent, hence the subtitle to Professor James Stevens Curl’s comprehensive and enthralling study of the phenomenon ... Curl is not just concerned with style. The interest and usefulness of this book lies in part in his exploration of the absorption of Egyptian culture by the civilisations that followed ... This book is yet another monument to Curl’s knowledge and tireless industry. Never guilty of mere orthodoxy, he demonstrates the perennial obsession with Egyptian forms with a wealth of illustration...’ Gavin Stamp in Building Design (24 February 1995)

‘Professor Curl’s survey raises many fascinating issues... the serious student will find ... much interest’. Timothy Brittain-Catlin in The World of Interiors (April 1995)

‘Curl’s work might well come first in order of recommended reading. It is ... systematic ... and provided with a strong line of argument which is maintained from start to finish. His range of examples is most impressive’ T G H James in Burlington Magazine (August 1995)

‘Curl’s field of investigation is enormous ... He analyses the persistence of the Egyptian style with great pertinacity and imparts a huge range of information. The ground covered by his choice of illustrations is huge, and his bibliography makes a great contribution to scholarship and serious future enquiry’ Gazette des Beaux-Arts (July-August 1995)

‘The excellent range and number of illustrations, drawn from a wide variety of sources, that complement a fascinating text make this a welcome return of an invaluable study’ Peter A Clayton in Minerva. The International Review of Ancient Art & Archaeology (September/October 1995)

On The English Heritage Book of Victorian Churches

‘A scholarly book ... by the ebullient architectural historian James Stevens Curl .... As with Curl’s other books, Victorian Churches is a joy to read, It flows well, and the photographs are to be found amongst the text ... Beautifully illustrated... Curl weaves a rich, vibrant tapestry... ‘ Julian Litten in Church Building 37 (January/February 1995)

‘The author harnesses his prodigious knowledge of the period to produce a well-balanced overview of the nineteenth century’s highly-charged religious atmosphere ... In conveying the zest and fervour of the age the book is free from twentieth-century partisanship. Carefully-chosen illustrations complement the text’ Jennifer Freeman in The Architects’ Journal (18 January 1996)

‘an account placing Victorian churches in the social and denominational settings’ Church Times (2 February 1996)

‘A concise and illuminating guide ... Not least of the author’s virtues is his grasp of the different architectural needs which competing sects and tendencies exhibited – and the interplay between these forces and the architects serving them’ Christopher Hall in The Countryman (Winter 1996)

‘Professor Curl is well qualified to write on his subject because he helped to pioneer a shift in values that we now all take for granted. He explains clearly how liturgy and denomination determined the churches’ shape, but his viewpoint is not narrowly academic, for he has a strong visual sense and a ‘passion for visiting churches’. So while scholarly throughout (he even includes a substantial glossary), he breathes enthusiasm into his prose, and in 144 pages reveals the quantity, originality, rich variety, and bizarre eccentricity of Victorian churches ... Creating a book as encyclopedic and complex as this, intricately Interlocking Illustrations with text, is like completing a jigsaw puzzle, and the reader who sees only the finished product may underestimate the achievement. Not so this reader...’ Brian Harrison in Heritage Today (March 1996)

‘This guide puts Victorian church design into context. It is well illustrated; It covers a wide range – Including offbeat structures like the Woking mosque – It has a useful glossary and index; it will help a reader to look at Gothic Revival churches with appreciative eyes’ Home Words (February 1996)

‘Victorian Churches is the latest in a series promoted by English Heritage ... and its 105 illustrations plus eight colour plates, the handy organisation of the chapters and the confident relation of intellectual and church affairs to the buildings are as much a tribute to the author’s skill as to the aims of the series and to the continuing scholarship handed down from the erudite if partisan protagonists of the last century ... Like a good Victorian novelist , Professor Curl does not ignore the unusual quirks of his material ... Curl takes delight in providing the reader with recondite visual surprises ... which grace the lively pages of Victorian Churches’ James McQuillan in The Tablet (27 April 1996)

‘As you would expect from a publication by English Heritage, the language is neither highbrow nor too simplistic, but has hit the right pitch of intelligence and understanding. A well documented glossary and bibliography only add to the exceptional standard of this book. I found this reasonably priced book fascinating and thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in the Victorian period or ecclesiastical architecture’. Sarah Robinson in S.P.A.B. News xvii/3 (1996)

‘A useful introduction. Professor Curl ... performs a valuable service by discussing church history and religious observance, as well as architectural history, in a well-illustrated survey of the great range of churches ... With his eye for the odd and eccentric, there are many obscure and perverse buildings here as well as the famous and the conventional. There are many good... illustrations in this book to make the reader long to get inside some of the sumptuous and unlikely buildings that the Victorians raised to the glory of God. Professor Curl ... provides a ...sound and inspiring introduction to a national architectural phenomenon of great vigour and, sometimes, of true originality’. Gavin Stamp in Journal of Architectural Conservation (2 July 1996)

On The Oxford Dictionary of Architecture

‘Dictionaries ... are not supposed to be fascinating, only useful. The problem with James Stevens Curl’s chunky achievement ‘is that it is both ... None of the complexities in this tidal wave of amusing facts ever becomes confusing because Curl’s prose has a limpid clarity as well as a keen line in memorable aphorisms ... A refreshing note of well-informed malice enlivens every major entry, made acceptable by an open warmth ... Curl never troubles to conceal... He is as challenging about past architects as present ones ... There is, of course, a crystal-clear description of every possible detail of Classical and Gothic buildings.’ Timothy Mowl in The Architects’ Journal (8 April 1999) 48

‘A remarkable achievement for a single author. The publishers can justly claim it as the most comprehensive and up-to-date dictionary of architecture available in a single volume... It shares page-size, format, and price with its obvious rival, The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture by Pevsner, Honour, and Fleming, although it is nearly 200 pages longer and its bibliography fills 70 pages rather than five. Prof Curl’s Dictionary is also more up-to-date in outlook and wide-ranging in scholarship... Curl is well-known for stimulating studies .... His appreciation of the continuity of the civilisation to which we fortunately belong also colours his work. Thus, unusually for a dictionary, it seems not to have been compiled but composed as a humane and creative contribution to cultural history, containing entries, all lacking in the Penguin Dictionary, on intellectual movements such as the Enlightenment, as well as accounts of historians, critics, and theorists’. David Watkin in Country Life (15 April 1999) 109

‘Curl’s Dictionary is splendid. Product of vast research ... it catalogues the whole culture of Western architecture from the Egyptians to Deconstruction ... It is more perceptive than its recent predecessors (e.g. the Penguin Dictionary of Architecture by Pevsner and others) because Curl is architect as well as historian, so he can understand technology and construction. His range is very wide both in history and geography, and his first edition is a smasher... You can’t have a more concise, entertaining, and informative guide to the words of architecture’ Peter Davey in The Architectural Review (June 1999) 96

‘James Stevens Curl is a seasoned solo compiler ... His Dictionary of Architecture is a substantial work.. It brings together in a single, manageable volume a fuller range of architectural biographies than is available in any comparable publication, and for this reason will earn a place on the architectural historian’s bookshelf’ Christopher Wakeling in Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain Newsletter 68 (Autumn 1999) 16

‘Concise architectural dictionaries are the most arduous task the… architectural historian can attempt… The main value of this book is… as a dictionary of architecture and building. I have no hesitation in stating that is by far the best since Russell Sturgis’s Dictionary, now almost a century old: and, obviously, it is better than Sturgis in that it is up-to-date, even more comprehensive in a single volume, and written from a British rather than an American standpoint… Professor Curl’s Dictionary does have a better set of line illustrations than has appeared in any other modern dictionary… Best of all are the definitions, which go far beyond what any previous writer has provided… where there is scope the inclusions go far beyond what can be found in any existing dictionary: see, for instance, the wonderfully comprehensive entry on brick… This new dictionary is not only helpful for the broad spectrum of Western and particularly British usage: it is a delight to browse through because of the sharp perception and unexpected insights. Professor David Walker in Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter 77 (Winter 1999) 13

‘This is an immensely ambitious book… On accuracy, Curl can hardly be faulted. His entries are eminently reliable…’ Dan Cruickshank in World Architecture (July/August 1999) 62

‘A remarkable piece of work. With 5,000 entries on architects, history, styles, and technical terms, this is the most comprehensive single volume available. If the entry on my grandfather, a well-known Scots architect, is representative, then the standard is exemplary’ David Lorimer in Network. The Scientific and Medical Network Review lxix (April 1999) 71

‘The combination of comprehensiveness and conciseness in choice of subject and explanation distinguishes the Oxford Dictionary of Architecture from its competitors. Even the… dictionaries of architecture compiled for Penguin by John Fleming and Hugh Honour with Nikolaus Pevsner,… and for McGraw-Hill by Cyril Harris… represent a smaller edifice of historical and terminological reference. Each class of entry in Curl’s Dictionary is substantive and persuasive. The tally of architects is as thorough as the summary of their background, training, work and impact is readable and informative. Better yet are the technical explications… Just as important for the reader is Curl’s writing style, which allows him to sustain a brisk pace and use an effectively diverse vocabulary throughout the more than 5,000 entries. This characteristic reflects the extensive parameters of Curl’s scholarship and knowledge. An architect by training and an architectural historian by calling, he has attained impressive credentials. His numerous books… demonstrate that he relishes historical and architectural detail but never to the detriment of fair valuation of innate and relative worth. The Oxford Dictionary of Architecture is a most rewarding addition to the literature available to those with either a leisured or a specialist interest in architectural design… Its intellectual structure is sound, its materials are solid, and its constituent parts are comely’. Professor Rhodri Windsor-Liscombe in Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians (USA) lix/4 (December 2000) 564-5.