Historic buildings to be given extra protection 70 years after Festival of Britain
‘The attention to detail in the architecture, planning and landscape was exceptional’
Historic examples of Britain’s modernist styles of architecture and design will be given further protection to celebrate the Festival of Britain’s 70th anniversary.
The exhibition, which ran from May until September 1951, was mostly centred on London’s South Bank and helped to popularise new styles of design.
As Britain rebuilt Blitz-shattered buildings after the war, the country’s new Labour government paved the way for open plan spaces clad in glass, elevated walkways, and multi-level structures.
While the use of materials such as concrete were not to everyone’s liking, the national festival also celebrated and promoted Britain’s successes in science, technology, industry, and the arts.
To mark 70 years since events took place, protection for two churches, both of which are linked to the Festival of Britain and at the time were held as shining examples of architectural modernity, have been upgraded.
Christ Church in Coventry and Calvary Charismatic Baptist Church in Tower Hamlets have been moved from Grade II to Grade II* by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the advice of Historic England.
The organisation has also relisted another seven sites to better recognise their connections to the period.
One is London’s Royal Festival Hall on the Thames, while Barbara Hepworth’s famous Contrapuntal Forms sculpture, now in Harlow, Essex, was also included.
Elain Harwood, senior architectural investigator at the department, said: “The Festival of Britain was the first time most Britons experienced a whole townscape of modern buildings, whether on the South Bank, at the Battersea Pleasure Gardens or at Lansbury – the first bit of London’s East End to be rebuilt after the war.
“The attention to detail in the architecture, planning and landscape was exceptional. The Festival was the last great national event before the advent of mass television, so people had to go and see it for themselves, and it is still fondly remembered.”
The exhibition, which ran from May until September 1951, was mostly centred on London’s South Bank and helped to popularise new styles of design.
As Britain rebuilt Blitz-shattered buildings after the war, the country’s new Labour government paved the way for open plan spaces clad in glass, elevated walkways, and multi-level structures.
While the use of materials such as concrete were not to everyone’s liking, the national festival also celebrated and promoted Britain’s successes in science, technology, industry, and the arts.
To mark 70 years since events took place, protection for two churches, both of which are linked to the Festival of Britain and at the time were held as shining examples of architectural modernity, have been upgraded.
Christ Church in Coventry and Calvary Charismatic Baptist Church in Tower Hamlets have been moved from Grade II to Grade II* by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the advice of Historic England.
The organisation has also relisted another seven sites to better recognise their connections to the period.
One is London’s Royal Festival Hall on the Thames, while Barbara Hepworth’s famous Contrapuntal Forms sculpture, now in Harlow, Essex, was also included.
Elain Harwood, senior architectural investigator at the department, said: “The Festival of Britain was the first time most Britons experienced a whole townscape of modern buildings, whether on the South Bank, at the Battersea Pleasure Gardens or at Lansbury – the first bit of London’s East End to be rebuilt after the war.
“The attention to detail in the architecture, planning and landscape was exceptional. The Festival was the last great national event before the advent of mass television, so people had to go and see it for themselves, and it is still fondly remembered.”
