The Twentieth Century Society (abbreviated to C20), founded in 1979 as The Thirties Society, is a British charity that campaigns for the preservation of architectural heritage from 1914 onwards. It is formally recognised as one of the National Amenity Societies, and as such is a statutory consultee on alterations to listed buildings within its period of interest.
History
The catalyst to form the society was the proposal to replace Lloyd's of London's Classical-style 1920s headquarters with a new modernist Richard Rogers building. Marcus Binney (founder of Save Britain's Heritage), John Harris (director of the RIBA drawings collection) and Simon Jenkins (editor of London's Evening Standard) felt that the existing building "represented a whole body of important architecture of the period that deserved more sympathetic assessment". Ultimately the façade of the 1920s building was retained and received a Grade II listing in 1977. It was incorporated into Rogers' 1986 design.
Established in December 1979, the Thirties Society, as it was initially called, had offices at 21 Cambridge Street, London. Its organisation was modelled on the Georgian Group and the Victorian Society, and its initial intention was to preserve architecture from the 1930s, by calling for "statutory protection from the Department of the Environment for the protection of important buildings and interiors". Speaking of the need for the society, Jenkins, the vice-chairman, said "It's easier to find examples of architecture from the 1890s than the 1930s, and although there are buildings which I find absolutely hideous, there are architectural reasons why they should be preserved." In 1992, a spokesperson for English Heritage said, "We have found the Thirties Society proposals are usually well supported. It has been very influential in saving some of the best twentieth-century buildings."
Founding members Founding members included:
Bevis Hillier, chairman Simon Jenkins, vice-chairman (ex-editor of the London Evening Standard) Sir Osbert Lancaster, president Clive Aslet, secretary (Country Life) Stephen Bayley (University of Kent) Marcus Binney (Save Britain's Heritage) William Feaver (art critic, The Observer) Celina Fox (Museum of London) John Harris (Curator, RIBA) Dennis Sharp (Architectural Association) Gavin Stamp (author, architectural historian)
The society of "young fogeys" as they were called invited Maxwell Fry, Jane Drew, Sir Sacheverell Sitwell, Lady Diana Cooper, Sir John Betjeman and Peter Fleetwood-Hesketh to be patrons. They also considered Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and David Niven but "there was some concern that the stars of the Twenties and Thirties might not be around long enough to warrant putting their names on the letterhead." Norman St John Stevas, Minister for the Arts, attended the launch party.
Catherine Croft, the current director, took over the position from Kenneth Powell in 2002.
Name There was a debate over the society's name. The Inter-War Society was considered too martial and it was joked that The Twenties and Thirties Society sounded too much like a dating service. The name The Thirties Society was eventually settled on. The name was changed to The Twentieth Century Society (abbreviated to C20) in 1992, about which Stamp said, "Much as I like the very English anomaly of a body called The Thirties Society defending buildings of the 1950s, the fact is that our name obscures our aims. We defend buildings put up as late as the 1970s."
Manchester branch
In 1982, a Manchester branch of the society was formed, with a focus on the Grosvenor Picture Palace on All Saints Street, which was under threat of demolition.
Other activities
The society held its first conference, on the seventies, in 1999.
The society published a journal between 1981 and 2018; initially entitled The Thirties Society Journal it became Twentieth Century Architecture from 1994.
In 2019, to mark the society's 40th anniversary, they curated a list of 40 Buildings Saved, a collection of 40 "buildings which would not have survived without our intervention" including Jubilee Pool in Penzance, Plymouth's Civic Centre and St. Augustine in Manchester.
The Risk List In 1998, the society released a Buildings at Risk report, which included Pimlico School, Romney House and Simpson's Building. Of the report, Bronwen Edwards, a C20 caseworker, said, "What is indisputable is these buildings are a unique record of social, economic and architectural history – a vivid reminder of the way people lived, worked and played through the century."
Starting in 2015, the society has published The Risk List (a play on the Rich List) every two years, which highlights ten buildings that the society believes are "in danger of either substantial alteration or demolition".
The bi-annual lists are as follows:
Year Building Location Status2015 St Peter's Seminary Cardross Western Morning News HQ Plymouth Hyde Park BarracksLondon Robin Hood Gardens New Congregation Synagogue Liverpool Bernat Klein Studio Edinburgh Church of the Holy Cross Merseyside Town Hall Hove Salvation Army hostel Newcastle Sainsbury's Millennium Store Greenwich Civic Offices Durham 2017 Dunelm House Durham BHS murals Stockport and Hull Reform Synagogue and Police Station Manchester Central Hill London The Elephant and Swimming Baths Coventry High Cross House Devon Cumberbatch North and South Buildings Oxford St. Leonards Church St. Leonards-on-Sea 60 Hornton Street West Kensington Holborn Library Holborn 2019 Alton Estate Roehampton Fawley Power Station Hampshire Walton Court Surrey Richmond HouseLondon British Library Centre for Conservation BFI IMAX Cinema Civic Centre Sunderland Homebase Superstore Brentford Ardudwy Theatre and Residential Tower Merionydd All Saints' Pastoral Centre and Chapel Hertfordshire 2021 Oasis Leisure Centre Swindon City Hall London Civic Centre Swansea Derby Assembly Rooms Derby Bull Yard Coventry The Lawns, Halls of Residence Hull Cressingham Gardens' EstateLondon Electricity Board HQ Swimming pool Halifax Shirehall Shrewsbury 2023 Channel 4 headquarters London Museum of London Jagonari Centre Bastion House Norco House Aberdeen Riviera HotelWeymouth Point Ringway Centre Birmingham County Hall Cardiff West Burton power station cooling towers West Burton Scottish Widows building Edinburgh 2025National Centre for Popular MusicSheffieldGrand National RollercoasterBlackpoolSt James' ParkNewcastleBury Market HallBury, Greater ManchesterFormer National Wildflower CentreMerseysideBrighton and Hove Reform SynagogueHoveSunwin HouseBradfordArchaeolink CentreAberdeenshirePenallta Pithead Baths and CanteenCaerphilly Patera Prototype London
Cases and campaigns 1970s 1979 The Oxo Tower, designed by Albert Moore in 1929 was threatened with redevelopment, but was subsequently designated part of a conservation area.
1980s 1980
The society's first high-profile case was the Art Deco Firestone Tyre Factory (built 1928) in West London. In anticipation of its being listed, the building was demolished by its owners over a bank holiday weekend.
1982 The society protested the proposal to develop Memorial Court, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott at Clare College, Cambridge, saying the new building would "destroy the vista which gives coherence to Scott's design".
1983 Arthur Scargill "incurred the formidable wrath" of the society, when the National Union of Mineworkers moved headquarters, leaving its 1950s 222 Euston Road location open to threat of demolition. The building was saved.
1984 Terence Conran's application to change the windows of 1930's Heal's on Tottenham Court Road was opposed by the society. Of Conran, Stamp said "He has turned out to be rather a crude shopkeeper." Their objection ultimately failed.
1985
The society spoke out against British Telecom's (BT) attempt to remove the traditional Giles Gilbert Scott-designed red phone boxes. They campaigned for as many as possible to be saved, by contacting every local authority in Britain. A spokesman for the society said, "They fit extraordinarily into their surroundings, whether urban or rural, and they are the most satisfactory neighbours to historic buildings." Ultimately 500 boxes were saved, under a 1987 agreement between the British government, BT and English Heritage. By 1992, 1,200 of the early designed boxes were listed, with a further 18,000 kept in use by BT. The society's objection to the alteration to Hoover's cafeteria was unsuccessful, with permission to renovate granted by Ealing Council.
1986 A fundraising campaign, in conjunction with Save Britain's Heritage, was launched to save Monkton House in Sussex, a surrealist mansion. Stamp said "I cannot think of another 20th century house with its contents intact which is so worth keeping." Sudbury Town tube station, (rebuilt 1930), was updated in consultation with the society, among others. Together with Save Britain's Heritage, the society proposed that Brynmawr rubber factory designed by Architects' Co-Partnership in Gwent, Wales (built 1946–1952), was repurposed as a re-training centre. The building was given a Grade II* listing, the first post-war building in the UK to receive such a listed status but remained empty. The building was ultimately demolished in 2001.
1987
The society joined several groups in opposing British Coal's plans to demolish the Grade II listed Frizzell baths at Lynemouth Colliery in Northumberland (built 1938). The campaign was successful, with the Secretary of State for the Environment rejecting British Coal's proposal. After publishing a report The End of the Tunnel, in conjunction with The Victorian Society, the society held "top level talks" regarding concerns over "widespread destruction" of older underground stations. Together with Save Britain's Heritage, the society opposed the demolition of Bracken House (built 1959) in the City, London, with Stamp describing it as "the one thing that isn't rubbish." It was listed in August 1987, becoming "the first major post-war building to be listed". After pressure from the society, the British government changed its stance on listing post-war buildings, allowing "buildings of special architectural or historical importance" to be listed if they were minimum 30 years old, or in exceptional circumstances 10.
1988 The society joined the Urban Design Group's list of signatories in support of the Prince of Wales' "role as scourge of glass stumps and carbuncles".
1989 The society urged Wandsworth Council and English Heritage to save Battersea Power Station from "demolition by demoralisation".
1990s 1991 Concern was expressed about the future of London Zoo, which needed £13 million worth of repairs to 70 buildings. The society backed CAMRA's campaign to save historic pubs from "bogus 'period' facelifts". One success was Prospect Inn in Thanet, Kent, designed by Oliver Hill (built 1937), which was listed as Grade II. The society called for the preservation of the Cheltenham Estate in North Kensington (built 1968–1975), designed by Ernö Goldfinger. The society called for the Nottingham Playhouse (built 1964) to be declared architecturally significant. The "Lido campaign" called for the preservation of outdoor pools, including the Jubilee Pool (built 1935) in Penzance. Odeon House, designed by C Edmund Wilford (built 1930s) was to be saved from demolition in Sutton Coldfield. It received Grade II listing in 1998. The society objected to a proposed 25-foot-tall fountain to commemorate the Queen's 40 years as monarch, planned for Parliament Square, London. The fountain was not built.
1994
The society suggested ten concrete bridges spanning the M1 to be listed as historic monuments. The society successfully encouraged the National Trust to add Erno Goldfinger's home, 2 Willow Road, (built 1939) to its portfolio. It was opened to the public in 1995.