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Geraint Franklin

@geraintfranklin.bsky.social
620 followers 508 following 147 posts

Architectural historian with Historic England (opinions own). British architecture after 1945. Post-Modern Buildings in Britain, HKPA, John Outram. High-Tech Britain out March 2026!

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Reposted by Geraint Franklin
Brutalismbot @brutalismbot.com · 29/06/2025
Le Casa de Portuale in Naples, Italy, by Architect Aldo Loris Rossi r/brutalism
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SAVE Britain's Heritage @savetoreuse.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
The grade II-listed All Souls Church in Manchester - a shocking end for a building which has suffered years of deterioration and decay.
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Kent Wildlife Trust @kentwildlife.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Book now for our November/December term of Nature Tots! 🌳 Sevenoaks - Monday mornings, Thursday mornings, and Thursday afternoons (from 2 Nov) 🌳 Maidstone - Tuesday mornings and Friday mornings (from 6 Nov) Book here: www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/whats-… 📷©️ Tim Horton
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Liverpool University Press @livunipress.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
What can a century-old planning text tell us today? In a new blog post, @markscott-ucd.bsky.social reflects on the Town Planning Review Featured Article revisiting Abercrombie's 'The Preservation of Rural England' 100 years on. Both articles are free to read for a limited time. #TownPlanning
liverpooluniversitypress.blog
Revisiting Abercrombie’s ‘The Preservation of Rural England’ one hundred years on | Town Planning Review 97.5 Featured Article
The editors of Town Planning Review have selected ‘Revisiting Abercrombie’s ‘The Preservation of Rural England’ one hundred years on’, by Mark Scott, Nick Gallent and Menelaos Gkartzios…
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Jeremy Noel-Tod @jntod.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
On National Poetry Day, the greatest poem I have ever read
A printed poem which reads:

I hav for breakfast Weetabix

I hav for lunch some meat

I have for tea 2 sosajis and thats enuf to eat

Peter Hazel, 5
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Colin Smith @colinsmith.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Today’s right-wing rarely cares for carless cities & pollution control. But in 1967, an enthusiastic Weekend (Daily) Telegraph magazine hired architect William Whitfield to plan a new site for the Houses Of Parliament in Windsor. The London it left behind would be a kind of vehicle-free playground.
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Edwin Heathcote @edwinheathcote.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
www.ft.com/content/0146... It’s time for a stone-brick revolution @groupwork.bsky.social @designmuseum.bsky.social
ft.com
It’s time for a stone-brick revolution
It’s low carbon, reusable, quirkily beautiful — and can be cheaper than concrete and steel. Why on earth aren’t more architects building in stone?
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
“Show This to Anyone Denying Genocide” — front page of @scotnational.bsky.social
“Show This to Anyone Denying Genocide” — front page headline of The National, Scotland
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Liverpool University Press @livunipress.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
EVENT: 'Accommodating the Victorian & Edwardian Working Woman' by Emily Gee, author of Hostel, House and Chambers. 📍 St Mary Abbots Church, London 🗓️ Wednesday 7th October, 7PM - 8:30PM 🎫 Tickets: bit.ly/Gee-event-VS @thevicsoc.bsky.social @indyhistnetwork.bsky.social @modbritstud.bsky.social
A black and white image of a chamber accommodation room, with white text overlaid which reads: 'Accommodating the Victorian & Edwardian Working Woman 
by Emily Gee'.
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Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Not a dicky bird about thugs trying to sink a dinghy with a rescue worker on board or their claims to be "forming an army". Two boats of people seeking safety land and bingo bango they're the ones portrayed as the issue. Labour is complict in the rise of the far right. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Home Secretary hits out at 'unacceptable' migrant landings in Kent
Usually brought ashore by Border Security Command or the RNLI, these are the first uncontrolled landings since 2025.
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National Trust @nationaltrust.org.uk · 23/09/2026
Our wildfire petition has reached 100,000 signatures in four weeks - that’s 100,000 people urging the Government to take action on climate change.
An Fire and Rescue Service vehicle is parked on a passage between charred remains of heathland
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Ash Oro @ashoro.co.uk · 22/09/2026
1/23 Sorry, this will be long... There is a lot of shouting about what happened in the Channel yesterday. So I want to go back to basic law. Not immigration policies or political rhetoric. At sea, the starting point is simple: Preservation of life comes first under all maritime conventions.
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People‘s Graphic Design Archive @peoplesgdarchive.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Georg Olden, designer and VP of McCann Erickson Advertising Agency appeared on "I've Got a Secret" in 1963. At a time when graphic designers existed very much behind the scenes, this is a unique clip.
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Bishopsgate Institute @bishopsgateinst.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
One afternoon only: we're selling duplicate books, pamphlets and magazines from our Special Collections & Archives; London history, LGBTQIA+ history, and general history. Free to attend. Sunday 27 September, 14:30–17:30. Details: www.bishopsgate.org.uk/whats-on/act…
Books are stacked horizontally in black and white at the bottom of the image. A green and yellow background highlights text that reads: "This Sunday. From 14:30 - 17:30, we will be selling our duplicate books, pamphlets, and magazines. Topics include London, LGBTQIA+, and general history. Pop in and grab a bargain.
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Little Green Space 🐝 @lgspace.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
A single 400-year-old ancient oak produces 234,000 litres of oxygen a year while soaking up carbon dioxide, and can support more than 2,000 species of bird, insect, fungus, and lichen. Nature is amazing - we need more of it, not less. Please repost if you agree 🌳
Mature oak trees with bare branches in an autumn woodland
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becimay @becimay.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
My TLS piece on the Exeter cuts ✨
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Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Walking Men Worldwide by Maya Barkai (via @kottke.org) walking-men.com
A snaking line of 'walking men' from pedestrian crossing lights, disappearing into the distance. Most of them glow green. They all have different designs, from dotted to solid to jaunty to minimalist.A photo of 7 different 'walking men' icons on a hoarding, each labelled with its city of origin, e.g. Marseille (stick man, dots) and Hong Kong (chunky, confident). A real walking man is in the foreground.
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Marta O'Brien @archhistory.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Hooray! Late architect Robert Hill's incredible Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 is back online thanks to a recovery. I think Robert would be happy that his decades of work have been preserved. canadianarchitects.org/about/
canadianarchitects.org
The Recovery — Dictionary of Architects in Canada
How the Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada was recovered from the Internet Archive.
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Alistair Fair @alistairfair.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
New Towns Mark One - by Elain Harwood edited by me - exists! Obligatory unboxing pics. Launch on 10/9: secure.c20society.org.uk/Default.aspx.... Book link: www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10....
Some books on a table, wrapped in bubble wrap, with a box and scissors behindUnwrapped copies of the book New Towns Mark One, on a table
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Alistair Fair @alistairfair.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
'New Towns Mark One' by the late Elain Harwood, edited by me, is now available for pre-order at £32 via www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10..... It explores the origins of the new towns programme & the 'mark one' towns begun in the 1940s, concluding with Cumbernauld, the first mk 2 town.
liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk
New Towns Mark One | Home
Architecture and Planning in Post-War Britain
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Ian Hunt @ianhunt.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Here's the link. It's on 13 and 14 November www.sahgb.org.uk/whatson/unto...
sahgb.org.uk
Untold Tales: Women Pioneers in British and Irish Architectural History - SAHGB
The Third Annual Mark Girouard Symposium This third symposium in memory of Mark Girouard looks at women’s contributions to architectural history in the United Kingdom.
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Liverpool University Press @livunipress.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
New Towns Mark One by the late Elain Harwood, ed. @alistairfair.bsky.social provides the first detailed architectural survey of the ‘mark one’ new towns. ➡️ Read the interview with Alistair about the book on the LUP blog: bit.ly/HE-NewTowns @c20society.bsky.social @geraintfranklin.bsky.social
A blue background of a blue and white tiled building fascia with a clock on a blue sky background. The text on the image reads 'Charting the architectural history of Britain's initial post-war new towns: the so-called 'mark one' new towns.
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Geraint Franklin @geraintfranklin.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Sensational.
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Des Fitzgerald @desfitzgerald.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
It's cooooooooooooooming (credit @stephenroddy.bandcamp.com)
A poster that says "radical humanities laboratory: against automation."
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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 15/09/2026
Jeff Bezos and I are very different people. For one thing, he is a sociopathic billionaire who built his fortune by monopolizing bookselling while I am a penniless author of books. He was born in 1964 and is 62; I was born in 1971 and am 55.
A mason jar of piss with Jeff Bezos's laughing head submerged in it.


Image:
Steve Jurvetson (modified)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jeff_Bezos%27_iconic_laugh_crop.jpg

CC BY 2.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

--

Themightyquill (modified)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kerr_mason_jar.jpg

CC BY-SA 2.5
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en
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Daniel C. Blight @danielcblight.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
***URGENT PLEASE SHARE*** University of Brighton management have announced today that they ‘give notice of termination of all collective agreements’. This is a fundamental erasure of workers' rights. Management have announced the termination of all contractual documents, which includes:
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Phil Sturgeon 🌳🚵⚓️ @philsturgeon.com · 12/09/2026
Stop faffing about and get this petition off to the moon, so we can get Palantir off into the sea. Its only got 50 signatues in 24 hours and I know there’s more than 50 Brits seeing this. 👋 www.amnesty.org.uk/get-involved...
amnesty.org.uk
Tell the Health Secretary, Yvette Cooper: No Palantir in our NHS
Palantir’s contract with NHS England is up for renewal in February 2027, with discussions expected to begin this year. This is a critical moment for us to tell the new Health Secretary: No Palantir in...
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Sardonicus @sardonicus.eu · 09/09/2026
Abolition Teapot by Josiah Wedgwood & Sons, 1760-80. www.flickr.com/photos/birmi...
Teapot
Health to the Sick Honour to the Brave
Success to the Lover Freedom to the Slave
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Russ Jones @russincheshire.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
This seems like a useful policy to support.
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Daniel Moser @dmoser.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Pollution levels in London after 10 years of advancing sustainable transport.
Map showing Lower Pollution levels in London after 10 years of advancing sustainable transport.
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Ant Breach @antbreach.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
About a month until 8,000 volumes on British postwar planning and housing history gets pulped. Unless we can find someone to save it municipaldreams.substack.com/p/a-good-hom...
municipaldreams.substack.com
A Good Home Needed Urgently for One of the Most Significant Libraries of Housing and Planning in the Country
The trustees of the Octavia Hill Birthplace Museum are disposing of its Harry Simpson Memorial Library in September, next month.
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Geraint Franklin @geraintfranklin.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Garden canes, their ends painted red
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Geraint Franklin @geraintfranklin.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Please sign up! 💚
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René Magritte @renemagritte.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
L'empire des lumières / The dominion of lights - 1954 #artbots #magritte
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The Victorian Society @thevicsoc.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
The Victorian Society is deeply saddened to announce the death of Peter Howell, one of the Society’s longest-serving and most distinguished members, a former Chairman, and one of its great and defining characters. Read our tribute here: tinyurl.com/jvkrk868
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Isokon Gallery @isokongallery.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Almost sold out: Chandigarh 60+ years since Le Corbusier Isokon Gallery Thursday, August 27 • 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM Get your tickets👇
eventbrite.co.uk
Chandigarh 60+ years since Le Corbusier
The history of the development of the extraordinary Modernist experiment in Chandigarh in north east India and how it became a success story
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Geraint Franklin @geraintfranklin.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Whatever's easier. Thanks so much.
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Geraint Franklin @geraintfranklin.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Oh! Would you be able to photograph that for me? I'm doing a thing on the competition..
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Prof Bill McGuire @profbillmcguire.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
"EVERY SINGLE English water body is polluted with toxic chemicals" I knew things were bad, but this beggars belief @andyburnham.bsky.social you must take swift and immediate action to tackle this latest assault on English nature www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
All bodies of water in England polluted with toxic chemicals, official data shows
Environment Agency assessments find just 14.3% of country’s surface waters in good ecological status
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Geraint Franklin @geraintfranklin.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
We kayaked down the Wye --Glasbury to Hereford--a few years ago. It's in a bad way! Culprit is run off from poultry megafarms -- please sign: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/st...
you.38degrees.org.uk
Stop Big Chicken Choking our Rivers
Our rivers can't take any more Big Chicken. Now is the time to act, not plan to make the problem worse. Across the UK, rivers are already paying the price for industrial chicken farming. Every year, o...
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River Action @riveractionuk.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
🚨 STOP BIG CHICKEN CHOKING OUR RIVERS Big Chicken: A Fast Food Conspiracy has landed on Netflix, exposing the hidden costs of our obsession with cheap chicken. Here in the UK, our rivers are already paying the price. SIGN THE PETITION: bit.ly/4xhkuaz 🧵 1/2...
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C20 Society @c20society.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
EVENT: Join C20 and Historic England for a special two-day event, celebrating the 80th anniversary of the 1946 New Towns Act and the launch of the late Elain Harwood’s final major publication, 'New Towns Mark One'. 🗓️ Thu 10-11 Sept 2026 📍 London + Harlow 🎟️ secure.c20society.org.uk/Default.aspx...
Image: Market Clock, Adams House, Harlow © Historic England
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Architects' Journal @news.architectsjournal.co.uk · 14/07/2026
ABK co-founder Peter Ahrends dies aged 93
architectsjournal.co.uk
ABK co-founder Peter Ahrends dies aged 93
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Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 22/07/2026
Another Mack campaign website. rebuildthemack.com The more, the better!
rebuildthemack.com
REBUILD THE MACK!
REBUILD THE MACK!
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Dr. Michelle I. Turner @chaco-arch.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
The regulations that give teeth to the National Historic Preservation Act are about to get wiped out. "Section 106" is what requires pipelines and roads to get checked for impact on archaeology. It's also the basis for federal consultation with Tribes on projects. And it's getting DOGEd this week.
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peterkwells @peterkwells.com · 14/07/2026
"‘UK politicians are a lot more easily impressed than American politicians. It costs a lot less to influence them,’ a former Global Counsel employee said" www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Peter Geoghegan and Lucas Amin · ‘This looks absolutely rubbish’: Palantir and the NHS
A decade ago Palantir was largely unknown in the UK. It now holds public contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds...
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 12/07/2026
Amnesty International put out a major report documenting the influence of UK based anti trans gender critical organizations and their funding. Within hours, GC groups threatened defamation lawsuits and Amnesty was forced to pull it down. Proving the point they're anti rights. Anyways, here it is.
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Paul Kirkley @paulkirkley.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Having failed to interest any papers in this story, I resorted to writing a letter to The Times, like in olden times. So when all that's left to watch is NASCAR racing sponsored by Cheetos, I can at least say I tried. #ITV #Sky #Comcast
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Kevin J. Kircher @kevinjkircher.com · 07/07/2026
This is wild. 93% of the renewable electricity generation added to the Irish grid over that last decade now powers data centers, rather than reducing fossil fuel use. Data centers have pretty much annihilated the health and climate benefits those renewables could have provided.
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