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Harriet Richardson Blakeman

@harrietrichardsonb.bsky.social
1.8K followers 412 following 302 posts

Architectural historian, formerly at the Survey of London, long standing interest in hospital buildings. University of Edinburgh PhD ‘Medicine and Modernity’. Living in Scotland. Website: historic-hospitals.com

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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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docomomoscot.bsky.social @docomomoscot.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
On 19 February, we'll hear about the history of Glasgow's Kingston Bridge: THE HIGHWAY OVER THE CLYDE Stewart Baird (Scottish Roads Archive) will talk in EDINBURGH AND ONLINE, showing historic and rare photographs. tickettailor.com/events/docomomoscotland #architecturetalk #glasgow #edinburgh
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Dr Sarah Whittingham FSA @drfrond.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Save the date 26 April 2026: ‘Fern Fever on the Fells’. I’ll be giving a Sunday afternoon talk at the lovely Higham Hall, Bassenthwaite, followed by tea & cake. It will tell the story of the Victorian fern craze in the Lake District. Booking details to follow.
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Harriet Richardson Blakeman @harrietrichardsonb.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-deep-his... If you happen to be in Edinburgh on 5th Feb, there’s a free talk. Also note venue change - now to be held in the old Royal Infirmary’s new event space.
eventbrite.co.uk
A Deep History of Health & Healing in Edinburgh
Join the first of six talks in the Learning from our History Public Lecture Series as part of Edinburgh Medical School 300.
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Alborz Dianat @alborzdianat.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
In two months, I'll be running a half marathon in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, in case anyone wants to chip in to a good cause: www.justgiving.com/page/alborz-...
justgiving.com
Alborz's Cambridge Half Marathon for Macmillan Cancer Support
Help Alborz Dianat raise money to support Macmillan Cancer Support
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Harriet Richardson Blakeman @harrietrichardsonb.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
How's your Christmas shopping going? Hopefully not as bad as this.
bedding in Dunelm reduced for clearance, marked 'Deranged'.
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Harriet Richardson Blakeman @harrietrichardsonb.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
Sad to see the old Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary at Nithbank in a ruinous state. Prompted a short post on this and the 1970s infirmary. historic-hospitals.com/2025/12/13/d…
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Matthew Whitfield @matthewwhitfield.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
this is such a good building! Oxford Street would be much poorer for its absence c.org/bfP6b6zGHt
c.org
Sign the Petition
Save the John Princes Street LCF Building - Don’t Erase London’s Fashion Heritage LCFJPS20
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docomomoscot.bsky.social @docomomoscot.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
THIS THURSDAY, 30 October, Bruce Peter talks about "Art Deco and the Modern Movement in Scotland" Join us ONLINE AND IN EDINBURGH for a fascinating history talk. Bruce is professor at Glasgow School of Art. His new book Modernist Scotland will be out soon. tickettailor.com/events/docomomoscotland
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Harriet Richardson Blakeman @harrietrichardsonb.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
Bumper crop of apples this year, for us and the rest of Europe, probably. Picked as many as we could before storm Amy arrived to give a helping hand.
A corner of our kitchen, with bowls of apples on the table and more on the windowsill.
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Patrick Zamarian @pzamarian.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
Please sign: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/al...
you.38degrees.org.uk
Alexandra Road Retrofit: Stop Potential Fuel Poverty, Mould, and Inequality
Camden Council’s proposed heating retrofit for the iconic Grade II* listed Alexandra Road Estate risks locking residents into permanently high bills, colder homes, damp and mould and greater inequalit...
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Elizabeth Darling @archhistdarling.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
I just signed the open letter & joined the campaign. Access to the written archives was vital to the book I’m completing about BBC Broadcasting House.
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Harriet Richardson Blakeman @harrietrichardsonb.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
Cat on a hot concrete step #caturday
Black and white cat lying in the sun on step. Patio and garden beyond.
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Kathryn A Morrison @kathrynmorrison.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
A long piece about 'Chain Stores' by Christopher Catling for the new edition of Current Archaeology - if you fancy a read! the-past.com/feature/cath...
the-past.com
‘Cathedrals of commerce’ : A guide through the Golden Age of the British High Street | The Past
In her new book about High Street heritage, Kathryn Morrison takes us on a trip down memory lane and reminds us that design quality was once a proud part of ...
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Harriet Richardson Blakeman @harrietrichardsonb.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
Just out, a round-up of news and progress on historic-hospitals in the latest post. An unidentified chapel, a Humphreys iron hospital in Uppingham, a new book on hospitals in the Scottish Highlands, and a wander round Lincoln County Hospital. historic-hospitals.com/2025/08/10/j...
historic-hospitals.com
July News in August
July was not my most productive month, but I have enjoyed being side-tracked by a few enquiries. These have had me investigating the birthplace of Vivian Stanshall – the musician, writer, and…
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Pete Herring @peteherring.bsky.social · 02/08/2025
Beautifully written obituary, and a marvellous portrait by Chris Redgrave.
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Alistair Fair @alistairfair.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
Sad news overnight of serious damage by fire to St Mungo's church, Cumbernauld - designed by Alan Reiach 1963-64. Its dedication echoed Glasgow cathedral & recognised the Glaswegian roots of many early residents in the new town, which had been begun a few years before
A modernist church, with a grey brick wall and pyramidal roof with standing seam cladding, above which rises a further small pyramid on slender posts
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Harriet Richardson Blakeman @harrietrichardsonb.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
Mystery Chapel: Does anyone recognise this chapel? It is most likely in the South East of England, might be a hospital or institutional chapel, and was photographed in the 1950s. The photographer was a TB patient around this time, from St Paul's Cray and latterly at Eversfield Hospital, Hastings.
photo of a smallish chapel, simple gothic style, probably brick with small fleche, roughly three bay nave, with twin lancet windows separated by buttresses,  and broader chancel end with triple lancet window in centre.
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C20 Society @c20society.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
💥The Bernat Klein Studio has been saved! This morning the coalition of Scottish heritage organisations secured the property at auction with a winning bid of £279,000. The studio will now be restored and brought back into public use, creating a new venue for creative arts in the Scottish Borders.
Image credit: Iain Masterton
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Harriet Richardson Blakeman @harrietrichardsonb.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
Auction day. My fingers are firmly crossed.
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John Grindrod @grindrod.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
Alan Reiach and Stuart Renton’s church, completed in 1962. I’ve been to this one, it’s stupendous
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Katie Carmichael @kcarmichael.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Applications are open to become the new Graduate Trainee at HES - after seeing how much fun our most recent trainee had I’m quite jealous! Please share widely: ekov.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
ekov.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com
Heritage Graduate Trainee
Here at HES, we are welcoming applications for the role of Heritage Graduate Trainee, which is a Grade 1 Fixed Term position working full time hours, based in Longmore House, Edinburgh.
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docomomoscot.bsky.social @docomomoscot.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
This is exciting and very welcome news!
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docomomoscot.bsky.social @docomomoscot.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
Support Scottish heritage organisations to buy Bernat Klein Studio, near Galashiels www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/qr/7nPrRvgl The late-Modernist building of 1972, designed by architect Peter Womersley, is to be auctioned on 30 July. Listed and vacant, this architectural marvel needs urgent saving!
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Elizabeth Darling @archhistdarling.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
The Bloomsbury Global Encylopedia of Women in Architecture 1960-2020 is now online! A huge achievement by Karen Burns & Lori Brown. Pleased to have had the chance to write some of the entries. preview31.sspbloomsbury.co.uk/bloomsbury-g...
preview31.sspbloomsbury.co.uk
Bloomsbury Visual Arts
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docomomoscot.bsky.social @docomomoscot.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
Less than three weeks until our 20th-century architecture tour of Aberdeen City on Saturday, 02 August The day will include a former swimming pool, university buildings, residential tower blocks and more. The morning is on foot and the afternoon by minibus TicketTailor.com/events/DocomomoScotland
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Harriet Richardson Blakeman @harrietrichardsonb.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
A recent week's holiday on Orkney included a tour of the surviving historic hospitals in Kirkwall. historic-hospitals.com/2025/07/06/o…
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docomomoscot.bsky.social @docomomoscot.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
Join us for a tour of #Aberdeen on 02 August to explore the city's rich architectural heritage of the mid- to late 20th century. The guided tour will include mass housing, the Bon Accord Baths, Gray's School of Art and more. 11am-5pm on foot and by minibus TicketTailor.com/events/docomomoscotland
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Dr Kathryn Ferry @seasideferry.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
Gearing up for #NationalSeasideDay tomorrow. Looks like it's going to be great beach weather so lets fill @bsky.app with the #blueskies of our #GreatBritishSeaside resorts. Your pics wanted please!
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Harriet Richardson Blakeman @harrietrichardsonb.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
The comet stone, Ness of Brodgar, Orkney. Unlike the nearby Ring of Brodgar, here we were not swamped by the coach parties, and were able to get up close to the stone. Snapped on 17 June early afternoon. #StandingStoneSunday
Photograph of the so-called comet stone near the Ring of Brodgar (just visible in the distance where the stones rise up above the horizon). Tufts of long grass surround the base of the stone, which is seen here at a slight angle showing its fissured side. The stone is an upright oblong with its upper edge sloping at roughly 45 degrees. 
View of the stone flat on, where the upper sloping edge appears less obvious, but fissures or cut marks angled down across the top right-hand corner are the chief feature - along with the colourful lichens in ochre, white and dark grey. View of loch and distant shore behind.detail of that fissured top right-hand-corner, focusing on the lichens. 
The north side of the stone, showing its top left-hand corner. Here the lichens seem to grown in slanting strips, with greenish ones occupying the top corner, then a patch of the fluffy grey-green kind you usually see on tree branches, then a strip of the ochre-coloured one, followed by white in the bottom section. Patch of blue sky beyond.
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Leigh Sparks @sparksstirling.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
stirlingretail.com/2018/06/18/o...
stirlingretail.com
Orkney – the Second Leg
Our recent visit to Orkney was not meant to be about retailing or shops, but inevitably just wandering around Stromness and Kirkwall one can’t help but look at the retailing.  As I noted in the ear…
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Harriet Richardson Blakeman @harrietrichardsonb.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
Former Stromness Soda Fountain, coffee saloon and ice-cream parlour, Victoria Street. 'Ice cream sold ... in any quantities, large or small. Made by an electric machine of new design.' Now the most fabulous shop selling woolly things and more. #shopfronts #Orkney #Stromness
photograph of the former coffee saloon on Victoria Street in Stromness, Orkney, with the shops to either side and the distinctive road surface of stone slabs on either side of a narrow band of setts. The shop and its neighbour have their gable ends facing the street. The former coffee salon has 'coffee saloon' in mosaic tiles above the plate-glass windows.detail of the former soda fountain shopfront, showing the curved corner entrance and window to side, both have mosaic panels over, the facing of the rest of the ground-floor is of black terazzo-type finish. Upper floors harled.Within the shop was this framed poster announcing the opening of the new Soda Fountain coffee saloon in Victoria Street. G. Fugaccia, Proprietor - the proprietor's name was also in the entrance hearth in mosaic tiles. View of the interior of the shop, showing some of the mosaic decoration set in the terrazzo floor - geometric designs with leaf or floral motifs in slate grey edging, orange and olive grey. Racks of jumpers and jackets, hooks with colourful bags.
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Harriet Richardson Blakeman @harrietrichardsonb.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
'Caution Unstable Cliff' Just back from a week on Orkney. Here a view of Churchill Barrier number one, from Lamb Holm (taken from outside the Italian Chapel).
photograph looking towards the Churchill barrier that links Orkney mainland with the island of Lamb Holm, on which stands the Italian Chapel. White sand of beach to left of barrier, scrubby grass in the foreground and small sign warning of unstable cliff. Big sky, mostly cloudy, but with enough blue to make a pair of sailor's trousers ... as the saying goes.
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Kathryn A Morrison @kathrynmorrison.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Fish on Friday! Here's some light weekend reading - a new blog post on the shops of Mac Fisheries (not sure how many of you will remember them!) tinyurl.com/33zxm9zb
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Kathryn A Morrison @kathrynmorrison.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
Stopped in my tracks by this sad sight in #Southampton yesterday. The ongoing demolition of the once great Edwin Jones store (Healing & Overbury 1959) renamed #Debenhams in 1973.
A 1950s department store half demolished, with cranes visible to left.
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Harriet Richardson Blakeman @harrietrichardsonb.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Arrived today! Looking very smart, lots of great photos, and I know it will be an excellent read. Congratulation to @kathrynmorrison.bsky.social
Cover of new book on Chain stores in the Golden Age of the British High Street. With black and white cover photo of Mansfield, West Gate, with Woolworth’s store and M&S.
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Harriet Richardson Blakeman @harrietrichardsonb.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Trip out to Rosslyn Chapel, already heaving on wild and windy Monday morning. Took advantage of the quiet outside while the talk was in progress inside. Very different experience from my first visit in the mid-1980s.
South front of the diminutive chapel. Mottled stone, mostly yellowy, with red and darker grey/brown patches. Crocketed pinnacles rise from the buttresses, flying at clerestory level. South door protected by a porch View of the chapel from the north east. A riot of jagged pinnacles atop the buttresses.View of the chapel from the south west, with the remains of the south transept to the right, and later baptistery added in 1880 projecting from the west end. Another view of the south front, with the stub of the transept on the left.
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docomomoscot.bsky.social @docomomoscot.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Join Andrew for a walking tour of Livingston new town and its splendid public art this Saturday (June 7th) - the sun is sure to shine! 😎
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Chris Rycroft @chrisrycroft.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
Fascinating article on Gavin Stamp by Joshua Mardell in British Art Studies: main--britishartstudies-26.netlify.app/issues/26/ga...
main--britishartstudies-26.netlify.app
British Art Studies
*British Art Studies* is an innovative space for new peer-reviewed scholarship on all aspects of British art.
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Dr Andrew Demetrius @demetrius-art.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
A reminder that this is happening next Saturday 7 June. Public art everywhere from civic showpieces, social housing and concrete poetry in infrastructure, to supermarket car parks and drains - “something for everyone!” ;-)
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Elizabeth Darling @archhistdarling.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
Shortly heading off to give a talk at the City Art Centre about Free Kindergartens, nature and play - part of a series to accompany the very good exhibition “Nurture through Nature” at Museum of Edinburgh.
Sign for exhibition “Nurture through Nature” exhibition at the Museum of Edinburgh
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Robert Proctor @rproctor.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
My book is finally published! Percy Thomas: Modern Architecture as a National Service. www.uwp.co.uk/book/percy-t...
uwp.co.uk
Percy Thomas | UWP
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Municipal Dreams @municipaldreams.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
This week on Substack, @benaustwick.bsky.social has written a great post outlining the social ideals and architectural forms of the Amsterdam School: municipaldreams.substack.com/p/the-amster...
Het Schip buildingBrick relief sculpturePost office
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docomomoscot.bsky.social @docomomoscot.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Join us on 21 June for a guided walk in Edinburgh from King's Buildings to Cameron Toll with a few other stops on the way. The walk will include various 20th-century buildings, ranging from private houses to commercial, educational and healthcare facilities. tickettailor.com/events/docomomoscotland
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Harriet Richardson Blakeman @harrietrichardsonb.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
Woo hoo! Looking forward to my copy landing on the doormat any day now.👇
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Alistair Fair @alistairfair.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
I'll be taking part, with Prof Fiona McLachlan, in an Archifringe event on 17/6 accompanying the 'Alternative Domesticities' exhibition by Callum Symmonds & Fredrik Frendin. We'll be talking 1960s housing. Booking link: architecturefringe.com/festivals/20.... One for @docomomoscot.bsky.social
Image showing a 1960s housing development in Edinburgh overlaid with plans and the words 'Alternative Domesticities'
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Alistair Fair @alistairfair.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
We're currently looking for someone to join us in Architectural History at Edinburgh for the 2025-26 year (and a little bit after) to cover a colleague's research leave: elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com
Lecturer in Architectural History
Applications are invited for the post of Lecturer in Architectural History (fixed-term until 31 October 2026, 0.7 FTE, Grade UE08) at the Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (E...
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Harriet Richardson Blakeman @harrietrichardsonb.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
Latest blog post. A roundup of May News from Historic Hospitals, on Margate, Letchworth and Guy Dawber in Cockermouth. historic-hospitals.com/2025/05/24/m…
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Harriet Richardson Blakeman @harrietrichardsonb.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Yet more from #Margate - and also for #IronworkThursday Rusting railings at the old winter gardens, along Fort Promenade.
Section of rusted railings, with remnants of blue paint. Decorative ironwork, with scrolls top and bottom. Glimpse of the sea beyond.Detail of panel in the rusted ironwork railings, the scrolls have made way for a short section of Greek key, and the central panel has an oval on an elongated X. Sea beyond.Fort promenade, where it crosses the flat roof of the building at the end of the former winter garden. In the distance Fort Paragon terrace, four-storey terrace of houses built c.1830
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Municipal Dreams @municipaldreams.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
🚨 New on Substack, 'This new world foreshadowed' - my post on the radical ideals and proposals of the 1943 County of London Plan, 1943: municipaldreams.substack.com/p/the-county...
Development and planning map from the County of London Plan
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