iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Otto Saumarez Smith @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Milton Keynes Development Corporation's pop conservation leaflet for a renewal scheme in Stony Stratford (1972)

Reposted by Otto Saumarez Smith

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 behind

Unwrapped copies of the book New Towns Mark One, on a table

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Otto Saumarez Smith @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Trevor Tennant’s Gulliver play sculpture, on the LCC’s St Anne’s Estate, Limehouse (1959), like a concrete Henry Moore that doubles as a slide. Wonderful. Pleased Heritage of London plan to give him some much deserved tlc.

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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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Otto Saumarez Smith @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Thanks Daniel. We had to raise thousands of pounds for a subvention to make sure it wasn’t at a university press price. The Victorian City sold for 27 pounds in 1973, which works out at £423.86 in today’s money; so our book is a bargain….

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Otto Saumarez Smith @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

I'm on the scientific committee for the Symposium of urban Design History and Theory conference, whose next meeting will be 15-18th of September in Sheffield. The call for sessions is now open: sudht.org/callforpapers/

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Adam Coleman @adam-coleman.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

A short thread to introduce myself. I’m a part-time PhD researcher at @uni-of-warwick.bsky.social, where my work examines how the future of British seaside towns was imagined and negotiated through postwar planning and management of the built environment.

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C20 Society @c20society.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Monday blues: Bye-bye to Bath Fire Station (1938-39) How did it come to this? A rare pre-war building by a female architect, Molly Taylor; survived the Baedecker Blitz; located within two UNESCO World Heritage Sites; recommended for listing by C20 & Historic England, yet rejected by DCMS in 2025.

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Otto Saumarez Smith @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

I'd thought of them, yes, especially as I'm still upset about the fire station. Martin is a rather grander architect than Alfred J. Taylor though.

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Otto Saumarez Smith @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

A short piece about Bricks & Mortar, a novel I loved:

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Gillian Darley OBE @gmdarksky.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

For diaries. Friday 29 May TOWNSCAPE65.Eventbrite.co.uk. Gordon Cullen examined, with a dash of Ian Nairn (from me at 3.30) to add laconic spice.

townscape65.eventbrite.co.uk

TOWNSCAPE 65

Gordon Cullen Study Day, Archive Visit & Book Launch

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Otto Saumarez Smith @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Something jollier from Coventry: the delightful confection of Festival fru fru that is Alfred H. Gardiner’s Christ Church, Coventry (1953-8).

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Otto Saumarez Smith @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

I’m so angry about this. Bull Yard (1963-9) was a humanely civic-scaled square, with elegant bronze clad mullions, good lettering, the splendid William Mitchell sculpture, & local shops. Coventry council’s advertising their net zero aims in front of the utter vandalism they’ve wrought is grotesque.

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Otto Saumarez Smith @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Looking at a book about Limoges porcelain funerary plaques in 19th century cemeteries. Incredible things.

A porcelain funerary plaque with a skeleton.

A porcelain funerary plaque with an angel carrying a child above a city scene.

A fragmented porcelain funerary plaque with a with a woman with a pointed hat praying at a tomb.

A porcelain funerary plaque with a skeleton leading a a robed man.

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C20 Society @c20society.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

EVENT: C20 Open Mic is back for 2026! Join us for an evening of short talks by early-career professionals, spotlighting the latest research of upcoming specialists in 20th century heritage. 🗓️ Thu 2 April, 6.30-8pm 📍Cowcross St Gallery + Online 🎟️ Tickets: secure.c20society.org.uk/Default.aspx...

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Otto Saumarez Smith @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

They are rather Danish! It all looked well loved to me, and the couple who lived there were spoke to briefly were friendly.

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Otto Saumarez Smith @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

Victor Rothschild & Llewelyn-Davies were both apostles, which I suppose is where the connection was made. A strange place, inexplicably near pretty, colorful Lavenham.

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Otto Saumarez Smith @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

A modernist oddity: an austere slate-monopitched, single-storey estate village, built by Richard Llewelyn-Davies & John Weeks for Baron Rothschild at Rushbrooke, Suffolk (1956-1960). More Cumbernauld than East Anglia, especially in the mist, but creating a tough sense of place with economy.

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Otto Saumarez Smith @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Spode Coventry Cathedral commemorative plate, designed by Harold Holdway, 1972. Referencing the Angel of Agony mosaic mural in the Chapel of Gethsemane by Stephen Sykes.

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C20 Society @c20society.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

NEWS: C20 has supported listing Eduardo Paolozzi's polychromatic Pop Art murals (1983) at Kingfisher Shopping Centre in Redditch, described as the 'Ravenna of the New Towns' by historian Owen Hatherley. The 12 mosaic panels depict the towns industrial heritage. ➡️ c20society.org.uk/news/support...

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Andrew Seaton @andrewseaton.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

CALL FOR PAPERS - Modern British History and the 'Environmental Turn'. A two-day workshop organised by @maxlong.bsky.social and myself at Lincoln College, Oxford, 16-17 September. Deadline for abstracts is 15 May. Details in poster below, please share.

This two-day workshop will explore several questions. How can environmental history complement or offer alternatives to existing historiographical narratives and periodisations in British history? What new actors, events, or phenomena might come to the fore? How should it foster engagements with places beyond its national borders or with other disciplines? Is environmental history different from longstanding traditions of ‘landscape’ or ‘urban’ histories of Britain? What contributions can historians make to environmental advocacy and policymaking? And how might a focus on the environment reshape teaching in British history?

To take part, participants should submit a 300 word proposal for a short ‘position paper’ (approx. 2500 words) that will be pre-circulated at the workshop. These position papers will address the place of environmental approaches and themes within modern British history (1800 to the present) from the perspective of the participant’s own research. Participants will orally summarise their papers at the workshop. The event is free to attend and includes lunch and refreshments.

Submissions are welcomed across a range of perspectives and topics, including but not limited to: energy, extraction, non-human actors, pollution, toxicity, rural and urban landscapes, everyday environmental histories (including how they are shaped by class, gender, and race), imperialism and decolonisation, ‘green’ policy, activism, and the political economy of the natural world.

Please send proposals and a one-paragraph biography in a single PDF to andrew.seaton@manchester.ac.uk by 15 May 2026. Please also direct enquiries to this address.

This event is organised by Dr. Max Long (Oxford) and Dr. Andrew Seaton (Manchester).

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C20 Society @c20society.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

NEWS: C20 has written to Historic England requesting an urgent spot listing assessment for Grimsby Central Library (1966-68), after concerns that the 'civic masterpiece' is facing an imminent threat of being stripped-out, having been closed since March 2025. ➡️ c20society.org.uk/news/concern...

Grimsby Central Library - John Michael Milner (1966-68)
Image © Chris Matthews

Grimsby Central Library - John Michael Milner (1966-68)
Image © Modern Mooch

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History Workshop @historyworkshop.org.uk · 02/02/2026

The latest issue of History Workshop Journal is out now, and it marks two exciting milestones: 50 years and 100 issues of innovative radical history. You can read the journal on the HWJ website through the link below! academic.oup.com/hwj...

The cover of History Workshop Journal 100. The cover is a woodland green, and shows an abstract illustration of a coniferous tree based on Sadiah Qureshi's article on the Wollemi pine.

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Otto Saumarez Smith @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

Super. Much looking forward to reading this...

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Otto Saumarez Smith @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Glorious! Tell me about the cover photograph please

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Ewan Gibbs @ewangibbs.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

An Injury To All: The Unmaking of the British Working Class will be published by Verso in October! Today I submitted responses to last comments from my editor and worked on the blurb. It's getting closer and closer!

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Emily Chung @emvchung.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

For anyone interested in geocoding historical census records, my new article in @socscihistory.bsky.social's journal explains how I've used ordnance surveys and trade directories to link British Victorian records! doi.org/10.1017/ssh....

doi.org

Visualizing Victorian Manchester: Granular Geocoding for Demographic Analysis | Social Science History | Cambridge Core

Visualizing Victorian Manchester: Granular Geocoding for Demographic Analysis

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Looking for an intellectual treat? @petermandler.bsky.social 's Ford Lectures on 'The Language of Social Science in Everyday Life' begin Thursday 22 January and continue weekly through 26 February in Oxford. #Skystorians

history.ox.ac.uk

The James Ford Lectures in British History

The Language of Social Science in Everyday Life - Peter Mandler (Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge)

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Otto Saumarez Smith @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social · 28/12/2025

Staffordshire Pearlware child’s mug with sign language decoration, c.1820

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Sally Watson @salawatson.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

Boxing Day morning coffee and new books. This edited by Simon Gunn @petermandler.bsky.social @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social is a real treat. Highly recommend.

Cover of book titled The Modern British City
1945-2000
Edited by Simon Gunn, Peter Mandler and Otto Saumarez Smith. Dark green background with photo of two red brick Victorian terraced houses in front of a medium rise block of concrete modernist flats with three children and a dog in front of the houses.

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Jon Lawrence @jonhistorian61.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Lovely Christmas present left on my doorstep today - it really is as amazing as I’d hoped -all 29 chapters. The illustrations look fantastic - big thanks to Lund Humphries and the editors. Never seen an academic book looking happier on a coffee table 🙂

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Otto Saumarez Smith @osaumarezsmith.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Thank you Dave. Hope you enjoyed my first short stab at Stoke, which you were helpful with. I'm planning a trip in the new year, and would be good to catch up.

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Dave 'Him Over There' Proudlove 🏴‍☠️ @daveproudlove.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

#Booksof2025 8. The Modern British City 1945-2000 - Simon Gunn, Peter Mandler & Otto Saumarez Smith An epic account of the rise and fall of British Modernism www.lundhumphries.com/products/the...

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