Sir Basil Spence

Spence, Sir Basil Urwin

Spence, Sir Basil Urwin (1907–76). Scottish architect who leapt to prominence with his prize-winning design for Coventry cathedral (1951; completed 1962) which brought together such artists as Geoffrey Clarke, Jacob Epstein, Elisabeth Frink, John Hutton, John Piper, Patrick Reyntiens, and Graham Sutherland. Spence trained at Edinburgh College of Art, worked for Lutyens on the Viceroy's House, New Delhi, in 1929–30, and practised in Edinburgh during the 1930s. Spence designed the Sea and Ships Pavilion at the Festival of Britain in 1951, and with partners undertook extensive university work at Cambridge, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Southampton, Sussex, and elsewhere. His other buildings include churches, housing, schools, and the chancery at the British embassy, Rome (1971). Spence was a gifted designer and draughtsman, with a powerful belief in the creative role of the architect, and his architecture was often picturesque—as at Mortonhall crematorium, Edinburgh (1967), set in a rolling landscape and calling to mind Gunnar Asplund's Woodland Crematorium, Stockholm. Like Lutyens before him, Spence was knighted and held the Order of Merit.

Peter Willis

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JOHN CANNON. "Spence, Sir Basil Urwin." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN CANNON. "Spence, Sir Basil Urwin." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-SpenceSirBasilUrwin.html

JOHN CANNON. "Spence, Sir Basil Urwin." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-SpenceSirBasilUrwin.html

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Spence, Sir Basil Urwin

Spence, Sir Basil Urwin (1907–76). Scottish architect who leapt to prominence with his prize‐winning design for Coventry cathedral (1951; completed 1962). Spence trained at Edinburgh College of Art, worked for Lutyens on the Viceroy's House, New Delhi, in 1929–30, and practised in Edinburgh during the 1930s. His other buildings include churches, housing, schools, and the chancery at the British embassy, Rome (1971).

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JOHN CANNON. "Spence, Sir Basil Urwin." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN CANNON. "Spence, Sir Basil Urwin." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-SpenceSirBasilUrwin.html

JOHN CANNON. "Spence, Sir Basil Urwin." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-SpenceSirBasilUrwin.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Heavenly legacy of Sir Basil Spence; TOURING SHOW: Cathedral held up as...
Newspaper article from: Coventry Evening Telegraph (England); 8/8/2007
Work of cathedral designer profiled; ARCHIVE: Items donated by family of Sir...
Newspaper article from: Coventry Evening Telegraph (England); 7/25/2007
No reprieve as hostel faces the bulldozer; BUILDING DESIGNED BY SIR BASIL...
Newspaper article from: Coventry Evening Telegraph (England); 3/23/1999

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