author
Sir Alfred William Clapham
1883–1950
A leading scholar of medieval buildings, he helped shape how Romanesque architecture in Britain was studied and documented. His work joined careful field observation with a gift for explaining old churches and monuments clearly.
1 Audiobook
Some famous buildings and their story : being the results of recent research in London and elsewhere
by Sir Alfred William Clapham, Walter H. Godfrey
About the author
Born in Dalston, East London, on 27 May 1883, he was educated at Dulwich College and first trained in architectural work before moving toward historical research. Early in his career he worked with the Victoria History of the Counties of England, an experience that helped form his close attention to buildings on the ground as well as to written records.
He became especially known for his study of Romanesque architecture and for his long service to the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments of England, where he rose to be secretary. He was also a prominent figure in British learned life, serving as President of the Society of Antiquaries, and he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy.
Clapham is remembered as an architectural historian and archaeologist whose books and surveys made medieval English architecture more accessible to both specialists and general readers. Among his best-known works is English Romanesque Architecture; he died on 26 October 1950.