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Peter Blundell Jones Archive

 Fonds
Reference code: 490

Scope and Contents

The Peter Blundell Jones Archive is an extensive collection of both physical and digital material covering Professor Blundell Jones' entire career, from his training at the Architectural Association School in the late 1960s up until his death in 2016.

The archive contains Blundell Jones’ professional correspondence, research notes, architectural drawings, photographic material and files relating to his writing and teaching, as well as his own architectural practice. The archive covers his research in many subjects including 19th and 20th century architects, the birth of modernism, urban history, architecture and ritual, architecture and landscape, architecture of China, Japan and Korea and the history of architectural education. Of particular significance are a number of recordings of interviews with leading international architects, and a large slide library, made up of mounted 35mm slides of photographs of buildings around the world.

Dates

  • Creation: 1940s - 2016

Creator

Copyright

Christine Poulson, and 3rd party copyright.

Biographical / Historical

Professor Peter Blundell Jones (1949-2016), or PBJ as he was often known, was an architectural historian who joined the School of Architecture at the University of Sheffield in 1994, having previously taught at Cambridge and South Bank universities. Described as the pre-eminent architectural historian of his generation PBJ ‘saw architecture essentially as a human discipline’. He truly appreciated the historical and social purpose of a building, and inspired thousands of his students to do the same.

Blundell Jones published on a prolific scale, writing over 500 journal articles and 13 books, including monographs on previously marginalised architects including Hans Scharoun and Hugo Häring. Although predominantly an academic, PBJ also practiced as an architect, designing a number of buildings including The Round House in Stoke Canon, Devon, which he built for his parents, and features in Pesvner’s Buildings of England.

Extent

139 Box(es)

13 Folder(s) (3 drawers of architectural plans)

370 GB (digital files)

Language of Materials

English

German

Custodial History

Donated to the University of Sheffield Library by Christine Poulson in September 2021.

Status
Completed
Author
Mariam Yamin
Date
June 2023
Description rules
International Standard for Archival Description - General
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Sponsor
Catalogued with the support of Christine Poulson and Campaigns and Alumni Relations, University of Sheffield

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections and Archives Repository

Contact:
Western Bank Library
University of Sheffield
Western Bank
Sheffield South Yorkshire S10 2TN United Kingdom
+44 (0) 114 222 7299