Squares Within Squares: Peter Womersley and the Development of the Plan

Peter Womersley (1923-93) was an English architect who built mostly in the Scottish Borders, where he lived. Although his output was limited, he was highly regarded in his day and nine of his buildings are now listed – six in Scotland and three in England. Even so, he is now barely remembered. Trained at the AA in the early post-war years, he was an architect who worked from the inside out, first developing the plan and then, through the use of models, the building’s envelope. This seminar shall examine Womersley’s evolution of the plan, his corresponding use of structure and the external influences upon his work. The seminar coincides with the publication, by the Twentieth Century Society, Historic England and Liverpool University Press, of the first book on Peter Womersley, authored by the speaker. It is hoped that copies will be available for purchase at a discounted price by attendees on the day.


Neil Jackson is Professor Emeritus of Architecture at the University of Liverpool and a Past-President of the SAHGB. An architect and a historian of nineteenth- and twentieth-century architecture, he is the author of Pierre Koenig: A View from the Archive (2019), Japan and the West: An Architectural Dialogue (2019) and the prize-winning Craig Ellwood (2002).

Please note that registration for this session will close 24 hours in advance and a meeting link will be distributed on the morning of the session.