Elain Harwood, 1958 – 2023

We are truly saddened, and rather taken aback, by the news of the death of Dr Elain Harwood.

Elain was born and grew up in Beeston, and went on to become an international renown leading light in her field, as Historic England’s senior advisor on 20th Century architecture, making most of English Heritage’s listed building recommendations for the post 1945 period; a Twentieth Century Society trustee; the author of numerous books on modern British architecture, notably Space, Hope, and Brutalism: English Architecture, 1945–1975 (which won her the Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion and Art Book Award in 2016) as well as Brutalist Britain: Buildings of the 1960s and 1970s; the Pevsner City Guide to Nottingham in 2008, and Art Deco Britain and Mid-Century Britain. 

She also co-edited the Twentieth Century Society’s journal and its series Twentieth Century Architects.

In 2022 she was made an honorary fellow of the RIBA, and spent time as a committee member of the Cinema Theatre Association and teaching at Nuffield Health.

Despite these lofty heights in architecture and heritage, she made time for our little old Civic Society by being interested and involved in our work with Broxtowe Borough Council on the Local Heritage List, and was to be guest speaker at our Heritage Open Day event in September – a talk we were so proud of and excited to be lucky enough to hear.

She was a vibrant, friendly, fiercely intelligent and interesting woman. We are very sad to have lost her.

TF