Michael Wright

1936 – 2006

Michael’s passion for Lutyens’s architecture, born of his earlier and deeper love for all classical art and architecture, motivated his generosity with his time and energies on the Trust’s behalf. As Editor of Country Life he had marshaled that magazine’s extraordinary support for the Lutyens Exhibition, which included the commissioning of the lavish new photography which brought the buildings alive in their gallery setting. Afterwards Michael became a Trustee of the Lutyens Trust, and then he took over as Chairman, calming our deliberations at the time we accepted Goddards, a challenge he strongly favoured. Michael was at his happiest when exploring good buildings, both here and abroad, with his wife Wendela as his companion: his wit, his fund of good stories, his first-hand observations and encyclopedic knowledge made him a charismatic lecturer, and it is in that role that so many beyond his personal acquaintance will remember him.

Jane Brown

David Crellin

1965 – 2006

David Crellin was a valued member of the Lutyens Trust and the originality of his work on Lutyens – and the freshness of his approach – was always much appreciated by Trust members.

From his childhood David had been interested in Classicism, and his school exercise books were filled with sketches of the buildings which he loved. It is not surprising that Lutyens came to fascinate him, for he shared Lutyens’s interest in Wren, Palladio and Sanmicheli. He was captivated by the way Lutyens played the ‘High Game’ inventively transforming his sources into something new. His doctoral research was on Lutyens’s late work, looking particularly at his designs for the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.

It is a pity that he did not find the time to complete his PhD. But he was pulled in many directions. While he studied, David also taught architectural history at various universities in and around London. He also lectured widely on Lutyens, he directed the Victorian Society Summer School for a number of years, and worked as their Northern and Welsh Architectural Adviser before his most recent job at Alan Baxter and Associates. Members will be familiar with his papers published in Lutyens Abroad, the proceedings of a conference held at the British School at Rome.

But if there is one reason why David did not complete his thesis, it is because he liked to take his subject apart, hold it up to the light and consider it from all angles, before piecing it back together again. That is an approach that Lutyens himself would well have understood.

Ian Dungavell,
Director of the Victorian Society