Fighting for Farnham

HAROLD FALKNER is commemorated in Farnham Museum by a display of memorabilia, including one of the shapeless felt hats that he habitually wore; next to it is an affectionate sketch of him by Sir John Verney, in which he is shown waylaying two puzzled-looking girls from the art school, no doubt to deliver an impromptu lecture on conservation. The architect had spent much of his professional life refashioning the town of Farnham, on the Hampshire border of Surrey, as a Georgian jewel. Not only did he design several buildings there, including the town hall, but, as a result of his badgering and persistence, the town improved its appearance in myriad small ways.

Born in 1875, Falkner lived at a time of national reinvention, in which old buildings became treasured and romantically enhanced. Ancient manor houses, which had seemed dark and cramped to previous generations, were rescued from indignity, if not demolition, by owners who thrilled to their history, with an eye attuned to subtleties of texture and light. As Timothy Brittain-Catlin has shown in , many country houses built at the turn of the 20th century contained at least a fragment of. F. L. Griggs at Chipping Campden, Sir Albert Richardson at Ampthill and, after the Second World War, Raymond Erith at Dedham shared a similar passion.