The Regency Society, the oldest conservation society in Brighton and Hove, pulled off something of a coup when Sir Simon Jenkins agreed to join its ranks.
On New Year’s Day he succeeded the late Duke of Grafton as president of the society.
Sir Simon, chairman of the National Trust and England’s unofficial conservationist-in-chief, is regarded in some quarters as something of a national treasure.
He has long held Brighton and Hove in his affections. He said: “I lived in Brighton for two or three years when my parents were here when I was young. It was in the mid to late Sixties. My father was teaching at the university. I love the architecture.”
On his appointment he said: “Brighton and Hove comprises the greatest monumental townscape in Britain. It is precious and constantly in need of defenders.”
He has a long track record of writing about and trying to preserve Britain’s architectural heritage.
He is a Guardian columnist and writes regular opinion pieces for the Evening Standard, which he edited in the 1970s. He was later editor of The Times.
He has written two popular and respected books on our past glories – England’s Thousand Best Churches and England’s Thousand Best Houses.
The former features St Michael and All Angels in the Clifton Hill area, not far from his Sixties home, and the vast and imposing St Bartholomew’s, just off London Road. The Royal Pavilion and Preston Manor are included in the latter.
His most recent book is A Short History of England.
He said: “I’ve always liked architecture. When I started at the Evening Standard in London I wrote about planning.”
He also learnt about some of England’s architectural glories in another early job in journalism at Country Life magazine.
While the role of president may be regarded as titular, he could well lend his name to support any big campaigns.
Integrity
Not surprisingly he has strong views about the integrity of the way Brighton and Hove looks and develops.
He said: “The point about Brighton and Hove is that they’re very much of a piece. It’s not about individual buildings. It was planned. The skyline is so important.”
Are there other towns and cities – say, Bath, Oxford, Chester, York or Edinburgh – which offer lessons in how to manage the old and new, the past, present and future?
