Nikolaus Pevsner was a German born historian from Russian-Jewish descent, and he specialized in art and architecture. He began his career writing and lecturing in Leipzig where he married and raised a family.

As for many, Pevsner's situation changed during the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party. At the time (1933), he agreed with some of the Nazi policies surrounding German art, but as time moved on he was alienated due to his Jewish family heritage. He moved to England and worked at a university in Birmingham, followed by a move to Hampsted in London. He continued his writing and took a position of buyer with the designer and furniture craftsman, Sir Gordon Russell. Pevsner published in 1936 (Pioneers of the Modern Movement: from William Morris to Walter Gropius), and 1937 (An Enquiry into Industrial Art in England). During the Second World War, his German nationality became a problem, and he was interned in Liverpool as an enemy alien.

Pevsner was released after intervention by those who knew him and had influence, and he later began a relationship with the British publishing house Penguin Books with the publication of the book An Outline of European Architecture which was a success. He became a British citizen in 1946 and his writing became less academic as he focussed on the publication of books relating to British Architecture, and was a contributor to the international architectural magazine Architectural Review. He also lectured at Birkbeck (a public research university) in the West End of London, and at both Oxford and Cambridge University.

Pevsner's main contribution was the publication of guides, among them comprehensive guides to the architecture of each English county, and The Buildings of England, a series of guides which later became Pevsner Architectural Guides (published by Yale). He visited and reviewed many buildings himself (with a selective bias in some cases - churches featured heavily for example), and wrote, edited, or collaborated with other writers including architectural writer, Ian Nairn, who wrote complete guides for a few counties. Later, guides to the buildings of Scotland, Ireland and Wales were produced as a part of the series, but these were not written by Pevsner, although his name is referenced.

Pevsner described architecture by judging the buildings face (or "façade"), the materials and construction, and the form and function of the interiors. His descriptions are delivered in distinctive style - his matter-of-fact approach consists of lists and comments about architectural features in a descriptive yet concise manner, with an occasional touch of dry humour and particular opinion. The series of guides ran to many volumes and took much of his time in the fifties, sixties and early seventies.

Along with others (such as John Betjeman, Hugh Casson and Ian Nairn) Pevsner fought to preserve architectural history - especially that of the Victorian era. He died in 1983 aged 81. His legacy includes the first full and extensive guide to the architecture of the English counties - a monumental undertaking in the first place, and one that has been added to and maintained since.

There is no specific or commemorative website, but there is a wealth of online archive material, references and publications by Pevsner. If you have an interest in the history of art or architecture, it's likely that you will encounter Nikolaus Pevsner at some point. His guides are a useful starting point as the descriptions contain aesthetic and technical details that are written is a very understandable style. The reach of his work means if you're in the UK, there's probably an architectural guide available for the county you're in right now.

By Matt Sheen August MMXX - See video playlist for references

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