Women in UK Architecture, 1860s to 1940s

Entry requirements

Please use this Research Proposal, Personal statement, and CV guide when preparing an application.

Months of entry

Anytime

Course content

Women practicing Architecture in the UK before the Second World War

Since the 1970s research has taken an interest in identifying women practicing as architects. Often, one of the main objectives was to revise narratives that focus on male architects who are portrayed as heroes and genius-designers. However, revising historiography means more than just “adding women and stir’ (Ahrentzen, 1996) because concepts (gender bias) and designations (genius) need to be reconsidered at the same time. This is needed because traditional modes of history writing do/did not easily incorporate women’s experiences such as routes into the profession, their often (collaborative) ways or practicing, and their successes (or lack of it). While some of the social and institutional barriers that women experienced when entering architecture during first half of the 20th century have been analyzed and discussed, there is no systematic and contextualized review of women practicing architecture in the UK between the late 19th century and the end of the Second World War.

We seek a graduate in the humanities to work on a PhD project to provide such an overview to women practicing architecture in the UK. While it is important to gather material on individual biographies, the project seeks a broader overview that takes into consideration socio-economic and political parameters. A main objective is to counteract the oversight towards the contributions of women and the persistent dismissal of their contributions and their importance – as individuals and in collaborations – within design processes.

Even a brief and cursory searches in newspapers alert to a long list of women, many of who have been recognized in blogs or online encyclopedia but not as a group. This project therefore seeks to contribute to current discourses on women in architecture by exploring social, economic, and political contexts of the works of women such as: Nora Aiton (1903-1988), Susan Mary Auld (nee Denham Christie, 1915-2002), Charlotte Clare Railing (nee Nauheim, 1896-1959), Margot Ruffer (nee Ulrick), Molly Taylor (1909-1988), Kathleen Veitch (1907-1968), and many more.

Supervisor profiles:

Poppelreuter: https://salford-repository.worktribe.com/person/1172095/tanja-poppelreuter

Troiani: https://researchportal.lsbu.ac.uk/en/persons/igea-troiani

Fees and funding

This programme is self-funded.

To enquire about University of Salford funding schemes – including the Widening Participation Scholarship – visit this website.