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westcountrymodern.bsky.social
West Country Modernism
@westcountrymodern.bsky.social
330 followers 180 following 730 posts
A journey around mid century modernist buildings in the West Country. By @magslhalliday.bsky.social

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West Country Modernism @westcountrymodern.bsky.social · 26d
My deep dive into Tinside Lido is now live for paying subscribers!

buttondown.com/WestCountryM...

(Not a literal dive, because it was empty when Plymouth Leisure gave me a tour!)
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
Taking a break from reading the press cuttings about Nailsea library.
Advert for KEITH POPLE shop, with a line drawing a man in a kipper tie, shiny loafers and a Gareth Hunt haircut. Bold new fashions in 'Crimplene for Men' of all ages at our NEW STORE in NAILSEA Exciting ranges of clothes in fashion conscious colours and styles - you won't fail to find something to suit - whatever your age !
November 25, 2025 at 1:29 PM
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
Sometimes the feature image for the next deep dive is *immediately* obvious.
A concrete hexagonal lantern set within a wood paneled ceiling and half-hidden by a large set of orange 1970s fringed lampshades clustered together.
November 20, 2025 at 11:11 AM
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
Sunny winter’s day so I’m on a train to Nailsea, then back via the archives in Taunton.

Walking boots on in case of frosty paths.
November 20, 2025 at 8:52 AM
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
My teen offered the terrifying remark “you lived through the Cold War, didn’t you?”.

I mean, yes, but only the second half of it.
korybing.bsky.social Kory Bing 🔜 MFF O8 @korybing.bsky.social · 8d
One of the strangest aspects of aging that they don't warn you about is watching as history gets rewritten right in front of your face and people 20 years younger than you confidently tell you about something you lived through and get it completely wrong.
November 19, 2025 at 7:08 PM
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
Thank you to my new subscribers so far this week.

I'm out in the cold tomorrow, to visit Nailsea and the archives in Taunton. The subs help cover my costs and give me the warm glow of knowing someone likes what I'm doing.
November 19, 2025 at 12:27 PM
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
Just outside our area, because we don't do Bristol, but a bit of Cold War Modernism is up for sale.
wowhaus.bsky.social Wowhaus @wowhaus.bsky.social · 10d
Potentially more of a WeirdHaus than a WowHaus, but this 1960s Cold War ROC underground Bunker in Hallen, Bristol is fascinating. Up for auction with a guide of £20k. bit.ly/49mADCT
November 19, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Reposted by West Country Modernism
apiln.bsky.social
Spoiler: The “one catch” is the annual Wicker Man, to which newcomers are cordially invited.
November 15, 2025 at 10:33 AM
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
There are 33 new entries for the South West region in Historic England's at risk list this year. From a brief skim, none are C20 sites.

historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/ne...
Historic England Reveals its Heritage at Risk Register 2025 | Historic England
Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register 2025 gives a snapshot of the health of England’s valued historic buildings and places.
historicengland.org.uk
November 14, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Reposted by West Country Modernism
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
My notes from Weston-Super-Mare are now available.

1/2
Field Notes: Weston-Super-Mare (13 November 2025)
Some of Weston's C20 buildings. One with literal off-white elephants, and two that are more metaphorical ones.
buttondown.com
November 13, 2025 at 7:12 PM
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
My notes from Weston-Super-Mare are now available.

1/2
Field Notes: Weston-Super-Mare (13 November 2025)
Some of Weston's C20 buildings. One with literal off-white elephants, and two that are more metaphorical ones.
buttondown.com
November 13, 2025 at 7:12 PM
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
This is all set to go out to subscribers at 1pm.

Not a subscriber? Let me take you to a place where you can sign up for free: buttondown.com/WestCountryM...
westcountrymodern.bsky.social West Country Modernism @westcountrymodern.bsky.social · 14d
Just sorting my field notes for Weston-Super-Mare.
November 13, 2025 at 12:47 PM
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
Here’s last month’s deep dive on Tinside in #Plymouth.
westcountrymodern.bsky.social West Country Modernism @westcountrymodern.bsky.social · 26d
My deep dive into Tinside Lido is now live for paying subscribers!

buttondown.com/WestCountryM...

(Not a literal dive, because it was empty when Plymouth Leisure gave me a tour!)
November 13, 2025 at 7:39 AM
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
I took this photo of the increasingly derelict Birnbeck, with the corner of the Tropicana, for @seasidenetwork.bsky.social rather than for me.
Birnbeck island in the distance, with the south Wales coast beyond it. The island has a long pier joining it to the mainland but even at this distance it's clear the buildings on the island are derelict. In the foreground is the hulking seawall of the Tropicana Lido.
November 11, 2025 at 2:07 PM
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
Just sorting my field notes for Weston-Super-Mare.
November 11, 2025 at 1:54 PM
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
Just spotted this public architecture talk next week, for anyone in the St Austell area. Sam is really knowledgeable.
Building for One and All: Cornwall's Public Architecture 1870-1970 Join Samantha Barnes-Knight on a rapid, illustrated tour of some of Cornwall's public buildings; from the board schools and free libraries of the Victorian period, to the work of the Cornwall County Council architecture department in the post-war years. Samantha will finish with a focus on the history of St Austell Library, where we celebrated our 65th birthday in June this year St Austell Library Thurs 13th Nou, 18:30, £3 Refreshments available *Please book and pay for your tickets in advance* You can book in person at the Help Desk, call 0300 1234 111, or email staustell.library@liscornwall.org.uk. We can take cash or card payments at the Help Desk, or card payments over the phone FB: staustelllibrary/IG: staustell.library
November 8, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Reposted by West Country Modernism
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
The newsletter is out! This week's free round-up of C20 modernism news includes a Deco hotel in Torbay and this absolute unit from Poole.

buttondown.com/WestCountryM...
A chonky wooden hippo standing on pallet. Its mouth is wide open, revealing there is a large hole. The belly touches the floor, suggesting the slide emerges from its bottom. It is glossy, and beautiful and a workman in a hardhat is standing near it and grinning.
November 6, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Reposted by West Country Modernism
a30yoyo.bsky.social
On my only visit to Brixham around 2007 I came across what was a WW2 observation post ( a.k.a 'pillbox') and is now part of the Battery Gardens....whoever supervised its building was schooled in modernist architecture 😀 www.flickr.com/photos/74784...
ART DECO GUN POST BRIXHAM b
www.flickr.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:54 PM
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
The newsletter is out! This week's free round-up of C20 modernism news includes a Deco hotel in Torbay and this absolute unit from Poole.

buttondown.com/WestCountryM...
A chonky wooden hippo standing on pallet. Its mouth is wide open, revealing there is a large hole. The belly touches the floor, suggesting the slide emerges from its bottom. It is glossy, and beautiful and a workman in a hardhat is standing near it and grinning.
November 6, 2025 at 11:01 AM
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
This is not the first "bunker to batcave" story I've found this year. news.bournemouthone.com/84375/
WW2 bunker reborn as bat sanctuary
A World War Two pillbox in Muddyfud Wood has been transformed into a new home for bats. BCP Council worked with local ecologist Colin Morris to turn the wartime structure into a safe hibernation space...
news.bournemouthone.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:24 PM
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
I've just seen that the team are a step closer to buying the #SheptonMallet Amulet.

News item here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

And here's my deep dive into its history.
westcountrymodern.bsky.social West Country Modernism @westcountrymodern.bsky.social · Jun 23
New deep dive on the Amulet in Shelton Mallet dropped for paying subscribers.

buttondown.com/WestCountryM...
Shepton Mallet is a small market town, tucked into a fold in the Mendips. It's less than 3 miles, as the crow flies, from Worthy Farm where most years Glastonbury Festival emerges from the lingering mists around the summer solstice, like a chaotic west country Brigadoon. This is cider country. Image of a fortress like stone and glass building with two people walking past it. This month, Ilook at a community centre, built by a wealthy industrialist to repay the people whose labour that had provided him with his fortune. tested it at various agricultural shows in the area before launching it in 1953. As Babycham. YouTube of a 1960s Babycham advert. A fawn with a big bow is standing on a Lilly pad. It was a huge hit. The family's factory at the edge of Shepton Mallet switched their production over to the drink. At its peak, they were producing 144,000 bottles an hour. The cute fawn brand started buying up other names in the drinks industry, such as Brit-Vic and Harvey's Bristol Cream. In 1968 the Showerings sold the company to Allied Breweries for £108 million. Francis took a seat at Allied as a director, with his nephew Frank as vice-chair. Across town, in 1967, the Shepton Urban District Council decided they needed to widen the main road through the town. Perhaps future echoes of lost festival goers trying to find the big Tesco haunted them. They bought some old buildings up and knocked them down. Then they changed their minds about the road and instead looked for a developer who might like to take on the derelict plots. Every plan fell through. The design of the town centre "I wanted shops, a supermarket, flats and a hall. So I called the architects in and did not set a price limit. I told them to tell me how much it would cost then we would see if that was within my budget." Francis Showering (Shepton Mallet Journal, 4 Dec 1975) The architects he chose was Wyvern Design Group who had offices in the west country. The group had already delivered a new office building on the Showerings' factory site on the edge of town in 1968. That had hints of the brutalist movement with its concrete hoods around its windows. Photo of factory building described above.
November 4, 2025 at 3:29 PM
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
Fountain Court in Penzance is a 1967 sheltered housing block that has been empty for two years after its residents were moved by their HA. The plans for the replacement building have finally been submitted.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Plans made to demolish empty Penzance seven-storey tower block
The proposed new building, which would be six storeys tall, would look to provide 21 new apartments.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 4, 2025 at 3:11 PM
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
The preplanning consultation on renovating #Plymouth Civic Centre is now open.

In-person events start in the city centre this Thursday.

plymouthciviccentre.commonplace.is
November 4, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Reposted by West Country Modernism
susannahwalker.bsky.social
The Somerset carnivals are the most extraordinary folk art we have in England and no one knows about it. Start at 52 minutes in and come and see the real thing next week.
November 1, 2025 at 11:08 PM
westcountrymodern.bsky.social
The “man in the street” reaction to modernism as described by J M Richards in his 1940 book “An Introduction to Modern Architecture”.

Charity shop find of the week.
He dislikes having something familiar replaced by something unfamiliar without very evident reason, and he has an idea that the people who are responsible for the new architecture are cranks, foreigners, revolutionaries or other kinds of people that he disapproves of.
November 1, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Reposted by West Country Modernism
artdecosocuk.bsky.social
Join us for this special collaborative event with the Seaside Heritage Network, that brings together four speakers with distinctive insights into preservation, design, and place.
Graphic for Presering Our Seaside Art Deco Heritage. An online talk by four expert historians. Dr Kathryn Ferry, Allan Brodie, Karen Averby & Nigel Wilson. Wednesday November 12th. Art Deco Society.
October 20, 2025 at 5:45 PM