IHBC David McDonald has offered his thoughts and condolences on the passing of Andrew Saint, joining the Victorian Society (Vic Soc), Cambridge University and more.
David McDonald said ‘I am greatly saddened to hear of Andrew Saint’s death. He was not only a first rate architectural historian, but London conservation officers should be forever grateful for his work over the years editing the many volumes of the Survey of London; an invaluable historical resource. I knew Andrew for many years as a fellow member of the Victorian Society’s Southern Buildings Committee.’
‘I’ll miss his knowledge and integrity, as well has his witty company in the Tabard Inn after the meetings’.
You are invited to the funeral of Andrew Saint at St Michael’s Church, Bedford Park on Tuesday August 5, 2025, at 12:00pm – followed by a reception at The Tabard.
The Victorian Society writes:
Andrew was one of the most distinguished architectural historians of his generation and a sparklingly brilliant writer.
Andrew’s unfailing dedication to the work of the Society over many decades is incalculable. As an unstintingly active member (and long-time Chair) of the Society’s Buildings Committee, as a Trustee of the charity, as Chair of its Publications Committee, and as a lecturer and walk leader, he played an instrumental part in all aspects of the Society’s work. Over the decades of his association with it, the Society has benefitted immeasurably, and would not be the organisation that it is without his dedicated support.
In recent years his work spearheading the Society’s publishing activities has been remarkably fruitful, highlighting his qualities as editor and guide for authors. While none of the recent monographs published by the Society carries Andrew’s name externally, none would have been produced – and certainly not in their current form – without his inspiration and deftly guiding hand.
But for all Andrew’s intellectual interests and remarkable scholarly output, he was also an extraordinarily generous, witty and humorous human being, one that always took a great interest in people. These qualities and interests are undoubtedly evident in his impressive body of work, and were ever present in his entertaining and very human personal interactions.
We deeply mourn the loss of a great scholar and a much loved companion.
An obituary will appear in the November edition of The Victorian, our membership magazine.
M.L. R. Grove writes for the University of Cambridge, Department of Architecture:
The Faculty is sad to report that Andrew Saint passed away peacefully on Thursday 16 July after a long fight with illness.
Andrew was appointed as a Professor in the Department in 1995, teaching architectural history. He had already a published Richard Norman Shaw (1976); Image of an Architect (1983); Towards a Social Architecture: the role of school-building in post-war England (1987); and Not Buildings but a Method of Building: the achievement of the post-war Hertfordshire school building programme (1990).
He was a leading authority on Victorian architecture and as a member of the Victorian Society (Vic.Soc.) a keen campaigner for the preservation of 19th century buildings. At Cambridge, he taught his doctoral students —among them James WP Campbell, Alex Bremner, Claudia Marx, Barnabus Calder, Timothy Brittain-Catlin and Christine Wall — to question orthodoxies, interrogate primary sources and write in clear accessible prose, creating a recognisable school of architectural history.
He continually challenged the concept that architects were as important as they liked to think they were and delighted in buildings for their own sake. His book, The Architect and the Engineer: a Study in Sibling Rivalry (2008) grew out of his teaching in the Department.
He left Cambridge in 2006 to return to the Survey of London, where his leadership saw it move to the University of London and Yale as a publisher and it produced a series of volumes before he retired. He continued to mark dissertations and give lectures in his retirement and was a friend and supporter of the Faculty.
He will be sadly missed.
