This time last year I was setting up the newsletter, ready to go live in January. My aim was to run the project for a year and see if it sustained interest - both for readers and for me. So how did it go?

Deep dives

I’ve completed nine deep dives exploring the biographies of individual buildings. That included visiting five archives: Totnes, Kresen Kernow in Redruth, The Box in Plymouth, the Devon archives in Exeter and the Somerset ones in Taunton.

One of the things that surprised me about visiting archives is how unique each one is. In Totnes it was very much a conversational space, with someone dropping by and reminiscing about the building I was researching. In Plymouth, there was also some chat. I am ridiculously fond of the cafe in Kresen Kernow.

There are a couple of deep dives that stalled: in part due to the challenge of trying to look at private property. I’d still like to see how High Cross House in Dartington is faring, given its on a regional C20 at risk list. And I have yet to dig further into the VITACOP house in Exeter.

Field notes

This started as my name for anything that wasn’t a deep dive. But as I started to write-up my gadding about various towns, I realised I should only use it for those: the one about the University of Exeter was as long as a deep dive.

There are five that look at a town or city, and a couple of early ones (Exmouth and Buddle Lane) which were rather more accidental. These are never complete guides to a place. The more recent ones, like Weston, involve me sketching out a rough route using Pevsner, then wandering around taking photos and researching any that are not in the black books. This means rummaging in Historic Environment Records (HERs) and online planning portals to see if an architect and a date can be found. Sometimes I have a play with the mapping tool Know Your Place or the digitised OS maps at the National Library of Scotland. There’s also Historic England’s aerial collection.

I set my boundaries as the ceremonial counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset. That might sound straightforward, but they are covered by 16 Local Planning Authorities (LPAs), not including the Isles of Scilly or the Channel Islands.¹ So that’s sixteen planning portals. Not every LPA has created an online HER, so sometimes a building ends up not included. The Heritage Gateway is my starting point for these searches.

I also look at local history and civic society websites: my favourite of these that paid off was when I was looking at the derelict Nissan style building in Redruth, where I was able to discover its past as a wartime dance hall.

I do a much shorter version of this rummage for buildings mentioned in the news roundup. Over the course of the year, what I found was I started to build up my knowledge of buildings, such as Bath’s fire station, as they progressed through planning.

Community

I could not have done even a quarter of what I did this year without the support of the wider communities. That ranges from my lovely correspondents who share updates, images and leads to the strangers who willingly offer memories on the Facebook local history groups. I’ve also been helped enormously by members of the C20 Society in the South West, archivists and librarians, and staff at a host of buildings who let me wander around taking photos.

Plans for 2026

When I started last year, I said I’d review how things went and then decide about continuing in 2026. I’ve not reached all my goals, but I’m still endlessly intrigued by the stories of the buildings.

So I’m currently creating a list of at least ten buildings to do deep dives on in 2026, and a couple of long day trips for wandering about.

I’m also planning to cover Dorset rather more in 2026. My planned trip to Poole got postponed due to the weather. A westerly is currently hammering on the conservatory roof, so I’m staying firmly indoors and repairing my walking boots ready for next year.

If you would like to support the project, now is an ideal moment. Paid subs go towards travel, archive licensing costs and the occasional Lebanese flatbread.

Free subscribers can upgrade for £3 a month. I’ve also set up an annual sub, which is currently £30 a year. I’m holding these prices until the end of January.

Until then, I hope you have a lovely seasonal break.

Mags