NIGEL TEMPLE AUTHOR – story

Temple wrote over 64 articles for a variety of international journals and popular magazines.  His writing was in the press as he died. He also wrote a number of books and guidebooks and a produced a short educational film on the visual study and design of a variety of everyday man made objects that surround us.

He made a valuable contribution to the study of British architecture, especially the work of John Nash and Humphry Repton and the buildings of Cheltenham and Farnham, on which he became an authority.  His anthology of early childrens books gives us a unique insight into Victorian life.

Temple’s writing reflects his interests and passions, all of which fed into his artwork and on which he bacame an authority: Victorian books and illustrations, Cheltenham and Farnham buildings and people, and the British architects of 1752 – 1835 George Stanley Repton, Humphry Repton and John Nash.

Temple’s pioneering books on Farnham were written in the 1960‘s, a time when huge sections of old Farnham were being swept away by speculative development. His vision, progressive for the time, was not against development, but to encourage sympathetic development. His belief was that if original buildings and townscapes are understood, they will be more valued and appreciated and the architectural style of future development could then be sympathetic to the towns history.  Farnham Buildings and People is a 260 page culmination of several years intensive research to give a comprehensive and detailed survey of the interesting older buildings.  Temple examines not just the architectural features but the building-people relationships of each building.  This record includes the study of past generations of up to 300 families

“The value of a book such as this to the people of Farnham is beyond assessment” The Herald Press 1963

“Temple’s books are of course the bible for those interested in the town’s buildings and its people.  The scholarly work he did is of immeasurable importance, and his drawings are beautiful” Farnham Trust 2017

Temple’s book Seen and Not Heard reveals that perhaps it is in their writings for children that Victorians tell us most about themselves.  Beautifully designed and profusely illustrated with original Victorian illustrations shows a vivid picture of the domestic life and leisure of Victorian families; life at home and school, day trips to the zoo and circus, traditional customs and new marvels such as the railway train.