Roderick O'Donnell is an architectural historian currently working as a freelance writer, lecturer and adviser. O'Donnell is an expert on the works of the English architect, Augustus Pugin (1812-1852) and has published extensively on this subject.
Education and working life
editO'Donnell attained Master of Arts and Ph.D degrees from the University of Cambridge.[1]
From 1975 to 1978 O'Donnell worked as a research assistant in Dublin for the 'Buildings of Ireland'[2] series, edited by Nikolaus Pevsner. From 1982 O'Donnell worked first as an Inspector and then Inspector of Ancient Monuments[3] at English Heritage and the public bodies that preceded it until 2011.
Since 2011 O'Donnell has worked as an architectural historian in a private capacity. He has written extensively in academic journals and contributed articles to The Catholic Herald during this period.[4] As well as giving lectures, for example, at the University of Malta in 2014, he has more recently given talks on the history, art and architecture of ecclesiastical buildings at Buckfast Abbey[5] and English catholic cathedrals at the Brompton Oratory.[6]
Photographs attributed to O'Donnell are to be found in the Conway Library[7] at the Courtauld Institute of Art. The Conway Library collection comprises film and glass negatives as well as prints of predominantly architectural images. It is currently being digitised as part of the Courtauld Connects project.[8]
Awards and recognition
editO'Donnell was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1999.[9]
Publications
editSelected books as author and contributor
edit- The True Principles of Pointed or Christian Architecture and an Apology for the Revival of Christian Architecture, A.W. Pugin with an Introduction by Roderick O'Donnell, Gracewing Publishing, 2003: British Library General Reference Section YC.2004.a.1318
- The Present State of Ecclesiastical Architecture in England and some Remarks Relative to Architecture and Decoration, A.W. Pugin with an Introduction by Roderick O' Donnell, Gracewing Publishing, 2004. British Library General Reference Section YC.2005.a.2721
- The Pugins and the Catholic Midlands, Roderick O'Donnell, Gracewing Publishing, 2002. British Library General Reference Section YC.2003.a.1018
- Roderick O'Donnell, From Old Catholic Mansions to 'Castles in Connecticut': The Country House Practice, A.W. and E.W. Pugin in The Victorian Great House 1836-1875, in Malcolm Airs (Ed), The Victorian Great House, Oxford, Oxford University for Continuing Education, 2000. British Library General Reference Section YC.2000.b.1663
- Roderick O'Donnell, Pugin as a Church Architect in Paul Atterbury and Clive Wainwright (eds) Pugin: A Gothic Passion, Yale University Press, c1994. British Library General Reference Section LB.31.b.9848
- Roderick O'Donnell, The Pugins in Ireland, in Paul Atterbury (ed) A. W. N. Pugin: Master of the Gothic Revival, Yale University Press, c1995. British Library General Reference Section YC.1996.c.4
Selected articles
edit- Extra Illustrations of Pugin Buildings in T.H. King's 'Les Vrais Principes'' by Roderick O''Donnell, Architectural History: Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain. VOL 44, ; 2001, 57-63. British Library General Reference Section, Journal ISSN: 0066-622X
- A number of scholarly articles on ecclesiastic history, art and architecture in the journals Architectural History and The Burlington Magazine.[10]
References
edit- ^ mlr33@cam.ac.uk. "Contributors — Department of Architecture". www.arct.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Explore the British Library Search - Pevsner Architectural Guides buildings of ireland". explore.bl.uk. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
- ^ O'Donnell, Roderick (2001). "Extra Illustrations of Pugin Buildings in TH Kings Les Vrais Principes". Architectural History. 44: 57–63. doi:10.2307/1568734. JSTOR 1568734. S2CID 192236773.
- ^ "Debunking the myth of Newman and Notre-Dame". Catholic Herald. 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
- ^ "Buckfast Abbey Book - History, Art and Architecture". www.buckfast.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
- ^ "Sunday 1 March 2020". The London Oratory. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
- ^ "Who made the Conway Library?". Digital Media. 2020-06-30. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
- ^ "Courtauld Connects". Courtauld Connects. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
- ^ "Dr Roderick O'Donnell". Society of Antiquaries of London. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
- ^ "JSTOR: Search Results". www.jstor.org. Retrieved 2021-03-01.