Niall Gooch

Church of England infighting is driving away worshippers In debates about Christian practice and moral teaching, each side invariably claims that the other’s approach will lead to fewer people in the pews. Typically, the advocates of a particular change…

Not all doctrines and traditions should be constantly up for discussion. Too much prevaricating dilutes a church’s power | Niall Gooch

Untitled - Saskatchewan Winter
Robert Newton Hurley
1969

I think there is something to this post about "vice signalling" on the right; Matt Walsh for e.g. can be quite funny and entertaining but his comments about the victims of shootings in Minnesota are just cartoonishly unpleasant.

I think there is something to this post about "vice signalling" on the right; Matt Walsh for e.g. can be quite funny and entertaining but his comments about the victims of shootings in Minnesota are just cartoonishly unpleasant.

Brook didn't paint Cumbria much, but when he did, you just knew it'd be a drizzly mist

A colour photograph of a modernist house on the outskirts of Stevenage

71 Whitney Drive, Stevenage

1966

Derrick Shorten

newtownherts.weebly.com/whitney-driv...

Not managed to find the good (and active) art accounts on here yet so will post some stuff myself until I do - Vicarage in Winter, Ravilious

This is interesting. I agree that tax cuts per se shouldn't be a priority for Reform.

My favourite Brook

Proponents of the Leadbeater-Falconer assisted suicide bill are trying to bully the Lords into abandoning scrutiny of this train wreck. But they're running out of legislative time. My newest piece for
@unherd.com unherd.com/newsroom/why...

A colour photograph of the De La Warr Pavilion

Blogs of 2025: Our final blog of the year celebrated the 90th birthday of one of the finest modernist buildings in the country, the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill on Sea www.modernism-in-metroland.co.uk/blog/the-de-...

Wassailing at Christmas - First Things Every year on January 17, revelers gather in an orchard near the Butcher’s Arms in the Somerset village of Carhampton, in the Brendon Hills. There, “wassailers” walk between the trees, splashing them ...

I wrote about wassailing:
firstthings.com/wassailing-a...

There Is No Mary Problem in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ George’s vision of his wife without him is essential to the film, but critics continue to miss its true—and profound—meaning.

This is an almost shockingly wise essay. I'm glad I've finally read it.

A colour photograph of the modernist St Thomas More church in Hampstead

St Thomas More, Hampstead

1969

Gerard Goalen

www.modernism-in-metroland.co.uk/st-thomas-mo...

No surprise he's been poor against Australia when he's got all this going on at home.

I realised I never actually posted anything about what's in my book or why anyone would be interested, so here's a substack post about that:

huwtd.substack.com/p/my-book-wh...

#egyptology 🏺

A colour photograph of the modernist Isokon flats on Lawn Road, Belsize Park

Isokon Flats, Lawn Road

1934

Wells Coates

www.modernism-in-metroland.co.uk/isokon-flats...

Discomfort them, O Lord YouTube video by Oxford Camerata - Topic

Discomfit them, O Lord, that trust to their own multitude and strength,
And forget not that thou art even He, our God,
Which destroyest wars from the beginning ...

A haunting anthem, a petition of the Elizabethan Church in a time of fear and uncertainty.
youtu.be/blzCXq1fZEU?...

A black and white photograph of the Odeon cinema in Chingford Mount, now demolished

Odeon cinema, Cherrydown Avenue, Chingford Mount

1935 (now demolished)

Andrew Mather

bit.ly/4lPv4iN

Finished copies!!! Aren’t they stunning?

Scrapping the Royal Train is a symbol of the monarchy’s demise Until quite recently I was very confident that the monarchy would survive for the foreseeable future. Polling suggested that support for a republic was becalmed at around 20%, although always higher…

The Caroline modernisation programme is troubling. The Firm could alienate its natural supporters while failing to mollify its critics | Niall Gooch
unherd.com/newsroom/scr...

The detective story as literature: Dorothy L Sayers and Strong Poison Can whodunits ever be serious novels?

New on the Substack: "The detective story as literature: Dorothy L Sayers and Strong Poison" niallgooch.substack.com/p/the-detect... In which I discuss highbrow disdain for whodunits, among several other things, including the detective stories of Fr Ronald Knox (mostly fair to middling).

The detective story as literature: Dorothy L Sayers and Strong Poison Can whodunits ever be serious novels?

New on the Substack: "The detective story as literature: Dorothy L Sayers and Strong Poison" niallgooch.substack.com/p/the-detect... In which I discuss highbrow disdain for whodunits, among several other things, including the detective stories of Fr Ronald Knox (mostly fair to middling).

Doctor Who lost its way years before Ncuti Gatwa The first episode of Doctor Who I can ever remember watching involved Third Doctor Jon Pertwee rushing around a quarry in Wales, trying to see off an infestation of giant man-killing maggots that had…

Doctor Who has always been political, but it's only in recent years that the BBC show's moral lectures have become suffocating | Niall Gooch

A black and white photo of the glass and concrete entrance to the High and Over house in Amersham

High and Over, Amersham

1929-31

Amyas Connell

bit.ly/3GGtQI5

Mini Guides We are pleased to introduce our Mini Guides. The Mini Guides will feature the modernist buildings of a particular location or architect. They are A5 size and include text and colour images of the...

Don’t forget about our spring sale! For the week there will be 20% off our Mini Guide range. Our A5 sized Mini Guides each explore the modernist buildings of a particular location or architect. See the full range here www.modernism-in-metroland.co.uk/mini-guides....

In defence of teenage boys Horatio Nelson passed his examination for lieutenant on 9 April 1777 (possibly with a little help from his uncle, who was one third of the examining panel). He was then just 18 and a half years old, a...

"It is good that young men prize stamina and skill. It is good that they want to push boundaries and impose themselves on the world and impress girls." My latest at the @thespectator1828.bsky.social on the case for teenage boys. www.spectator.co.uk/article/in-d...

In defence of teenage boys Horatio Nelson passed his examination for lieutenant on 9 April 1777 (possibly with a little help from his uncle, who was one third of the examining panel). He was then just 18 and a half years old, a...

"It is good that young men prize stamina and skill. It is good that they want to push boundaries and impose themselves on the world and impress girls." My latest at the @thespectator1828.bsky.social on the case for teenage boys. www.spectator.co.uk/article/in-d...

I found this blogpost very interesting and broadly persuasive, even as an old books romantic. It's notable, for example, how the use of the use of genetics in archaeology is shining a new light on old arguments about the size of population movements.

I found this blogpost very interesting and broadly persuasive, even as an old books romantic. It's notable, for example, how the use of the use of genetics in archaeology is shining a new light on old arguments about the size of population movements.