By Neil Jackson

Published in his centenary year, this book celebrates the life and work of the British architect Peter Womersley (1923-1993). From Farnley Hey near Huddersfield, his award-winning first building completed in 1954, to the angular, look-no-hands concrete structure of the Fairydean football stand in Galashiels, Womersley continuously pushed the frontiers of architectural design. Working from a small office in the remote Scottish Borders village of Gattonside, he claimed a place on the world stage: nowhere was this more apparent than in the California-inspired High Sunderland near Selkirk, the ‘See-Through House’ built for Bernat Klein. Six of Womersley’s buildings in Scotland are now listed, three at the top-rate of Category A, while Farnley Hey is listed Grade II. Yet, despite such success, Womersley’s work is at risk: the Category A Bernat Klein studio is derelict while the Category B Garlton Admissions Unit at Haddington, is boarded-up and the site deserted. The intention of this new book is to draw attention to the significance of his work, placing it in its national and international context.