The first major exhibition of paintings and sketches by one of the most prominent British architects of the last century is being held at Clare Hall over the next few weeks.

Birkin Haward 1912-2002 Sixty Years of Norfolk Painting assembles work by the late architect and antiquarian Birkin Haward, concentrating on local subject matter, most of it undertaken during family holidays in North Norfolk, and the village of Salthouse in particular.

His association with the Norfolk area began in the 1930s and led to the purchase of a house there in 1946. Whilst most of the work dates from family holidays spent there over the next three decades, the exhibition spans most of his life, including some of the originals of the church interiors from his monumental study of Suffolk church arcades, published when he was 81.

Works, drawn from his family’s extensive archive, are hung in chronological order, revealing the evolution of Haward’s style. He often explored the same subject at regular intervals, with a variety of approaches and techniques. Salthouse Church and the cottages around Bakers Yard are among the many subjects that will be familiar to those who know this area.

Haward worked as an architect for 40 years and is noted for designing a range of modernist buildings across East Anglia and beyond, with his practice undertaking more than 2000 commissions. He had a particular interest in the relationship between structure and materials, and, as a life-long socialist, worked in the public sector, mainly designing schools.

His confident style was put to good use in his work, as his sketchbooks show, but he regarded painting and sketching as a form of serious relaxation. Accordingly, he was a surprising experimenter in this area, absorbing a wide range of influences and working in a variety of media.

Birkin Haward 1912-2002, Sixty Years of Norfolk Painting is on display in Clare Hall Gallery, Herschel Road, off Grange Road, until 18 May. The exhibition is free and open to all, from 9am-6pm.

For more details, please contact Lynne Richards on 01223 332368 or lkr24@cam.ac.uk.

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