Professor James Campbell

Professor Campbell's research is broadly in the field of Material Culture. He is interested in tracing the development of objects in the world and our relationship to them. His research focuses on four main areas:

1) construction history;

2) seventeenth- and eighteenth-century architecture (particularly Wren, Hawksmoor and Soane)

3) the history and development of libraries.

4) The history and development of water infrastructure and its outward display in fountains

His interest in the seventeenth-century started with his doctoral thesis which looked at Wren and development of seventeenth-century carpentry. This resulted in number of articles on carpentry and an AHRC-funded Post Doctoral post looking at seventeenth-century brickwork.  This in turn led to his first book, Brick: a World History(2003), an overview of the research that has been carried out on brick in building construction through the ages, produced in collaboration with architectural photographer Will Pryce. When it was released it was featured as Guardian ‘book of the week’. It recognised as the established work on the subject and is currently available in nine languages and has been released in a new edition in 2016. He has written and lectured widely on the history of brickwork.

His interest in seventeenth-century building construction and Wren also led to his second book, Building St Paul's  (2007) which provides a concise introduction to the seventeenth-century building world. It has remained in print and a revised paperback edition was released in January 2020. He has published widely on the seventeenth century building world and particularly on carpentry and on building finance in academic journals.

His third book, The Library: a World History (2013) is the first book to tell the story of library buildings through the ages from the beginning of writing to the present day. Richly illustrated again with pictures by Will Pryce, it was chosen by reviewers in both the Evening Standard and Spectator as one of their books of the year. The first print run of 10,000 copies sold out in 2 months. It has since been reprinted several times in expanded editions and been translated into Chinese, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese and Russian. It is published by Thames and Hudson in the UK and University of Chicago Press in the United States. 

He has also produced works on building conservation and is on the editorial panel of the Journal of Architectural Conservation. In 2014 he edited Staircase: History Repair and Conservation with Michael Tutton and Jill Pearce. This book, published by Routledge, brought together writers from many disciplines, in which he wrote the chapters on the history of the staircase in Britain and the safety of stairs. The sequel, Door: History, Repair and Conservation also with Michael Tutton, was published by Routledge in Spring 2020, in which he wrote the chapters on the history of the door in Britain and on safety and geometry in door design. He is currently working with Michael Tutton on a revised version of Windows: History, Repair and Conservation. 

As Chair of the Construction History Society, he organises its annual conferences,  co-edited the proceedings of the Second International Congress on Construction History and has edited eight volumes of proceedings for annual conferences held between 2014 and the present day. 

For the last three years he has been cataloguing part of the collection of Soane's drawings at the Soane Museum which is being prepared as a monograph for publication.

He is Principal Investigator on a project on the world-wide historical development of water infrastructure and fountains, funded by the Seear fund at Queens'. This is working towards a book: Water and Civilisation which is due for completion in 2025.

Applications for PhDs, MPhils and MArch

Professor Campbell welcomes applications from any potential research students interested in researching any aspect of the history of building construction or the history of library design from all parts of the world. Unless they already hold a relevant research degree (an MPhil, not an MArch), successful applicants will normally be required to sit for an MPhil or MSt in the first instance on the successful completion of which they may be allowed to proceed to the PhD. Interested applicants should send a detailed research proposal. This should include a timeline for research and proposed sources. The potential student is expected to have visited the sources and established their accessibility and the project’s viability before application. 

Current PhD Students

Pandora Layton, Round Church Towers in East Anglia- a survey (2022-present)

Completed PhD Students

Lei Song, A Comparative Study of the Development of Water Infrastructure in England and China 1500-1800 (2021-present)

Luka Pajovic, Sir Christopher Wren, St Stephen Walbrook and the Development of Vaulted Ceilings and Domes 1600-1800 (2021-present)

Georgia Politi, The life and work of Sir Horace Jones, PRIBA (2019-2023)

Natcha Ruamsanitwong, Leslie Martin and Architectural Education (2019- 2023)

Jana Schuster, The Architectural Patronage of the 2nd Duke of Montagu, 1709-49 (2017- 2023)

Karey Draper, Wartime Huts: The Development, Typology and Identification of Temporary Military Buildings in Britain 1914-1945 (2013-2017)

Amy Boyington, The Role of Women in Eighteenth-Century Architectural Design (2014-2017)

Wendy Andrews, The Cowtan Order Books, 1824-1938: An Analysis of Wallpaper and Decorating Records and Their Use as Historical Sources(2013- 2017)

Yiting Pan, Colonial Architecture in late 19th and early twentieth century Shanghai  (2011-2016)

Magdalini Makrodimitri, Heating Historic Churches (2009-2017)

Nicholas Bill, The Development of the Engineering of Timber Railway Bridges in the 19th century (2010-2013)