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Dennis Sharp

British architect, critic and author (1933–2010)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionFeb 17, 2026
Entity authorityQ1189524
Source-derived summary

Dennis Sharp (30 November 1933 – 6 May 2010) was a British architect, professor, curator, historian, author and editor. His obituary in The Guardian stated that he 'was well-known as an architectural historian, teacher and active defender of the environment. However, his reputation in those fields rather overshadowed his considerable success as a working architect and his long-term commitment to environmentally friendly building'.

Biography

Dennis Sharp was born in Bedford and studied at Bedford Modern School (1945–1951) and at Luton School of Art (1951–1954). From 1954 to 1957, he studied at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London and was Leverhulme Research Fellow, School of Architecture, University of Liverpool from 1960 to 1963.

In 1962, Sharp became a correspondent for Architectural Design and editor of Architecture North West. In 1963, he was appointed senior research architect, Civic Trust for the North West, Manchester. In the following year he was Lecturer at the School of Architecture, University of Manchester (1964–1968). He was appointed Head of History studies at the AA school in 1968, he was later a senior lecturer. He was AA General Editor and founder Editor of AA Quarterly (1968–1982), and member of the AA school's council and an AA Vice-president.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Dennis Sharp” as british architect, critic and author (1933–2010). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Dennis, Sharp and British.

Editorial reviewA productive starting point for separating a subject’s documented career from later reputation and commemoration. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1933, 2010, 1945, 1951—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1933-11-30. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Dennis, Sharp and British providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Dennis Sharp”, the useful work is to connect “british architect, critic and author (1933–2010)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1189524. VIAF identifies the subject as 88052601. The Library of Congress control number is n50022232. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1933, 2010, 1945 and 1951.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Dennis Sharp”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Dennis Sharp primary sources, Dennis Sharp archive and Dennis research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Dennis Sharp”?
  2. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Dennis Sharp” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.