A Very Modest Man - Geoffrey Squire (1924-2011)

A modest, shy, retiring person, Geoffrey Squire came to Forncett End in 1997 and he lived at Mill Cottage until his death in 2011. Despite having had a most distinguished career in art education in London, he led a self-effacing lifestyle in retirement in Norfolk.

Geoffrey Squire was born in Streatham, South London in 1924. His mother, Ethel, was a dressmaker and his father was a studio photographer before the war. He was educated at Mitcham County School for Boys (which was evacuated to Weston super Mare during WW2) and in 1941 his headmaster's reference said, "I have no hesitation in saying that there is no boy whom I would rather see win an Art Scholarship, and who I'm sure will have great success."

Geoffrey did indeed win a scholarship to Wimbledon School of Art but, as it only paid for his tuition fees, he had to leave after a year because his family couldn't afford to let him continue. So, he took employment that utilised his undoubted artistic skills in a very different way. He became an engineer's draftsman working for Monsieur Prat the French designer of tank carburettors at the Solex Company. By contrast, at night he manned anti-aircraft gun emplacements in Hyde Park! 

In 1942 Geoffrey also enrolled in evening classes at the Central School of Art and Design where he learned stagecraft and had his first chance to design costumes. Very soon, he got his first commissions in theatrical design, both for costumes and sets, and in the postwar period he designed freelance for many organisations, including the Albert Hall and the Theatre Arts Ballet Company. 

Set designs for "School for Scandal" - 1947

Theatrical costume designs, 1946 -1950 

He continued to design for the theatre from 1945 through to at least 1963, but he also began to teach costume history and theatre design at various institutions including the London Academy for Music and Dramatic Art. Then in 1967 he obtained a full-time job at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in the Education Department. It was here that he began his very popular lunch-time lecture series which covered a wide range of subjects from Michelangelo to Art Nouveau. He learned all his lectures by heart and is said to have delivered them "with fluent grace". His lectures were very popular with his students as testified by their comments on finishing his courses.

A report in the Guardian in 1969 on Geoffrey's "Trendsetter" lectures at the V&A, described him as "Trend-setting lecturer Geoffrey Squire who uses the word "super".. wears a Nehru coat with a saffron high-neck shirt."

Geoffrey's 1970 lectures, "Dress, Art and Society" were turned into a book of the same name in 1974. The then Director of the V&A, Sir Roy Strong, described him as "a kindly elegant figure", passionate about dress history, and someone who might have revolutionised dress studies at the V&A, had he been given the chance and been in the right place at the right time.

In 1975 Geoffrey published his second book, the "Observer's Book of European Costume", which was illustrated by Pauline Baynes. It's a very accessible account of the rise of European dress, and how it came to be the accepted form of dress for much of the rest of the world by the mid-twentieth century.

Geoffrey's research was meticulous, and he recorded all his observations in carefully annotated sketches.

In 1978 he resigned from the V&A but the following year he was head-hunted by Sotheby's to create a new training scheme, and he was a senior tutor there until 1983. Free-lance teaching for the Study Centre for Fine and Decorative Arts followed but by 1990, at the age of 66, ill health meant a gradual reduction in these commitments. Then, in 1997, he decided to leave Carshalton in Surrey and move to the Mill House in Forncett End which he shared with two female friends, Jennifer Gosset (1935-2007) and Honora George (1936-2001).

Here, in Norfolk, Geoffrey continued his interest in theatre design and he worked with the Saxlingham Players on a number of their productions. He also became a regular and popular lecturer at the Costume and Textile Study Centre (CTSC) located at Carrow House. It was here that he met fellow costume historians, Pamela Clabburn (1914-2010) and Helen Hoyte (1924-2024), who, in 1989, were founder members of the Costume and Textile Association (C&TA).

Geoffrey subsequently left a considerable archive to the CTSC, including his extensive library of 650 books, teaching materials, lecture notes and manuscripts, theatre designs, over 100 ties, and lots of clothes. The bulk of his slide collection, which was so important for his lectures, went to the Museum of Fashion at Bath.

Following his death in 2011 it became apparent that Geoffrey had also left substantial bequests to both the CTSC and the C&TA. Some of this was used to set up the C&TA biennial Geoffrey Squire Memorial Bursary award. This award has supported some exciting costume and textile research projects that have encouraged a greater awareness of specific craft skills and of the clothing trade.

So, whilst he may have been relatively unknown to Forncett residents during his time here, Geoffrey Squires' legacy lives on in Norfolk in many different ways. 

With particular thanks to Jenny Daniels from the C&TA and to Michael and Louise Fiske for their invaluable help in researching this page, including the loan of items from Geoffrey's archive.