Samuel, Godfrey 1904 - 1982

Godfrey Herbert Samuel [commonly known as Godfrey Samuel] was born in Paddington, London, England on 12 January 1904 and was the son of the Liberal politician Herbert Louis Samuel [later 1st Viscount Samuel]. He attended Balliol College, Oxford from where he graduated in 1926 and then the Architectural Association Schools in London.  He qualified as an architect in 1930 and in 1932, with Berthold Lubetkin (1901-1990) and a group of recent graduates of the Architectural Association School: Valentine (Val) Harding (1905-1940), Michael Dugdale (1905-1970), Francis Skinner (1908-1998), Anthony Merlott Chitty (1907-1976) and Anthony Merlott Chitty (1907-1976), he co-founded the architectural firm Tecton.  

Samuel remained with Tecton until 1936 when he left to form the architectural partnership Samuel & Harding with Valentine Harding.  

Samuel was a committed Modernist who corresponded with Le Corbusier and was a member of the Modern Architecture Research (MARS) Group.  He was responsible for organising their exhibitions The Elements of Modern Architecture in January 1938 and Plan for London in 1942.

He was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1934 and later a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA). He was Secretary of the Royal Fine Art Commission from 1948 to 1969.

His address was given as 31 Porchester Terrace, London in 1911; 23 Haymarket, London in 1935; 6 Cavendish Square, London and 36 Park Village East, St Pancras, London in 1939; 32 Porchester Terrace, London in 1946; 15 Hans Place, London in 1982.  He died in London on 11 December 1982.  Samuel donated his personal papers to the Library of the Royal Institute of British Architects