Architectural scholar proud of his Belfast heritage

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Archiseek / Ireland / News / 2005 / December 31

Sir Charles Brett

The architectural historian and campaigner Sir Charles Brett, who died in Belfast before Christmas aged 77, was the best-known scholar and advocate of the North's built heritage. A gently reared member of an affluent family, he was also recalled by many from the doldrums of pre-Troubles local television as a feisty debater for the briefly successful Northern Ireland Labour Party against unionist government figures. Colleagues and fellow-campaigners admired the humorous committee man who also produced more than 30 books while running one of Belfast's biggest law practices. The family firm, L'Estrange and Brett, occupied a fine Georgian house near the City Hall, lovingly restored and maintained despite the IRA bombings which repeatedly forced evacuation of the premises and those around them.

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