TV historian Dan Cruikshank in plea to protect ‘spectacular’ Norfolk architecture

A celebrity historian has praised a Norfolk town's 'spectacular' architecture - and urged its residents to preserve and protect it for future generations.

Dan Cruikshank visited Diss ahead of a talk he is due to give at the town's Corn Hall on Saturday, March 3.

He will talk about places he visited for his most recent book, The History of World Architecture Through 100 Iconic Buildings, which shows some of the most iconic sites across the globe.

But the television presenter, who has presented a number of television programmes on Georgian architecture, also expressed his love of English towns and their architectural features, which often go overlooked.

And he said the goal of his talk is to inspire and encourage people to take direct action to protect and celebrate buildings.

'Architecture is too important to be left to architects and politicians,' he said.

'Buildings are full of lessons, if only we can learn to apply them.

'Places like Diss are spectacular because they are modest and they are full of the richness of culture through time.

'Little towns like this were once very much at the centres of the communities with markets, trades and industries of various sorts.

'Now one can rush through and not see how rich and sophisticated they are.

'There is nothing better one can do than to put money to the preservation, repair and appreciation of our huge repository of culture and memories represented by towns like Diss.'

Mr Cruikshank went onto highlight some buildings of 'sensational quality' in the town, mentioning examples of 19th century and medieval buildings which can be seen there.

When he visits the Corn Hall in March, Mr Cruikshank will take his audience on a journey to some of the most iconic architectural sites in the world, as well as some which have sadly been destroyed by acts of war.

He said: 'Buildings inform our lives.

'The destruction of these buildings matters because it is what gives our lives meaning, we experience life through them.

'To destroy history is to destroy people's sense of themselves and their pride.'

For more information, visit the Corn Hall website.