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Simon Thurley

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Simon Thurley
CBEFSAFRIBAFRHistS
Chief Executive OfficerofEnglish Heritage
In office
2002–2015
Succeeded byKate Mavor
Personal details
Born
Simon John Thurley

(1962-08-29)29 August 1962(age 62)
Huntingdon,Cambridgeshire,England
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom
Spouses
Katharine Goodison
​
(div.2007)​
​
(m.2008)​
Children2
EducationKimbolton School
Alma materBedford College,University of London
Courtauld Institute of Art
University of Bath

Simon John Thurley,CBE,FSA,FRIBA,FRHistS(born 29 August 1962) is an English academic and architectural historian. He served as Chief Executive ofEnglish Heritagefrom April 2002 to May 2015. In April 2021, he became Chair of theNational Lottery Heritage Fund.

Early life and education

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Thurley was born inHuntingdonand grew up inGodmanchester.He feels that it was inevitable he became a historian since "by age seven I was helping out at Roman digs near my home... and childhood holidays invariably involved ticking off stately homes and cathedrals".[1]He attendedKimbolton Schoolin Cambridgeshire (1972–82), before leaving to study for aBAdegree in History atBedford College(1982–85).

He passed with a 2:1, and continued his studies at theCourtauld Institute of Art(1985–89). There he gained a distinction for anMAdegree inArt History,and obtained aPhDdegree with the thesis entitled "English Royal Palaces 1450–1550".[2]In 2010 he was awarded an HonoraryLLDdegree by theUniversity of Bath.

Career

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Whilst working on his doctoral research, he took up a post asInspector of Ancient Monumentsfor English Heritage (1988–90), later becoming Curator ofHistoric Royal Palaces(1989–97) anddirectorof theMuseum of London(1997 to March 2002). He is also a prolific history broadcaster, presenting a history slot onBBC Londonfor three years and – in television – presentingFlying Through Time,Channel Four's 2004 six-part seriesLost Buildings of Britain(Channel 4),The Buildings that Shaped Britain(Channel 5) and a six-part history of London (Granada).[2]He also appeared as an expert in a number of episodes of the long-running Channel 4 archaeological programmeTime Team.

In 2002, at the age of 39, Thurley was appointed Chief Executive of English Heritage; his relative youth at taking this post led him to be dubbed a "boy wonder".[3]Thurley was the highest-paid member of English Heritage's staff: his emoluments in 2009 totalled £163,000, comprising a basic salary of £136,000 and a performance-related award of £27,000, twenty per cent of basic salary.[4]

Personal life

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Thurley married Katharine Goodison (born 1963), a lawyer-turned-hat-designer and daughter of SirNicholas Goodison(former Stock Exchange chairman). They divorced in 2007. His late father, a veterinarian, was born and raised inBritish India,and returned to England in the 1950s some years after India's independence in 1947.

Thurley married secondlyAnna Keay(born 1974), a fellow historian, in February 2008. She was the Properties Presentation Director for English Heritage from 2002 to 2011, and is now Director of theLandmark Trust.[5]They had known each other for about 15 years, but got to know each other better when they worked on a documentary calledThe Buildings That Shaped BritainforChannel 5in 2006. They live in London and a medieval merchant's house inKing's Lynn,Norfolk,and have two children.[6][7]

Honours

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He was appointedCommander of the Order of the British Empire(CBE) in the2011 Birthday Honoursfor services to conservation.[8][9]

Fellowships and other memberships

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Publications

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  • The Royal Palaces of Tudor England: A Social and Architectural History(Yale University Press, 1993)ISBN9780300054200
  • Royal Lodgings at the Tower of London 1216-1327(SAHGB, 1995)
  • Hampton Court Palace: The Official Guidebook(Historic Royal Palaces, 1996)
  • The Lost Palace of Whitehall(RIBA, 1998)
  • Whitehall Palace Plan of 1670(London Topographical Society, 1998)
  • Whitehall Palace: An Architectural History of the Royal Apartments 1240–1698(Yale University Press, 1999)
  • Hampton Court: A Social and Architectural History(Yale University Press, 2003)
  • Lost Buildings of Britain(Viking, 2004) - accompanying the Channel Four TV series
  • Whitehall Palace: The Official Illustrated History(Merrell, 2008)
  • Somerset House: The Palace of England's Queens 1551–1692(London Topographical Society, 2009)
  • Excavations at Oatlands Palace 1968–73 and 1983–4(2010) - with Rob Poulton and Alan Cook
  • Men from the Ministry: How Britain Saved its Heritage(Yale University Press, 2013)ISBN978-0-300-19572-9
  • Houses of Power: The Places that Shaped the Tudor World(Bantam Press, 2017)ISBN0593074947,978-0593074947
  • Palaces of Revolution: Life, Death and Art at the Stuart Court(William Collins, 2021)ISBN978-0008389963
  • St James's Palace From Leper Hospital to Royal Court(Yale University Press, 2022)ISBN9780300267464

Notes

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  1. ^Thurley, Simon (16 July 2006)."My hols".The Times.Retrieved7 February2008.[dead link]
  2. ^ab"Simon Thurley - CV".Archived fromthe originalon 6 October 2008.Retrieved26 December2008.
  3. ^"ViaMichelin Magazine".5 December 2003. Archived fromthe originalon 5 December 2003.Retrieved18 July2023.
  4. ^"English Heritage"(PDF).www.english-heritage.org.uk.Retrieved18 July2023.
  5. ^"Anna Keay: Biography".Anna Keay.Retrieved23 January2014.
  6. ^Historic Houses website,Clifton House
  7. ^Simon Thurley website
  8. ^"No. 59808".The London Gazette(Supplement). 11 June 2011. p. 8.
  9. ^"Main list of the 2011 Queen's birthday honours recipients"(PDF).BBC News UK.Retrieved11 June2011.
  10. ^"Trustees".Canal and River Trust.Retrieved3 September2013.
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Cultural offices
Preceded by Directorof theMuseum of London
1997–2002 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
 Chief Executive ofEnglish Heritage
2002–2015 		Succeeded by
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