Ken Major
| Ken Major | |
|---|---|
| Born |
John Kenneth Major 21 October 1928 Reading, Berkshire |
| Died | 25 July 2009 (aged 80) Reading, Berkshire |
| Residence | Reading |
| Nationality | English |
| Education | Leigh Boys' Grammar School, Kendal School |
| Alma mater | King's College, Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Known for | Building preservation Molinologist Chairman of the Mills Section of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (1978–84) Chairman of The International Molinological Society (1977–93) Trustee of the Mills Archive Trust (2002–09) Vice-Chairman, Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (2002–09) Chairman, Conservation Group, Royal Institute of British Architects |
| Spouse(s) | Helen Lawrence |
| Parent(s) | John William Major, Katharine May Major (neé Ridges) |
| Awards | Lethaby Scholarship Esher Award |
John Kenneth Major ARIBA, FSA, popularly known as Ken Major (21 October 1928 – 25 July 2009) was an architect, author and world authority on industrial archaeology, particularly windmills, watermills and animal powered machines. As an author, he was known as J Kenneth Major.
Ken Major was born in Reading, Berkshire on 21 October 1928. His parents were Katharine May Major (née Ridge) and John William Major. He was christened John Kenneth Major but owing to a number of John Majors in the family he was generally referred to as Ken.
Major attended the Boy's Grammar School at Leigh, Lancashire, where his father was the headmaster, from 1939 to 1945. He then attended a school in Kendal until 1946. Major was interested in ancient buildings from an early age. He recalled cycling to Winwick church aged 8 to see the carved pig (symbolic of a legend about the church being relocated to a pre-Christian site) there.
Owing to the high number of demobbed ex-servicemen, Major was unable to gain a place at Cambridge where his results would have enabled him to study mathematics. He was able to obtain a place at King's College, Durham University in Newcastle upon Tyne where he studied architecture under the Beaux-Arts regime.
During his time at King's College, Major switched from design to repair. He visited Florence, Italy where he studied the repair of Renaissance buildings damaged in the war. In 1952, he applied for and obtained the Lethaby Scholarship from the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB).
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