Simon Thurley
|
Simon Thurley CBE FSA FRIBA FRHistS |
|
|---|---|
| Chief Executive Officer of English Heritage | |
|
In office 2002–2015 |
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| Succeeded by | Kate Mavor |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Simon John Thurley 29 August 1962 Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Nationality | English |
| Spouse(s) | Katharine Goodison (div. 2007) Anna Keay (m. 2008) |
| Children | Two |
| Education | Kimbolton School |
| Alma mater |
Bedford College, University of London Courtauld Institute of Art University of Bath |
Simon John Thurley, CBE, FSA, FRIBA, FRHistS (born 29 August 1962, Huntingdon) is an English academic and architectural historian. He served as Chief Executive of English Heritage from April 2002 to May 2015.
Thurley grew up in Godmanchester, England. 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". He attended Kimbolton School in Cambridgeshire (1972–82), before leaving to study for a BA degree in History at Bedford College (1982–85). He passed with a 2:1, and continued his studies at the Courtauld Institute of Art (1985–89). There he gained a distinction for a MA degree in Art History, and obtained a PhD degree with the thesis entitled "English Royal Palaces 1450–1550". In 2010 he was awarded an Honorary LL.D degree by the University of Bath.
Whilst working on his doctoral research, he took up a post as Inspector of Ancient Monuments for English Heritage (1988–90), later becoming Curator of Historic Royal Palaces (1989–97) and director of the Museum of London (1997 to March 2002). He is also a prolific history broadcaster, presenting a history slot on BBC London for three years and – in television – presenting Flying Through Time, Channel Four's 2004 six-part series Lost Buildings of Britain (Channel 4), The Buildings that Shaped Britain (Channel 5) and a six-part history of London (Granada). He has also appeared in other programmes (such as Time Team) as a "talking head".
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