Giles Arthington Worsley (22 March 1961 – 17 January 2006) was an English architectural historian, author, editor, journalist and critic, specialising in British country houses.

Early life and education

Worsley was born on 22 March 1961 in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, the second of three sons of

Sir Marcus Worsley, 5th Baronet Sir (William) Marcus John Worsley, 5th Baronet (6 April 1925 – 18 December 2012), was a British Conservative Party politician. He served as a Member of Parliament in four parliaments between 1959 and 1974, and served as High Sheriff and Lor ...

and his wife the Hon Bridget Assheton (1926–2004), a daughter of Ralph Assheton, 1st Baron Clitheroe. His family moved into Hovingham Hall when he was aged 12, after his father inherited the baronetcy and estate, which in 2006 was 3,000 acres. He was a nephew of

Katharine, Duchess of Kent Katharine, Duchess of Kent (born Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley; 22 February 1933) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, a grandson of King George V. The Duchess of Kent converted to Catholicism i ...

. Worsley was educated at Eton, studied Modern History at

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

( MA) including architectural history from

Howard Colvin Sir Howard Montagu Colvin (15 October 1919 – 27 December 2007) was a British architectural historian who produced two of the most outstanding works of scholarship in his field: ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–18 ...

, and then in 1983 studied at the

Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. The art collection is known particularly for ...

(

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

, 1989) with his thesis on ''The Design and Development of the Stable and Riding House in Great Britain from the Thirteenth Century to 1914'', which was later reworked into his 2004 book ''The British Stable''.

Career

Worsley joined ''Country Life'' weekly magazine in 1985 as an architectural writer, working for

Clive Aslet Clive Aslet (born 15 February 1955) is a writer on British architecture and life, a Visiting Professor of Architecture at the University of Cambridge and publisher of Triglyph Books. For 13 years he was the Editor of Country Life magazine. Earl ...

and Marcus Binney, becoming architectural editor in 1989. In 1994 he left ''Country Life'' to take over from Dan Cruickshank as editor of the recently created ''Perspectives on Architecture'' monthly magazine, funded by

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

through his Institute of Architecture. In March 1998 ''Perspectives on Architecture'' ceased publication after 33 issues (its February/March issue being the last) and he became the architecture correspondent of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' newspaper in London, which he continued until his death in 2006. He was elected a fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

(FSA) in 1999. He became a senior research fellow at the

Institute of Historical Research The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate Hou ...

in 2002, which he also continued until his death in 2006. In 1988 he won the

Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain The Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain (SAHGB) is a United Kingdom learned society for people interested in the history of architecture. Purpose The Society exists to encourage interest in the history of architecture, to enab ...

's Essay Medal. In 1995 his book ''Classical Architecture in Britain: the Heroic Age'' won the Yorkshire Post Best Art Book Award. Honorary Positions held: * Georgian Group Journal, editor, 1991–94. * Georgian Group committee member. *

Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...

Trust, member. * The National Gallery Trustees, Building Committee member. * Royal Fine Art Commission, member. * Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, Design Committee member, from 2001.

Marriage and children

Worsley married Joanna Beaufort Pitman (born 1963, daughter of Peter Pitman), a writer and

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

journalist, a great-granddaughter of George Lawson Johnston, 1st Baron Luke, by her grandmother the Hon Margaret Beaufort Lawson Johnston who married Sir Isaac James Pitman, at

St George's, Hanover Square St George's, Hanover Square, is an Church of England, Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London ...

, London on 21 September 1996. One of the page boys attending the bride was Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick, grandson of the

Duke of Kent Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of King George V. Since 1942, the title has been held by Prince Edwa ...

. They had three daughters: * Alice Beaufort Worsley (born 19 June 1998, on the pavement outside St Mary's Hospital, Paddington) * Emma Sylvia Worsley (born 13 October 2000) * Lucy Jennifer Worsley (born 9 October 2002)

Death

Worsley's mother died of cancer on 22 May 2004 and he was diagnosed with cancer in the Spring of 2005. He died in London on 17 January 2006 at the age of 44. His funeral took place in

Hovingham Hovingham is a large village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the edge of the Howardian Hills and about south of Kirkbymoorside. History The name 'Hovingham' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appe ...

on 26 January 2006. A service celebrating his life was held in London on 9 March 2006. A memorial plaque was placed at St Clement's Church, North Kensington, London.

Travel Fellowship

The annual Giles Worsley Travel Fellowship was announced in February 2007 by the

RIBA ''Riba'' (, or , ) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as " usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business. ''Riba'' is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an3:130

and the

British School at Rome The British School at Rome (BSR) is a British interdisciplinary research centre supporting the arts, humanities and architecture established in Rome. Historical and archaeological study are at the core of its activities. History The British Sc ...

. The Fellowship is awarded each year to an architect or architectural historian, who then spends three months (October to December) at the British School at Rome, studying an architectural topic of their choice. Travel, accommodation and board and a monthly stipend is provided. Each Fellow is then required to deliver a public presentation on their return. The first applications were received in February 2008, with the recipient being announced in April. Recipients and their topics: *2008 – Rebecca Madgin, ''The contemporary value of industrial architecture – the Ostiense Quarter''. *2009 – Gwyn Lloyd Jones, ''Rome, a meeting ground of two architectural geniuses: Francesco Borromini and Frank Lloyd Wright''. *2010 – Léa-Catherine Szacka, ''Roma Interrotta: A comparative historical analysis of the 18th Century urban project on display (1978 to 2008)''. *2011 – Rashid Ali, ''Architecture and urbanism of Mogadishu 1930–80''. *2012 – Thomas Brigden, ''The city of Rome’s key vistas and their viewing places''. *2013 - Tom True, "Power and place: the Marchigian cardinals of Sixtus V". *2014 - Ricardo Agarez, "The making of the Roman ''palzzina'', 1930-60". *2015 - Mark Kelly, "Ancient and modern concrete vaulting in Rome". *2016 - Jana Schuster, "Living Heritage: The Adaptive Reuse of Ancient Buildings in Rome".

Books

*''Architectural Drawings of the Regency Period 1790–1837'' (1991) catalogue of exhibition of

Drawings Collection at its Heinz Gallery in London, Andre Deutsch, , . *''The Georgian Group Journal'', and various ''Georgian Group Symposiums'', editor, 1991–94. *''Classical Architecture in Britain: the Heroic Age'' (1995) Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, Yale University Press, , . *''The Life and Works of John Carr of York'' (2000) by the late Brian Wragg, edited by Giles Worsley, Oblong Creative, , . *''England's Lost Houses: From the Archives of Country Life'' (2002) Aurum Press, , . *''The British Stable'' (2004) An Architectural and Social History (based on Worsley’s PhD thesis), photography by William Curtis Rolf, Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, Yale University Press, , . *''Drawing from the Past: William Weddell and the Transformation of Newby Hall'' (2005) by Giles Worsley, Kerry Bristol, and William Connor (catalogue of 2004–5 exhibition of

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...

's sculpture gallery drawings held at Leeds Art Gallery), Jeremy Mills Publishing, , . *''Inigo Jones and the European Classicist Tradition'' (2007) published posthumously, Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, Yale University Press, , .Reviews:

Articles

*''Gothic Architecture and Its Meanings, 1550–1830'' (2002) edited by Michael Hall, based on a Georgian Group Symposium, with Giles Worsley explaining Vanbrugh's architecture in terms of the search for a national style, Spire Books, , . *'' Aske Hall, Yorkshire, the seat of the Marquess of Zetland'', Parts I & II, Country Life, 1 March 1990 and 8 March 1990 (pages 98–103). * Silver Tassie, Wargrave, Berkshire - 'A Home Fit for Ratty' Country Life 18 June 1992

References

External links

Biography – The Dictionary of Art HistoriansObituary – The GuardianObituary – The Yorkshire PostObituary – The Courtauld Institute of ArtTravel Fellowship – The British School at RomeTravel Fellowship – RIBATravel Fellowship Holders – The British School at Rome
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worsley, Giles 1961 births 2006 deaths English architectural historians British magazine writers English non-fiction writers Deaths from cancer in England People educated at Eton College Alumni of New College, Oxford Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art English male non-fiction writers Country Life (magazine) people Giles Younger sons of baronets 20th-century English male writers