John Martin Robinson FSA (born 1948) is a British architectural historian and

officer of arms An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions: * to control and initiate armorial matters; * to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state; * to conserve ...

Biography

He was born in

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston, Lancashire, City of Preston local government district. Preston ...

, and educated at

Fort Augustus Abbey Fort Augustus Abbey, properly St Benedict's Abbey, at Fort Augustus, Inverness-shire, Scotland, was a Benedictine monastery, from late in the nineteenth century to 1998 that also housed a school for boys until 1993. Inception It owed its incept ...

, a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

school in Scotland, the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

(graduating Master of Arts, First Class Hons (Scotland) and awarded D.LITT in 2002) and then in 1970 arrived at

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...

, to prepare for a

DPhil 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 ...

. The doctoral degree was awarded in 1974 for work on the architect

Samuel Wyatt Samuel Wyatt (8 September 1737 – 8 February 1807) was an English architect and engineer. A member of the Wyatt family, which included several notable 18th- and 19th-century English architects, his work was primarily in a neoclassical style. C ...

. He worked for the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

Historic Buildings Division from 1974 to 1986, where he worked inter alia as architectural editor of the Survey of London, and Historic Buildings Inspector for Westminster, and also revised the Statutory Lists of Historic Buildings for 2 east London boroughs. As an independent consultant since 1988 he has advised on the restoration of numerous country houses, churches and other listed buildings. His contribution to the Conservation Plan for 7 Dials and

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

in London won the 1998 Camden Environmental Award. He also wrote the Conservation Plan for the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street in Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University ...

, Oxford, in association with Rick Mather Architects. He has been an Architectural Writer for ''Country Life'' for 50 years contributing nearly 400 articles and reviews. As chairman of the Art and Architecture Committee of Westminster Cathedral he has overseen the completion of the mosaics in St George's and St Joseph's chapels, the Vaughan Chantrey and several individual panels. Robinson was Fitzalan Pursuivant Extraordinary at the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

from 1982 and is now Maltravers Herald Extraordinary. As an officer of arms he took part in the Proclamations of King Charles III, and the Lying in State, funeral at Westminster Abbey, and interment at Windsor of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, and the coronation of King Charles the III at Westminster Abbey in May 2023. In 1978 he was appointed Librarian to the Duke of Norfolk

Earl Marshal Earl Marshal (alternatively marschal or marischal) is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England (then, following the Act of Union 1800, in the U ...

. Robinson is also a Knight of Magistral Grace of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...

, and is Archivist and Genealogist of the British Association. He lives at Beckside House,

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, and is an active member of the Georgian Group of which he was a trustee and vice-chairman for 20 years, acquiring their HQ Adam townhouse in Fitzroy Square, setting up the Casework committee, and instituting the Young Georgians, and founding and presiding over the Annual conservation Awards for 10 years from 2003 to 2013. He served on the North West Regional Committee of the National Trust for 10 Years and is Heraldic Adviser to the National Trust. He was a trustee of the Lakeland Arts Trust for 25 years, and served on the Council of the Society of Antiquaries, the council of the National Records Association, and was a trustee of Burghley House for five years and is a trustee of

Arundel Castle Arundel Castle is a restored and remodelled medieval castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England. It was established by Roger de Montgomery in the 11th century. The castle was damaged in the English Civil War and then restored in the 18th and earl ...

, and

Wilton House Wilton House is an English country house at Wilton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, which has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for over 400 years. It was built on the site of the medieval Wilton Abbey. Following the dissolution ...

. He was a founder member of the Friends of Christ Church Spitalfields and helped establish the music Festival there. His scholarly book on

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the Neoclassicism, neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to ...

is the definitive treatment of the subject. His ''New Georgian Handbook'', written jointly with Alexandra Artley of Harpers Magazine, was the architectural face of the

Young Fogey "Young fogey" is a term humorously applied, in British context, to some younger-generation, rather buttoned-down men, many of whom were writers and journalists. The term is attributed to Alan Watkins writing in 1984 in ''The Spectator''. However, ...

movement and has become collectable. Decorations: Diamond Gold and Platinum Jubilee Medals of Queen Elizabeth II, and Coronation Medal of King Charles III

Bibliography

* ''The Observations of Humphrey Repton'' (Phaidon 1978) * ''The Wyatts: An Architectural Dynasty'' (1979) Foreword by

Woodrow Wyatt Woodrow Lyle Wyatt, Baron Wyatt of Weeford (4 July 1918 – 7 December 1997) was a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster, close to the Queen Mother, Margaret Thatcher and Rupert Murdoch. For the last twenty years of his life, he ...

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, * ''Georgian Model Farms: A Study of Decorative and Model Farm Buildings in the Age of Improvement, 1700–1846'' (1982) Oxford University Press . * ''Royal Residences'' (Macdonald 1982) * ''The Dukes of Norfolk'' (1983 & 1995) . * ''The Latest Country Houses: 1945–83'' (1984) The Bodley Head Ltd, . * ''The New Georgian Handbook''. JMR & Alexandra Artley (Harpers 1985) * ''Arundel's Remembrances'' (1987). * ''Cardinal Consalvi 1757–1824'' (1987)

The Bodley Head The Bodley Head is an English book publishing imprint of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1887 by John Lane and Elkin Mathews, The Bodley Head existed as an independent entity or as part of multiple consortia until it was acquired by Random ...

. * ''The Oxford Guide to Heraldry'' (1988) John Martin Robinson & Thomas Woodcock, Oxford University Press, . * ''The Country House at War'' (1989) The Bodley Head Ltd, , . * ''The English Country Estate'' (Century Hutchinson/ National Trust 1988) * ''Chatto Curiosities - Heraldry'' (Chatto & Windus 1989) * ''Temples of Delight: Stowe Landscape Gardens'' (1990) , . * ''A Guide to the Country Houses of the North West'' (1991) Constable, . * ''Arundel Castle'' (1994). * ''Treasures of English Churches'' (Sinclair Stevenson 1995) * ''Uppark Restored''. JMR & Christopher Rowell (National Trust 1996) * ''The National Trust Guide to Heraldry''. JMR & Thomas Woodcock (National Trust 1999) * '' Francis Johnson Architect'' (2001) J. M. Robinson & David Neave, Oblong Creative, . * ''The Staffords'' (Phillimore 2002) * ''Buckingham Palace. The Official Illustrated History'' (2004) * ''Windsor Castle. The Official Illustrated History'' (2004) * ''The Regency Country House'' (2005) * ''The Regency Country House'' (2005)

Aurum Press The Quarto Group is a global illustrated book publishing group founded in 1976. It is domiciled in the United States and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Quarto creates and sells illustrated books for adults and children, across 50 countri ...

, . * ''Grass Seed in June – The Making of an Architectural Historian'' (autobiography) (2006) Michael Russell (Publishing) Ltd, . * ''Arundel Castle'' (2011). * ''Felling the Ancient Oaks: How England Lost its Great Country Estates'' (2011) Aurum Press Ltd, . * ''James Wyatt. Architect to George III'' (Yale 2013) * ''Requisitioned: The British Country House in the Second World War'' (2014) Aurum Press * ''The

Travellers Club The Travellers Club is a private gentlemen's club situated at 106 Pall Mall in London, United Kingdom. It is the oldest of the surviving Pall Mall clubs, established in 1819, and is one of the most exclusive. It was described as "the quintess ...

: A Bicentennial History'' (2018) *''Holland Blind Twilight, autobiography second volume (2021)'' * ''Wilton House (Rizzoli in 2021)'' *''The Sixth Duke of Devonshire’s handbook to Chatsworth (2022]'' *''History of the Beefsteak Club (2023)'' ;Magazine articles * "A. D. Profile 22: Hawksmoor's Christ Church, Spitalfields" - contributor - ''

Architectural Design Building design, also called architectural design, refers to the broadly based architectural, engineering and technical applications to the design of buildings. All building projects require the services of a building designer, typically a licen ...

'', 7/1979 C. Amery, R. W. Chitham, K. Downes, M. Gillingham, J. Kenworthy-Browne, R. A. Beddard, J. M. Robinson, G. Stamp. pp. 1–32. * "Cameron discoveries" in: ''

Architectural Review ''The Architectural Review'' is a monthly international architectural magazine. It has been published in London since 1896. Its articles cover the built environment – which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism � ...

'', 1982, 1030. J. M. Robinson, D. Shvidkovsky. pp. 42–51 – includes bibliographical references. * "The Signior" in: ''AA-Files'', 1985, 8 J. M. Robinson. pp. 108–109 – book review. * "In pursuit of excellence" in: '' Country Life'', 1979, 4277 J. M. Robinson. pp. 2113–2114. * "Classical quartet: new country houses" in: ''Country Life'', 35/1990 J. M. Robinson. pp. 74–77. * "No. 20 St James's Square, London" in: ''Country Life'', 44/1989 J. M. Robinson pp. 152–157. * "Pavilions to pleasure" in: ''Country Life'', 14/1989 K. Powell, J. Glancey, J. M. Robinson. pp. 132–133. * "Scraping the ceiling" in: ''Country Life'', 16/1989 J. M. Robinson. pp. 192–193.

Arms

References

External links

Full text of doctoral thesis, "Samuel Wyatt, architect"
via Oxford Research Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, John Martin 1948 births People educated at Fort Augustus Abbey Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford British architectural historians English officers of arms Living people Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London English Roman Catholics Knights of Malta Writers from Preston, Lancashire English architecture writers Country Life (magazine) people