Mark Bence-Jones
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Mark Adayre Bence-Jones (29 May 1930 – 12 April 2010) was a London-born writer, noted mainly for his books on Irish architecture, the British aristocracy and the
British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...
. He regarded himself as being both Irish and English, seeing no contradiction in these statements of nationality.''Daily Telegraph'' Obituaries; Mark Bence-Jones
30 April 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2010


Life and works


Early life

Bence-Jones was the son of Colonel Philip Reginald Bence-Jones, who was the head of an engineering school in
Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
, India.Mark Bence-Jones
''The Times'' obituary column, 24 April 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010
His mother was half-French and half-English, and had been brought up in
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
, Egypt. Bence-Jones was born in London, in 1930,Mark Bence-Jones: writer Mark Bence-Jones left a stamp on history with invaluable works on the landed gentry
Independent.ie, 25 April 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010
but most of his childhood was spent in India, and plans for his education in England were curtailed by the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Following the war, the family moved to Ireland, from where they had originally come, the ancestral home had been Lisselane in
County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...
, which had left family ownership in the early 1930s. They bought a decaying country house called ''Glenville Park'', located near
Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...
. Bence-Jones completed his schooling at
Ampleforth College Ampleforth College is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding and day school in the English Public school (United Kingdom), public school tradition. It opened in 1803 as a boys' school. It is near the villa ...
, and went on to study history at
Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...
, then agriculture at the
Royal Agricultural College The Royal Agricultural University (RAU), formerly the Royal Agricultural College, is a public university in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England. Established in 1845, it was the first agricultural college in the English-speaking world. ...
, at
Cirencester Cirencester ( , ; see #Pronunciation, below for more variations) is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames. It is the List of ...
, with the intention of running the family's estate in Ireland.


Works

Bence-Jones is best known for his authorship of ''Burke's Guide to Country Houses Volume 1: Ireland'' (1978). This was an ambitious work, trying to record the architecture of all the Irish country houses, including those that were, by then, lost or ruined. He made copious use of photographs and family albums in private ownership. He also wrote three books about India, ''Palaces of the Raj'' (1973), ''The Viceroys of India'' (1982) and ''Clive of India'' (1987). The first of these is believed to be the first book to give serious academic consideration to the subject of
British architecture in India Indian architecture is rooted in the history, culture, and religion of India. Among several architectural styles and traditions, the best-known include the many varieties of Hindu temple architecture and Indo-Islamic architecture, especially ...
, He was the consultant editor for Burke's ''Irish Family Records, 1973–76''. He also tried his hand at writing novels: three comedies of upper-class life in Rome, London and Ireland. One of these received an enthusiastic review from
John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman, (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architect ...
, but none remain in print.


Personal life

In 1965, he was married to Gillian Enid Pretyman, granddaughter of the Conservative politician
Ernest George Pretyman Colonel Ernest George Pretyman, (13 November 1859 – 26 November 1931), known as E. G. Pretyman, was a British Conservative politician and soldier. Background and education Born on 13 November 1859 and christened on 1 January 1860 at Great Ca ...
and author of a collection of poems: ''Ostrich Creek'', published in 1999.Mary Leland: ''The lie of the land: journeys through literary Cork'', Cork University Press, 1999. , . p.156 They had a son and two daughters. Bence-Jones was a devout Catholic, serving, at one time, as Chancellor of the Irish Association of the Knights of Malta (see
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 attending the
Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a ...
pilgrimage. In later years, ill health prevented him from finishing a biography of his friend, the novelist
Elizabeth Bowen Elizabeth Dorothea Cole Bowen ( ; 7 June 1899 – 22 February 1973) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish novelist and short story writer notable for her books about "The Big House in Ireland, the Big House" of Irish Landed gentry, landed ...
. It also limited his travelling, and he gave the house at Glenville to his younger daughter. Bence-Jones died in hospital in April 2010.


Film media

Bence-Jones was interviewed and appeared in the documentary film ''The Raj In The Rain'' by Trust Films, filmed over ten years and released in 2012 (120 minutes run time), screened on
RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
in 2013, with the Directors Cut DVD released in 2015.


List of major works


Non-fiction

*Mark Bence-Jones, ''The Remarkable Irish'', D. McKay Co., 1966 *Mark Bence-Jones, ''Palaces of the Raj: Magnificence and Misery of the Lord Sahibs'', Allen and Unwin, 1973. , *Mark Bence-Jones, ''Clive of India'', Constable, 1974 *Mark Bence-Jones, ''The Cavaliers'', Constable, 1976 *Mark Bence-Jones, ''Burke's Guide to Country Houses: Ireland. Volume 1 of Burke's and Savills Guide to Country Houses'', Burke's Peerage, 1978. Revised edition: ''A Guide to Irish Country Houses'', Constable, 1988. Second revised edition, 1990, reprinted 1996 *Mark Bence-Jones, Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, ''The British Aristocracy'', Constable, 1979 *Mark Bence-Jones, ''The Viceroys of India'', Constable, 1982 *Mark Bence-Jones, ''Great English Homes: Ancestral Homes of England and Wales and the People Who Lived in Them'', British Heritage Press, 1984. , *Mark Bence-Jones, ''Twilight of the Ascendancy'', Constable, 1987 *Mark Bence-Jones, ''The Catholic Families'', Constable, 1992


Fiction

*Mark Bence-Jones, ''All a Nonsense'', Peter Davies, 1957 *Mark Bence-Jones, ''Paradise Escaped'', Davies, 1958 *Mark Bence-Jones, ''Nothing in the City'', Sidgwick & Jackson, 1965


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bence-Jones, Mark 1930 births 2010 deaths Writers from London Irish writers English male writers Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge People educated at Ampleforth College