Paul Rowley Atterbury (born 8 April 1945) is a British

antiques An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...

expert, known for his many appearances since 1979 on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

TV programme ''

Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people ( ...

.'' He specialises in the art, architecture, design and decorative arts of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Biography

He is the oldest son of Rowley Atterbury and puppeteer

Audrey Atterbury Audrey Selma Atterbury (19 April 1921 – 8 April 1997) was a British puppeteer best known for her work on the 1950s pioneering BBC children's series '' Andy Pandy''. Biography Born in London in 1921 as Audrey Holman, during World War II she ...

(née Holman), who worked on the 1950s children's ''

Watch With Mother ''Watch with Mother'' was a cycle of children's programmes created by Freda Lingstrom and Maria Bird. Broadcast by BBC Television from 1952 until 1975, it was the first BBC television series aimed specifically at tiny tots to pre-school childr ...

'' programme ''

Andy Pandy ''Andy Pandy'' is a British children's television series that aired on BBC Television in 1950. Originally live, a series of 26 filmed programmes was shown until 1970, when a new series of 13 episodes was made. This series was the basis for a co ...

'' for the

and who, it is claimed, based the character's appearance on that of her son. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

(BA, 1972). Originally training as a graphic designer, he later went on to work for Sotheby Publications. He became an historical advisor for

Royal Doulton Royal Doulton is an English ceramic and home accessories manufacturer that was founded in 1815. Operating originally in Vauxhall, London, and later moving to Lambeth, in 1882 it opened a factory in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, in the centre of Engl ...

and was the editor of ''Connoisseur'' magazine from 1980 to 1981. Since 1981, Atterbury has been a

freelance writer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

, lecturer, broadcaster and exhibition curator. He most frequently curates for the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

in London, his exhibitions there including "

Pugin Pugin most commonly refers to Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812–1852), an English architect and designer. Members of his family include: * Augustus Charles Pugin Augustus Charles Pugin (born Auguste-Charles Pugin; 1762 – 19 Decem ...

: a Gothic Passion" (1994) and "Inventing New Britain: the Victorian Vision" (2001). Atterbury has written or edited over 30 books, mostly on

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

s. He has published books of old postcards showing

Eype Eype ( ) is a small village in southwest Dorset, England, situated southwest of Bridport. It lies on the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site on the English Channel and is within the Civil parishes in England, civil parish of Symondsbury. Eype m ...

and West Bay, two

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

villages. He is also known for his travel writing, and has written books on railways and canals. When

British Waterways British Waterways, often shortened to BW, was a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom. It served as the navigation authority for the majority of canals and a number of rivers and docks in England, Scotlan ...

commissioned Robert Nicholson Publications to produce a series of guides to their waterways in the early 1970s, Atterbury and Andrew Darwin were supplied with a chartered boat and a student to drive it, in which they toured the canal network, producing the material for what became the first edition of the

Nicholson Guides The Nicholson Guides are a set of books originally published by Robert Nicholson Publications, then jointly by Bartholomew and the Ordnance Survey, and now by HarperCollins, as guides to the navigable and un-navigable waterways of England and W ...

. Until 2003, Atterbury was chairman of the

Little Angel Theatre Little Angel Theatre is a puppet theatre for children and their families based in the London Borough of Islington. The 100-seat theatre, a former temperance hall, was opened on 24 November 1961 by founders John and Lyndie Wright, with a perfor ...

puppet theatre in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

, north London. He has toured the country with his stage show 'Have You Had it Long Madam?' with fellow ''Antiques Roadshow'' expert Hilary Kay; the show visited Australia in 2009. In 2007, Atterbury appeared on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

series ''

Time Team ''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4, Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned in 2022 on online platforms YouTube and Patreon. Created by television produce ...

'' talking about

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 1812 – 14 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival architecture ...

, and in 2009 he narrated

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

's documentary ''The Last Days of the Liners'' which examined how, in the years following

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 ...

, countries competed to launch the most magnificent passenger ships on the great ocean routes. He is a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

. The 1978 rescue of the

Gilbert Bayes Gilbert William Bayes (4 April 1872 – 10 July 1953) was an English sculptor. His art works varied in scale from medals to large architectural clocks, monuments and equestrian statues and he was also a designer of some note, creating chess piec ...

Doulton House Frieze during demolition of the former

Pottery premises in the

Albert Embankment Albert Embankment is part of the river bank on the south side of the River Thames in Central London. It stretches approximately one mile (1.6 km) northward from Vauxhall Bridge to Westminster Bridge, and is located in the London Borough ...

, Lambeth, was only made possible by the efforts of Atterbury. Atterbury is the owner of the only remaining Teddy puppet from the television series ''

'' that is not kept as part of a museum collection; it was originally a gift to his mother. He lives in Weymouth in Dorset with his second wife, Chrissie, whom he married in 2002.Why Paul Atterbury from Antiques Roadshow loves Dorset – ''Dorset Magazine'' 20 December 2009
/ref>

Selected publications

* 1994: ''Pugin: a Gothic Passion''. New Haven: Yale University Press (as co-editor) * 2001: ''Victorians at Home and Abroad''. London: V & A Publications. (With

Suzanne Fagence Cooper Suzanne Elizabeth Fagence Cooper is a British non-fiction writer who has written extensively on the Pre-Raphaelites and Victorian women. Education and career Fagence Cooper received a BA in history from University of Oxford and spent 12 years as ...

) * 2002: ''Poole Pottery: Carter and Co. and Their Successors 1873–2002''. Richard Dennis * 2006: ''Branch Line Britain: A Nostalgic Journey Celebrating a Golden Age''. Newton Abbot: David & Charles (2006) * 2007: ''Along Lost Lines''. Newton Abbot: David & Charles * 2007: ''Victorian House Style Handbook''. Newton Abbot: David & Charles (as editor) * 2008: ''Tickets Please: A Nostalgic Journey Through Railway Station Life''. Newton Abbot: David & Charles * 2008: ''Moorcroft: a Guide to Moorcroft Pottery 1897–1993''. Richard Dennis * 2009: ''All Change!'' (AA Illustrated Reference). Automobile Association * 2013: ''Mapping Britain's Lost Branch Lines''. David & Charles

References

External links

*
Atterbury on Easy SpeakAtterbury on Chateaucoye.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atterbury, Paul 1945 births Living people People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of the University of East Anglia English antiques experts English television presenters Antiques Roadshow