Robert 'Bob' Ashton,

FRHistS The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

(21 July 19249 February 2013) was a British historian specialising in

early modern The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

England. A leading authority on the

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...

, he was Professor of English history at 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 ...

. In addition, at various points in his academic career, he lectured at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, and the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

Early life

Ashton was born on 21 July 1924. He was educated at

Magdalen College School, Oxford Magdalen College School (MCS) is a private day school in the British public school tradition located in Oxford, England, for boys aged seven to eighteen and for girls in the sixth form (i.e. ages sixteen to eighteen). It was founded by Willia ...

, an all boys

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. He joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

in 1943. After the end 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 ...

, he left the RAF in 1946. He attended University College, Southampton the predecessor to the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

. He graduated with a first class Bachelor of Arts (BA) in History. He went on to study at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

under R. H. Tawney. His

doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

was on the subject of the early Stuart Monarchs.

Academic career

In 1953, Ashton joined the

where he lectured in economic history. His first book ''The Crown and the money market, 1603–1640'', concerning borrowing under the first two monarchs of the

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 unti ...

and

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...

, was published in 1960. In 1962, he was awarded a visiting chair at the

. When the

opened in 1963, he was appointed the founding Professor of English history. He was appointed Dean of the School of English Studies in 1964, after

Ian Watt Ian Watt (9 March 1917 – 13 December 1999) was a literary critic, literary historian and professor of English at Stanford University. Biography Born 9 March 1917, in Windermere, Westmorland, in England, Watt was educated at the Dover County S ...

moved on, serving until 1967. Under his direction,

American studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, History of the United States, history, Society of the United States, society, and Culture of the Unit ...

was added to the school as part of his commitment to

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...

study. His was twice awarded a visiting fellowship at

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...

. He gave the

Ford Lectures The Ford Lectures or the James Ford Lectures in British History, are an annual series of public lectures held at the University of Oxford on the subject of English or British history. They are usually devoted to a particular historical theme an ...

at the

in 1982. He retired in 1988. He was president of the Norfolk and Norwich Branch of the

Historical Association The Historical Association is a membership organisation of historians and scholars founded in 1906 and based in London. Its goals are to support "the study and enjoyment of history at all levels by creating an environment that promotes lifelong lea ...

. He served three times on the Council of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

, on the last occasion as its vice-president.

Later life

Following his retirement, Ashton remained active as a scholar. He published his last book in 1994 and gave his final lecture in 2002 at the Norfolk and Norwich branch of the Historical Association. He died on 9 February 2013. His funeral service was held at St Michael's Church, Braydeston, on 20 February 2013.

Personal life

Ashton was a devout Christian and member of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. He served as

churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion, Lutheran Churches or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' mem ...

at Braydeston Church,

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

for more than 30 years. He lived at the Manor House,

Brundall Brundall is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Brundall is located west of Acle and east of Norwich. History Brundall's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and likely derives from the Old English for a small area of dry ...

, where coincidentally the English Historian Lord Blake was born. He married Margaret Alice Sedgwick in 1946. Together they had two daughters, Rosalind and Celia. His wife predeceased him, dying in 2010.

Honours

In 1960, Ashton was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Historical Society 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 or professional societies, the term refers ...

(FRHistS).

References

External links

Obituary – The IndependentObituary – The Times
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashton, Robert 1924 births People educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Alumni of the University of Southampton Alumni of the London School of Economics British economic historians Academics of the University of Nottingham University of California, Berkeley College of Letters and Science faculty Academics of the University of East Anglia British Anglicans 2013 deaths Fellows of the Royal Historical Society People from Brundall