Robin James Edwin Bush (12 March 1943 – 22 June 2010) was the resident

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

for the first nine series of

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 ...

'', appearing in 39 episodes between 1994 and 2003. He also presented eight episodes of ''

Time Team Extra ''Time Team Extra'' is a British television series that aired on Channel 4 in 1998. Presented by Robin Bush, it was a companion programme to the archaeology series ''Time Team'', that first aired on Channel 4 in 1994. ''Time Team Extra'' is a ...

'' in 1998. For twelve years Bush was a Liberal Democrat member of

Somerset County Council Somerset ( , ), archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to ...

and served as chairman of the council from 2001 until 2005. He also held other positions in public life.

Early life

Bush was born in Hayes, Middlesex. His father was originally a schoolmaster and then a training college lecturer in

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

. Bush attended the private Exeter School in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

between 1950 and 1962, and it was here aged 13 that he first became interested in historical research while studying the school's history. His first two research papers were published by

the Devonshire Association The Devonshire Association (DA) is a learned society founded in 1862 by William Pengelly and modelled on the British Science Association, British Association, but concentrating on research subjects linked to Devon in the fields of science, litera ...

before he left school.Channel 4 'Time Team' interview
/ref> He won a Trevelyan Scholarship, followed by a Stapledon Exhibition and later still a State Scholarship, to read

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

(1962–65), taking his BA in Modern History in 1965 and an MA in 1984. Among his contemporaries at Oxford were the poet

Craig Raine Craig Anthony Raine, FRSL (born 3 December 1944) is an English contemporary poet. Along with Christopher Reid, he is a pioneer of Martian poetry, a movement that expresses alienation with the world, society and objects. He was a fellow of New C ...

, the journalist

Tariq Ali Tariq Ali (;; born 21 October 1943) is a Pakistani-British political activist, writer, journalist, historian, filmmaker, and public intellectual. He is a member of the editorial committee of the ''New Left Review'' and ''Sin Permiso'', and co ...

, the Marquess of Hartington and the psephologist Professor

Ivor Crewe Sir Ivor Martin Crewe DL FAcSS (born 15 December 1945) is a former Master of University College, Oxford, and President of the Academy of Social Sciences. He was previously Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex and also a Professor in th ...

. A keen amateur actor, he also appeared on stage at the

Oxford Playhouse The Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F. G. M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. History The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road (Oxford), W ...

with

Monty Python Monty Python, also known as the Pythons, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy ser ...

actor

Terry Jones Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh actor, comedian, director, historian, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones a ...

Archivist and historian

In 1965 he was appointed assistant archivist at Surrey Record Office at

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

before moving to Somerset Record Office in 1967 where he spent the rest of his working life. From 1970 to 1978 Bush was assistant editor of the '' Somerset Victoria County History'', writing much of the content of three of its volumes. Later he returned to the Record Office as Deputy County Archivist until taking early retirement in 1993. Bush wrote his first book in 1977, and produced volumes on the history of

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort situated on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe, southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of settl ...

and

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, followed by a series of books on the county of

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. He researched emigration from the South West of England to

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

between 1620 and 1645, which led to the publication of three further books in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. Bush made six speaking tours to the United States, during one of which he met President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. In 1987 he explained Somerset's archives to HM the Queen and the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh, is a substantive title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not pr ...

. From 1984 to 1996 he had a weekly spot on

BBC Radio Bristol BBC Radio Bristol is the BBC's local radio station serving the cities of Bristol and Bath and the unitary authorities of Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC ...

and then BBC Somerset, on which he told stories of local history and folklore.

Television appearances

Bush became involved with the ''

'' programmes through his long friendship with

Mick Aston Michael Antony Aston (1 July 1946 – 24 June 2013) was an English archaeologist who specialised in Early Medieval landscape archaeology. Over the course of his career, he lectured at both the University of Bristol and University of Oxford and ...

when Aston was Somerset's first county field

archaeologist 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, ...

. Aston had previously discussed the idea of devising an archaeological television programme with

Tony Robinson Sir Anthony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, author, broadcaster, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television sitcom ''Blackadder'' and has presented many historical documentaries, including the Channel ...

, and a pilot episode was set up. Through helping to devise the programme's format with producer Tim Taylor, Bush was invited to take part in the pilot which was shot at

Dorchester-on-Thames Dorchester on Thames is a historic village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire, England, located about 9 miles (14 km) southeast of Oxford at the confluence of the River Thames and River Thame. The village has evidence of prehi ...

in October 1992. Although the pilot programme was never screened, the idea was good enough to persuade Channel 4 to commission a four programme series of ''Time Team'', which was filmed in 1993 and broadcast the following year. Bush also appeared in

's series '' Joe Public'', for which he researched the loss of a hat jewel by

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

. Bush appeared regularly as resident historian on ''Revealing Secrets'' (55 episodes) for Multi Media, transmitted on Channel 4 on weekdays from 26 March to 4 July 2001. As a solo presenter Bush filmed a series of six half-hour programmes entitled ''The West at War'', broadcast in 2005, which examined the impact of war on the South West of England from

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

times to the present day for

ITV Westcountry ITV Westcountry, formerly known as Westcountry Television and Carlton Westcountry, was the ITV franchise holder for the South West of England, covering Cornwall, Devon, Isles of Scilly, southern and western Somerset and western Dorset. The co ...

Personal life

Bush lived in Taunton with his wife, Hilary Margaret Marshall, whom he married in 1993. By an earlier marriage to the late Iris Maude Reed he had two children and two grandchildren. He was Chairman of the

Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society The Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society was founded in 1849. The Society bought Taunton Castle in 1874, and leases it to Somerset County Council to house the Museum of Somerset. A substantial proportion of the items held by the Muse ...

(1983–84), then President of Taunton Amateur Operatic Society (TAOS), 1985–2009. He performed regularly in amateur dramas, musicals and grand opera productions throughout West Somerset, and in 1991, 1994 and 1997 he helped to judge the grand finals of the World Public Speaking and Debating Championships.

Political life

From May 1997 until June 2009 Bush served as a

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

member of

, serving as chairman of the council from 2001 until 2005. He was also vice chairman of the county's Information and Leisure Board (1998–2000) and vice chairman of the Community, Leisure and Information Review Committee (2000–2001), chairman of the Regulation (Planning) Committee (2005–07) and chairman of both the Somerset Cultural Forum and Somerset Cultural Executive (2003–09). Bush was vice chairman of the South West Museums Council (1998–2000) and served as a board member of Culture South West, Arts Council England South West and the South West Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. He was a member of the council and court of the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

and of the courts of the

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

and the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

. He was one of four patrons of Wessex Actors Company, with the

Marquess of Bath Marquess#United Kingdom, Marquess of Bath is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath, Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth. The Marquess holds the subsidiary titles Baron#Britain an ...

, Lord Tom King and the late

Ned Sherrin Edward George Sherrin (18 February 1931 – 1 October 2007) was an English broadcaster, author and stage director. He qualified as a barrister and then worked in independent television before joining the BBC. He appeared in a variety of r ...

, 2002 to 2010. Bush was also patron of Apple AM – Taunton Hospital Radio, which served the patients of Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, and has now been superseded by its evolutionary descendant, Apple FM, Taunton's Community Radio Station He was president of the Somerset Art Gallery Trust and the Somerset Youth Partnership, and vice president and trustee of the Somerset Community Foundation.

Death

Robin Bush died on 22 June 2010, aged 67, after a long period of illness. He is buried in the churchyard of St Nicholas's Church, Corfe, in Somerset.

Works

Books and monographs

*''Victoria County History of Somerset'': **(with R.W. Dunning) vol iii (Oxford University Press, 1974) **(with R.W. Dunning) vol iv (OUP, 1976) **(with R.W. Dunning and Mary Siraut) vol v (OUP, 1983) *''The Book of Taunton'' (Barracuda Books, 1977) *''The Book of Exmouth'' (Barracuda Books, 1978) *''The Book of Wellington'' (with Gillian Allen, Barracuda Books, 1983) *''Jeboult's Taunton'' (Barracuda Books, 1983) *''The Archaeology of Taunton'' ed. Peter Leach, four principal chapters by Robin Bush (Western Archaeological Trust, Excavation Monograph no.8, 1984), pp. 11–16, 59–63, 75–79, 104–106. *''The Story of the County Hotel'', Taunton (1987) *''Shields and Wall Plate Carving in the Church of St Mary'', Ashill (1987) *''A Taunton Diary, 1787–1987'' (Barracuda Books, 1988) *''The Story of Taunton Castle'' (Somerset Archaeological Society, 1988) *''Somerset, a Portrait in Colour'' (Dovecote Press, 1989) *''Somerset Stories'' (Dovecote Press, 1990) *''Your Somerset Family'' (Somerset County Council. 1992) *''Somerset, the Complete Guide'' (Dovecote Press, 1994) *''Somerset Villages'' (Dovecote Press, 1995) *''Search for the Passengers of the Mary and John'', 1630, ed. Burton Spear: :*vol 25 New Ancestral Discoveries – part 1 (Ohio, 1996) :*vol 26 New Ancestral Discoveries – part 2 (Ohio, 1997) :*vol 27 New Ancestral Discoveries – part 3 (Ohio, 1999) *''Somerset Bedside Book'' (Dovecote Press, 1997) *Chapter on 'The Age of Elegance' in ''Somerset: the Millennium Book'', ed. Tom Mayberry and Hilary Binding (Somerset Books, 1999) *''Aesop's Fables, A Choral Cycle'', verse libretto by Robin Bush, composer Douglas Coombes (Lindsay Music, 2001).

Papers in journals

*'The Rev John Lempriere, DD, in Devon' in ''Transactions of the Devonshire Association'', xciii (1961), pp. 228–249. *'Exeter Free Grammar School, 1633–1809' in ''Trans. of Devonsh. Assoc''. xciv (1962), pp. 363–410. *'Exeter during the Civil War and Interregnum' in ''Devon & Cornwall Notes & Queries'', xxix (1962–3) pp. 80–87, 102–09, 132–39, 171–76. *'George Passemer, a Devonshire Antiquary' in ''Devon & Cornwall N. & Q''. xxix (1964), pp. 241ff. *'Nettlecombe Court. 1. The Trevelyans and other residents' in ''Field Studies Journal'', iii/2 (1970), pp. 275–87. *'The Tudor Tavern, Fore Street, Taunton' in ''Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society'', cxix (1976), pp. 15–20. *'West Newton Manor Farm' n North Pethertonin ''Proc. Som. Arch. Nat. Hist. Soc.'' cxxiii (1980), pp. 55–64. *'Somerset, England, Records and American Descendants' in ''Connecticut Nutmegger'', vol 19 (1986), pp. 386–396. *'The Blake Ancestry of Elizabeth Saunders, wife of Henry Wolcott,' in ''Connecticut Nutmegger'', vol 22 (1989), pp. 11–12.

Recordings

*Four audiocassettes of lectures to the 'All American Conference' of the (USA) Federation of Genealogical Societies delivered at Fort Wayne, Indiana, published in the US by audiotapes.com (1991). *''An Archivist Abroad'' (FW-52). *''An Archivist's Casebook – The Pleasures and Pitfalls of English Genealogy'' (FW-93). *''Brought to Book – English Quarter Sessions and their Records'' (FW-232). *''Courts and Copyhold – the English Manor and its Records'' (FW-34) Double audiocassettes of Robin Bush retelling ''Tales of Old Somerset'' (1995), Halsgrove Productions, Tiverton, Devon. Compact Disc of ''Aesop's Fables, a Choral Cycle'', verse libretto by Robin Bush, composer Douglas Coombes' (Lindsay Music, 2001).

References

External links

Bush
on the ''

'' website
Bush on ''Time Team Live'' in 2001Detailed biography
on the 'Unofficial Time Team' website

in ''

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 ...

'' 24 June 2010
Obituary
in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' 7 July 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, Robin 1943 births 2010 deaths English historians English television presenters People educated at Exeter School Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford English archivists Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Members of Somerset County Council Time Team Historians of Somerset