William Hadden Whyte, (born 1975) is a British academic historian specialising in the architecture of British churches, schools and universities. Since 2014, he has been Professor of Social and Architectural History at 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 ...

, and he is Vice-President of

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

, as of 2018.

Biography

Born in 1975, William Hadden Whyte''Crockford's Clerical Directory 2016–17'' (London: Church House Publishing, 2016), p. 963. is the son of Bill and Marian Whyte.William Whyte, ''Unlocking the Church: The Lost Secrets of Victorian Sacred Space'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017), p. x. He went up to the

, where he completed his undergraduate studies at

Wadham College Wadham College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy Wadham, a ...

(matriculating in 1994); in his third and final year, he completed his undergraduate thesis on the Victorian architect T. G. Jackson, who carried out substantial work at the college (Whyte later told ''

The Oxford Mail ''Oxford Mail'' is a daily tabloid newspaper in Oxford, England, owned by Newsquest. It is published six days a week. It is a sister paper to the weekly tabloid ''The Oxford Times''. History The ''Oxford Mail'' was founded in 1928 by MP Fran ...

'' that he was inspired by Jackson's portrait in Wadham's hall). Whyte came second in his year for his undergraduate degree in 1997 (placing him ''proxime accessit'' for the Gibbs Prize in History) and was jointly awarded the University's Arnold Modern History Prize. Whyte then completed a

Master of Studies A Master of Studies or Master in Studies (M.St., MSt, or MStud; ) is the holder of a postgraduate degree awarded by the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of St Andrews, the Australian National University, the University of ...

(MSt) degree in 1998, and a

Doctor of Philosophy 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 Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(DPhil) degree at the University of Oxford; his doctorate was awarded in 2002 for his

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 ...

entitled "Oxford Jackson: architecture, education, status and style, 1835–1924". Whyte subsequently became a Tutor and Fellow at

, where he is Vice-President and Acting President as of 2018. He is also 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) and of the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

(FSA)."Reverend Professor William Whyte"
''St John's College, Oxford''. Retrieved 23 February 2018. In 2014, the University of Oxford awarded him the title of Professor of Social and Architectural History, He has been President of the Oxford Preservation Trust since 2017, and in 2023 was appointed Chair of English Heritage’s Blue Plaques Panel. He is also Chairman of the

Oxford Historical Society The Oxford Historical Society (OHS) is a text publication society concerned with the history of the city of Oxford and the surrounding area in the historic county of Oxfordshire in southern England. History The Oxford Historical Society was ...

and the

Victoria County History The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History (VCH), is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of Englan ...

of Oxfordshire. Whyte completed the St Albans and Oxford Ministry Course in 2003, and in 2006 was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

into the

Anglican church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

. He served as a priest at

Kidlington Kidlington is a village and civil parish in the Cherwell district of Oxfordshire, England. It is in-between the River Cherwell and Oxford Canal, north of Oxford and south-west of Bicester. It had a population of 13,600 at the 2021 Census. ...

, and in 2017 he became an Associate Minister of St Peter's,

Wolvercote Wolvercote is a village in the Oxford district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is about northwest of the city centre, on the northern edge of Wolvercote Common, which is itself north of Port Meadow and adjoins the River Thames. H ...

."Clergy"
''St Peter's Wolvercote''. Retrieved 23 February 2018. As Senior Responsible Owner and chair of the project board, Whyte is overseeing the construction of the

Stephen A. Schwarzman Stephen Allen Schwarzman (born February 14, 1947) is an American businessman. He is the chairman and CEO of the Blackstone Group, a global private equity firm he established in 1985 with Peter G. Peterson. Schwarzman was chairman of President Do ...

Centre for the Humanities at the University of Oxford, the university's largest ever capital project. As of 2024 he also sits on the Heritage Committee of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

as an external member. He is married to the historian Dr Zoë Waxman, daughter of Dennis and Carole Waxman; Zoë is an associate at the University of Oxford's Oriental Institute and is a specialist on gender and

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

, especially women in the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. Whyte and his wife have two sons.

Research

Whyte's research has centered on the constructed and natural surroundings, and their role in shaping narratives regarding contemporary British and European history. He has extensively studied the architecture of schools, universities, and churches. His publications include ''Oxford Jackson: Architecture, Education, Status, and Style 1835–1924'' (

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 ...

, 2006), ''Redefining Christian Britain Post-1945 Perspectives'' (co-authored with Jane Garnett, Matthew Grimley and Alana Harris;

SCM Press SCM Press is a British publisher of theology, originally linked to the Student Christian Movement. The company was purchased by Hymns Ancient and Modern in 1997. In 2018, ''Church Times'' reported that 100 titles from SCM Press and Canterbury ...

, 2007), ''Nationalism and the Reshaping of Urban Communities in Europe, 1848-1914'' (co-edited with Olive Zimmer;

Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains offi ...

, 2011), ''Classes, Cultures, and Politics: Essays on British History for Ross McKibbin'' (co-edited with Clare Griffiths and J. J. Nott; Oxford University Press, 2011), ''The Established Church: Past, Present and Future'' (co-edited with Mark Chapman; T&T Clark, 2011), ''Redbrick: A Social and Architectural History of Britain's Civic Universities'' (Oxford University Press, 2015), and ''Unlocking the Church: The Lost Secrets of Victorian Sacred Space'' (Oxford University Press, 2017)."Professor William Whyte: List of Publications"
''University of Oxford''. Retrieved 23 February 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whyte, William (historian) Living people 1975 births 21st-century British historians British architectural historians Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Fellows of St John's College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Contributors to the Victoria County History 21st-century British Anglican priests Historians of the University of Oxford