T. D. Kendrick
Thomas Downing Kendrick entered the world on the 1st of April 1895 in Handsworth, a suburb of Birmingham. His father Thomas H. Kendrick died when he was seven years old. Fanny Susan, his mother, remarried Prebendary Sowter in 1905. He attended Charterhouse School before spending one year at Oriel College, Oxford. The outbreak of World War I interrupted his studies. He joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in 1914 and served in France. A wound sustained during combat did not stop his rise through the ranks. He achieved the rank of captain while still young. Resuming his education after the war ended, he returned to Oxford in 1918. He graduated with an anthropology degree in 1919. He earned a Master of Arts in the same field by 1920.
Kendrick secured a position as an assistant in the British and Medieval Antiquities Department of the British Museum in 1922. His research experience proved vital for this appointment. He initially specialized in prehistoric art before shifting focus. During the 1930s he turned his attention to Viking and Anglo-Saxon art. Two survey volumes on these topics became standard references for decades. He was appointed assistant keeper at the museum in 1928. In 1938 he became keeper of the British and Medieval Antiquities Department. By 1950 Kendrick held the dual role of director and principal librarian. He remained in that powerful position until retiring in 1959. His belief in cleaning objects led to numerous bronze artifacts being overcleaned within his department.
A specific moment defined his scholarly legacy during the early 1930s. Kendrick coined the term henge in 1932 to describe ceremonial monuments. These structures were defined by ditches and banks of soil rather than standing stones. This definition remains central to modern archaeology today. He investigated megaliths in the Channel Islands while staying at Oxford. His work included The Archaeology of the Channel Islands published between 1928 and 1938. Other significant publications followed including A History of the Vikings released in 1930. Anglo-Saxon Art to A.D. 900 appeared in 1938 as well. Late Saxon and Viking art arrived in 1949. His research established him as a leading authority on prehistoric Britain.
Kendrick championed Victorian aesthetics with help from notable cultural figures. Poet John Betjeman assisted him in this advocacy effort. Painter John Piper also collaborated closely with the museum director. Their combined efforts promoted appreciation for an often overlooked era of British design. Kendrick's notes on Victorian stained glass became essential resources. Nikolaus Pevsner used these notes for his Buildings of England series. That series is now known as the Pevsner Architectural Guides. One specific reference appears in The Buildings of England: Cornwall published in 1951. It cites page 9 regarding Kendrick's contributions. These collaborations helped reshape public perception of Victorian culture during the mid-20th century.
Honour came to Kendrick through appointment as Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. This recognition occurred within the 1951 Birthday Honours list. He continued working at the museum until retirement in 1959. Thomas Downing Kendrick died on the 2nd of November 1979 in Dorchester. His final years were spent away from active administrative duties. He had previously authored works like The Lisbon Earthquake in 1956. St. James in Spain followed in 1960. Great Love for Icarus appeared in 1962 as a semi-autobiographical novel. Mary of Agreda: the life and legend of a Spanish nun was published in 1967. These writings reflected interests beyond standard archaeological catalogues.
Kendrick married pianist Ellen Martha Kiek in 1922 after meeting her at university. They had one daughter named Frances. Ellen died in 1955 leaving him widowed. He subsequently married Katherine Elizabeth Wrigley who was a family friend. A different relationship began in the late 1930s involving Elizabeth Senior. She was fourteen years younger than Kendrick himself. Their affair lasted six years before ending abruptly. In 1941 Senior gave birth to a daughter named Sally Maud Senior. Elizabeth was killed by an air raid during the Blitz shortly after the child's birth. An ARP warden found baby Sally alive under wreckage of their home. She grew up unaware that Uncle Tom Kendrick was actually her father. Only later did she discover this truth after having children of her own. During the early 1950s Kendrick also maintained a relationship with novelist Barbara Pym.
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Common questions
When was Thomas Downing Kendrick born and where did he grow up?
Thomas Downing Kendrick entered the world on the 1st of April 1895 in Handsworth, a suburb of Birmingham. His father died when he was seven years old.
What role did Thomas Downing Kendrick hold at the British Museum during his career?
Thomas Downing Kendrick became keeper of the British and Medieval Antiquities Department in 1938. He held the dual role of director and principal librarian by 1950 until retiring in 1959.
Who coined the term henge and what year did this definition emerge?
Thomas Downing Kendrick coined the term henge in 1932 to describe ceremonial monuments defined by ditches and banks of soil rather than standing stones. This definition remains central to modern archaeology today.
Which notable figures collaborated with Thomas Downing Kendrick on Victorian aesthetics?
Poet John Betjeman assisted Thomas Downing Kendrick in advocating for Victorian aesthetics while painter John Piper also collaborated closely with him. Their combined efforts promoted appreciation for an often overlooked era of British design.
When did Thomas Downing Kendrick die and where did he pass away?
Thomas Downing Kendrick died on the 2nd of November 1979 in Dorchester. His final years were spent away from active administrative duties.