Thompson, M(ichael) W(elman) 1928-
THOMPSON, M(ichael) W(elman) 1928-
PERSONAL: Born August 13, 1928, in London, England; son of Hartley (a merchant) and Lyla (Welman) Thompson; married Ann Elizabeth Crockatt (a musician), October 10, 1964; children: Elizabeth. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Pembroke College, Cambridge, M.A., 1952, Ph.D., 1953. Politics: "Variable, mainly conservative." Religion: Church of England.
ADDRESSES: Home—2 Offa Lea, Newton, Cambridge CB2 5PW, England. E-mail—michaelandann@offalea.fsnct.co.uk.
CAREER: Ministry of Works, Department of the Environment, Welsh Office, Cardiff, Wales, inspector of ancient monuments and head of ancient monuments branch in Wales, 1974-84; writer, 1984—. Military service: British Army, 1946-48; became sergeant.
MEMBER: Prehistoric Society (past vice-president), Society for Medieval Archaeology (president, 1991-95), Society of Antiquaries of London (fellow), Cambridge Antiquarian Society (president, 1990-92).
WRITINGS:
Farnham Castle, Surrey, H.M.S.O. (London, England), 1961.
Tattershall Castle, Lincolnshire, National Trust (London, England), 1974.
Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire, H.M.S.O. (London, England), 1977.
General Pitt-Rivers, Moonraker Press (Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, England), 1977.
Ruins: Their Preservation and Display, British Museum Publications (London, England), 1981.
(Editor) The Journeys of Sir Richard Colt Hoare through Wales and England, Alan Sutton (Stroud, Gloucestershire, England), 1983.
The Decline of the Castle, Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, England), 1988.
The Cambridge Antiquarian Society, 1890-1990, Cambridge Antiquarian Society (Cambridge, England), 1990.
The Rise of the Castle, Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, England), 1991.
The Medieval Hall: The Basis of Secular Domestic Life, 600-1600 A.D., Scolar Press (Aldershot, England), 1995.
Medieval Bishops' Houses in England and Wales, Ashgate Publishing (Aldershot, England), 1998.
Cloister, Abbot, and Precinct in Medieval Monasteries, Tempus (Stroud, Gloucestershire, England), 2001.
Author of guide books on English castles. Contributor to archaeology journals. Review editor, Medieval Archaeology, 1964-73.
TRANSLATOR
Aleksandr Mongait, Archaeology in the U.S.S.R., Penguin (New York, NY), 1961.
S. A. Semenov, Prehistoric Technology, Barnes & Noble (New York, NY), 1964.
Sergei Rudenko, Frozen Tombs of Siberia, J. M. Dent (London, England), 1970.
A. V. Artsikhovsky and B. A. Kolchin, Novgorod the Great, Evelyn, Adams & Mackay (London, England), 1967.
SIDELIGHTS: M. W. Thompson once told CA: "After earning a doctorate at Cambridge, concerned with mesolithic cultures in Spain, I decided the more active life of government preservation work was more suited to my temperament. The nature of my work, preserving castles and abbeys, promoted an interest that led to my books. The Russian translations were the result of a publisher's invitation and my own interest in the subjects chosen. Colt Hoare's diaries, surviving at the Cardiff Public Library, prompted me to edit his travels.
"My writings have not followed a planned course, but have been responses to things I have encountered. I found the notebooks kept by Pitt-Rivers on his travels, and I found the travel journals of Sir Richard Colt Hoare. Such people, whose main achievements are outside their professions, arouse my interest.
"In the last few years I have returned to my professional interests in medieval buildings. Surprisingly, in certain subjects like the hall, people hold strong views, and I have found myself caught up in controversies that may have whetted my appetite! I have also developed a taste for monasteries and have written about them."
Recently Thompson added: "I have found that my writing has been helped by foreign travel, usually eastward as far as China. Recently trips to Latin America (Peru, Guatemala, Mexico) have allowed me to see exciting Inca, Maya, and Aztec remains."