Derek John Keene,FRHistS (27 December 1942–April 2021[1]), was an Englishurban historian. He was founding director of theCentre for Metropolitan History from 1987 to 2002 at theInstitute of Historical Research (IHR) and then Leverhulme Professor of Comparative Metropolitan History until retirement in 2008; since which he was Emeritus Professor of Metropolitan History and an honorary fellow of the IHR.
Born on 27 December 1942, Derek John Keene was the son of Charles Henry Keene and his wife Edith Anne (née Swanston). After attendingEaling Grammar School, he was educated atOriel College, Oxford, where he completed hisundergraduate anddoctoral studies; hisDPhil was awarded in 1972 for histhesis "Some aspects of the history, topography and archaeology of the north eastern part of the medieval city ofWinchester with special reference to the Brooks area".[2][3] In 1968, Keene became a researcher at the Winchester Research Unit, and became its assistant director six years later.[2] In 1979, he joined theInstitute of Historical Research (IHR) where he led theSocial Science Research Council-funded project "Social and economic survey of medieval London". He then proposed that the IHR establish its own centre dedicated to studying London's history, and this came to fruition in 1987 when the IHR set up theCentre for Metropolitan History with Keene as its first director.[4] He served in that post until 2001, after which he was appointedLeverhulme Professor of Comparative Metropolitan History at the IHR. After retiring in 2008, he remained associated with the IHR as Emeritus Professor of Metropolitan History and as an honorary fellow.[2][5]
Reflecting his wide interest and knowledge of cities and towns both historic and modern, Keene contributed to many projects and committees. His committee membership included, among others: theRoyal Commission on Historical Monuments, the Urban Panel],[6] a committee ofEnglish Heritage and theCommission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) and the Fabric Committee[7] forSt Paul's Cathedral until 2020. He was lead editor of the definitive history of St Paul's in 2004,[8] together with co-editorsArthur Burns andAndrew Saint.
Keene was aFellow of the Royal Historical Society.[2] He served as president of theLondon and Middlesex Archaeological Society in 1999–2002. He was the dedicatee of a 2012festschrift,London and Beyond: Essays in Honour of Derek Keene.[9]
Derek was married to the academic andconservator Suzanne Keene (née Forbes) in 1969; they have a daughter, Frances, b. 1971, and a son, Thomas, b. 1974, and four grandchildren.[2]
His family came from Derbyshire and Yorkshire. Derek's parents lived in Holloway during the war and moved to Northolt soon afterwards. He attended Ealing Grammar School and afterwards studied history at Oriel College, Oxford. He then began work on his PhD on the history of Winchester, supervised by W.A. Pantin, and joined the archaeological excavations inWinchester underMartin Biddle where he met Suzanne.
He had many wider interests. He was skilled in woodworking and joinery and also in rural pursuits including scything, hedge laying and woodland management. He travelled widely, often with Suzanne. As an undergraduate he was a member of expeditions to Greece and Libya. While in Libya he contracted amoebic dysentery and received excellent treatment in hospital inSabha, Libya, an experience that he remembered all his life and often referred to, sometimes comparing it favourably to hospitals in the UK. He had many friends and professional colleagues in numerous countries, especially Italy, France and the USA.
Derek also loved walking and hiking, often in extreme conditions, in countries both hot such as Cyprus, Crete and Spain, and cold including Scotland and Norway.
