William Taylour | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | William Desmond Taylour (1904-01-03)3 January 1904 |
| Died | 2 December 1989(1989-12-02) (aged 85) |
| Known for | Excavations atMycenae |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Harrow School;Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Thesis | Mycenaean Pottery in Italy and Adjacent Areas (1955) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Archaeology |
| Sub-discipline | Mycenaean Greek archaeology |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | 2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry |
| Battles / wars | |
Lord William Desmond Taylour,FSA, KCSG (3 January 1904 – 2 December 1989) was a British archaeologist, specialising inMycenaean Greece.
William Desmond Taylour was the second son ofGeoffrey Taylour, 4th Marquess of Headfort, and the IrishGaiety GirlRosie Boote. He was born on 3 January 1904, atPennington House[a] (Lymington,Hampshire), where his parents lived after their scandalous wedding, but was raised in the family estateHeadfort House, inMeath County, Ireland.[1][2]
Taylour was educated atHarrow School, an all-boyspublic school (anindependentboarding school) in London.[3] While at Harrow, he was a cadet of its Junior Division of theOfficer Training Corps.[4] He was then encouraged to enter a career rather than attend university. After two years in the diplomatic service, he began a career in finance.[1] He first worked onWall Street, New York, and then in London.[5]
On 2 September 1939, the day before the United Kingdom declared war on Germany, Taylour was commissioned as asecond lieutenant in theRoyal Armoured Corps,Territorial Army.[4] During theSecond World War, he fought inNorth Africa among the2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry, where he gained the rank of captain.[1] After the end of the war, he joined theAllied Control Commission in Germany.[1]
In 1947, at the age of 42, he matriculated atTrinity College, Cambridge to study for an archaeology degree.[5] A keen archaeologist since his time at Harrow,[1] among his lecturers wereGrahame Clark andGlyn Daniel, both younger than him.[5][6] He remained at theUniversity of Cambridge to undertake aDoctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree inMycenaean pottery, which he completed in 1955.[3] Hisdoctoral thesis was published in 1958 asMycenaean Pottery in Italy and Adjacent Areas.[5][7] That year, he was also electedFellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA).[3]
From 1949 onwards, he took part in numerous excavations in Greece, in particular atMycenae withAlan Wace, and atPylos withCarl Blegen.[1] After Wace's death in 1957, Lord William Taylour became director of theBritish School at Athens excavations at Mycenae, working jointly withIoánnis Papadimitríou andGeorge Mylonas of theArchaeological Society of Athens.[6] Their work led to an in-depth knowledge of the citadel of Mycenae and the development of the complex of buildings that he described as the cult centre.[1][5] His 1964The Mycenaeans, one of the first major studies of theMycenaean civilisation, quickly became a reference.[5] Between 1959 and 1977, he also excavated the site of Ayios Stephanos inLaconia, a small Bronze Age harbour,[1] demonstrating the commercial links betweenMinoan Crete and mainland Greece.[1]
In 1981, together withElizabeth French, he inaugurated the first volume ofWell Built Mycenae, a publication that continued until 2012.[5]
Taylour was raised aRoman Catholic, the faith of his mother.[3] When in Cambridge, he attended Mass at the chapel ofSt Edmund's House, then a House of Residence of the university.[5] He was for many years the treasurer of theCambridge University Catholic Association, and served alongside the Catholic chaplain, MonsignorAlfred Gilbey.[5] Like Gilbey, Taylor was aTraditionalist Catholic.[5] He was honoured by the pope with appointment asKnight Commander of the Order of St Gregory the Great.[3]
Taylor never married.[3] He died on 2 December 1989 at his home inGreat Shelford, Cambridgeshire, aged 85.[3] He left a fortune of £983,107.[3]
