Marilyn Palmer, ( Allum; born 30 April 1943) is a British historian, archaeologist and academic, who specialises in

landscape history Landscape history is the study of the way in which humanity has changed the physical appearance of the environment – both present and past. It is sometimes referred to as landscape archaeology. It was first recognised as a separate area of study ...

and

industrial archaeology Industrial archaeology (IA) is the systematic study of material evidence associated with the industrial past. This evidence, collectively referred to as industrial heritage, includes buildings, machinery, artifacts, sites, infrastructure, docu ...

. Having been a school teacher, she moved into academia and taught at

Loughborough College Loughborough College is a general further education college located in Leicestershire, England which offers a range of courses including further education, higher education, apprenticeships and professional qualifications. List of princip ...

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...

, and

Leicester University , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

. She was the United Kingdom's first Professor of Industrial Archaeology.

Academic career

Palmer was a school teacher before moving into academia, joining

as a

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

in 1969. She was promoted to

senior lecturer Senior lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, and Israel senior lecturer is a faculty position at a university or similar institution. The position is tenured (in systems with this concep ...

in 1972, before moving to

in 1977. She served as head of its History Department from 1983 to 1988. In 1988, she joined

as a senior lecturer in history. She was additionally a Member of the

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) was a government advisory body responsible for documenting buildings and monuments of archaeological, architectural and historical importance in England. It was established in 19 ...

from 1993 to 1999. From 1998 to 2000, she was head of its Archaeology Division and

Reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

in Industrial Archaeology. Having been appointed the United Kingdom's first Professor of Industrial Archaeology, she was Head of the School of Archaeology and Ancient History from 2000 to 2006. She retired from full-time academia in 2008, and was made

Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

. On 2 February 1991, Palmer was elected a

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

(FSA). In the

2015 Birthday Honours The 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

, she was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) for services to industrial archaeology and heritage.

Selected works

* * * * *Palmer Marilyn and West, Ian (2016). ''Technology in the Country House.'' Swindon: Historic England in association with the National Trust.

References.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Marilyn 1943 births Living people 20th-century British historians British archaeologists British women archaeologists Landscape historians British women historians 21st-century British historians Industrial archaeology Academics of Loughborough University Academics of the University of Leicester Members of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London People of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England