William Francis Grimes (known as
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
; 31 October 1905 – 25 December 1988) was a Welsh
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
. He devoted his career to the archaeology of London and the
prehistory of Wales. He was appointed a
CBE
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 ...
in 1955.
Early life
Grimes was born in
Pembroke in Wales. His father was a draughtsman with the Pembroke docks board. He was educated at Pembroke county school and then at
Bedford Modern School
Bedford Modern School (often called BMS) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in Bedford Charity, The Harpur Trust, born from the financial endowment, endowments le ...
after his father moved to
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
to work as a draughtsman on airships.
Grimes returned to Wales in 1923 to study
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
at the
University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire
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, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University
, motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord
, mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord
, established = 1 ...
in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, where his lecturers included
Mortimer Wheeler
Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler CH CIE MC TD (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeologist and officer in the British Army. Over the course of his career, he served as Director of both the National Museum of Wales an ...
and
Cyril Fox
Sir Cyril Fred Fox (16 December 1882 – 15 January 1967) was an English archaeologist and museum director.
Fox became keeper of archaeology at the National Museum of Wales, and subsequently served as director from 1926 to 1948. His most ...
. Wheeler was also Keeper and then from 1923 Director of the
National Museum of Wales
National may refer to:
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* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
. Grimes graduated with first-class honours in 1926.
Career
Wheeler moved to become Director of the
London Museum in 1926, and Cyril Fox replaced him as Director of the National Museum of Wales. Grimes became an assistant keeper of archaeology at the National Museum of Wales, working with the newly appointed keeper of archaeology,
Victor Erle Nash-Williams. He received an MA from the University of Wales in 1930 for a dissertation on the
Roman pottery
Pottery was produced in enormous quantities in ancient Rome, mostly for utilitarian purposes. It is found all over the former Roman Empire and beyond. Monte Testaccio is a huge waste mound in Rome made almost entirely of broken amphorae used for ...
from the
20th Legion's works at
Holt
Holt or holte may refer to:
Natural world
*Holt (den), an otter den
* Holt, an area of woodland
Places Australia
* Holt, Australian Capital Territory
* Division of Holt, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives in Vic ...
(then in
Denbighshire
Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...
). He became interested in the prehistory of Wales, and was involved in excavations at
Pyle
Pyle ( cy, Y Pîl) is a village and Community (Wales), community (and electoral ward) in Bridgend (county borough), Bridgend county borough, Wales. This large village is served by the A48 road, and lies less than one mile from Junction 37 of ...
, Ludchurch, Corston Beacon and
Llanboidy
Llanboidy is a village and community in the principal area and historic county of Carmarthenshire, West Wales. The community includes the village of Llanglydwen.
Location
According to the 2001 United Kingdom Census, the community had a populat ...
.
Grimes became a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries of London
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...
in 1934. He published a book on the prehistory of Wales in 1939, ''Guide to the Collection Illustrating the Prehistory of Wales'', which won the Cambrian Archaeological Association's
G. T. Clark
Colonel George Thomas Clark (26 May 1809 – 31 January 1898) was a British surgeon and engineer. He was particularly associated with the management of the Dowlais Iron Company. He was also an antiquary and historian of Glamorgan.
Biography ...
prize in 1949. The book was republished as ''The Prehistory of Wales'' in 1951, and a second edition followed in 1959. He met
Audrey Williams
Audrey Mae Sheppard Williams (February 28, 1923 – November 4, 1975) was an American musician known for being the first wife of country music singer and songwriter Hank Williams, the mother of Hank Williams Jr. and the grandmother of Hank Willi ...
in 1935, while preparing an exhibition in Swansea for the centenary of the
Royal Institution of South Wales
The Royal Institution of South Wales is a Welsh learned society founded by George Grant Francis in Swansea in 1835.
Prior to its establishment, the Royal Institution was known as the Swansea Philosophical and Literary Society, which maintained th ...
. They went on to work together at many excavations in Wales and elsewhere, and were later married.
Grimes moved to Southampton in 1938 to become an assistant archaeology officer with the
Ordnance Survey
, nativename_a =
, nativename_r =
, logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg
, logo_width = 240px
, logo_caption =
, seal =
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, and was quickly involved in the excavation of the newly discovered ship burial at
Sutton Hoo
Sutton Hoo is the site of two early medieval cemeteries dating from the 6th to 7th centuries near the English town of Woodbridge. Archaeologists have been excavating the area since 1938, when a previously undisturbed ship burial containing a ...
the following year. He was seconded to the
Ministry of Works in the Second World War, and worked with Audrey Williams on quick surveys and excavations before the construction of new airfields and other military structures. His discoveries included an Iron Age religious site at
Heathrow
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...
.
In 1945, he succeeded Mortimer Wheeler as director of the London Museum, then based in
Lancaster House
Lancaster House (originally known as York House and then Stafford House) is a mansion in the St James's district in the West End of London. It is close to St James's Palace, and much of the site was once part of the palace complex. This ...
. He was involved in the programme to excavate
Blitz
Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to:
Military uses
*Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign
*The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War
*, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...
sites in London before they were redeveloped. For this work, he received the freedom of the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
in 1952. A highlight was the excavation of the
London Mithraeum
The London Mithraeum, also known as the Temple of Mithras, Walbrook, is a Roman Mithraeum that was discovered in Walbrook, a street in the City of London, during a building's construction in 1954. The entire site was relocated to permit contin ...
with Audrey Williams, which was discovered at a building site at
Walbrook
Walbrook is a City ward and a minor street in its vicinity. The ward is named after a river of the same name.
The ward of Walbrook contains two of the City's most notable landmarks: the Bank of England and the Mansion House. The street runs ...
in 1954. The site was featured in the ''
Illustrated London News
''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in ...
'' illustrated with drawings by
Alan Sorrell.
The unexpected discovery of a bust of
Mithras
Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman mystery religion centered on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (''yazata'') Mithra, the Roman Mithras is linke ...
on the last scheduled day of the excavation generated considerable press and public interest, debates in Parliament and discussion in the Cabinet. The excavation was extended, allowing further discoveries to be made, but delaying the construction. Although Bucklersbury House was built over the site, Grimes succeeded in salvaging many of its finds and features including marble statuary attesting to the wealth of its congregation. The temple was reconstructed nearby in the 1960s, but the work was not supervised by archaeologists and Grimes was dismissive of the result.
Grimes was appointed
CBE
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 ...
in 1955. He continued his excavations in London after he succeeded
V. Gordon Childe as director of the
Institute of Archaeology and professor of archaeology at the University of London in 1956 (Wheeler had founded the Institute in 1937, and Childe became director after Wheeler resigned in 1946). While Grimes was its director, the Institute moved from
St John's Lodge in
Regent's Park
Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...
to new premises at
Gordon Square
Gordon Square is a public park square in Bloomsbury, London, England. It is part of the Bedford Estate and was designed as one of a pair with the nearby Tavistock Square. It is owned by the University of London.
History and buildings
The sq ...
.
Grimes remained interested in the archaeology of Wales. He received an honorary DLitt from the University of Wales in 1961, and was president of the
Cambrian Archaeological Association
The Cambrian Archaeological Association ( cy, Cymdeithas Hynafiaethau Cymru) was founded in 1846 to examine, preserve and illustrate the ancient monuments and remains of the history, language, manners, customs, arts and industries of Wales and the ...
in 1963–64. He served on many commissions and committees with a variety of official bodies and archaeological societies and organisations, including the
Society of Antiquaries, the
Royal Archaeological Institute
The Royal Archaeological Institute (RAI) is a learned society, established in 1844, with interests in all aspects of the archaeological, architectural and landscape history of the British Isles. Membership is open to all with an interest in these ...
, and the
Council for British Archaeology
The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) is an educational charity established in 1944 in the UK. It works to involve people in archaeology and to promote the appreciation and care of the historic environment for the benefit of present and futu ...
. He was a member of the
for 30 years from 1948, also serving a period as chairman, and joined 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 ...
in 1964. He retired from both commissions in 1978. Between 1975 and 1988 he served as the first chairman of th
Dyfed Archaeological Trust
Private life
Grimes married a childhood friend Barbara Lilian Morgan in 1928. They had two children. They were divorced in 1959, and he became the third husband of
Audrey Williams
Audrey Mae Sheppard Williams (February 28, 1923 – November 4, 1975) was an American musician known for being the first wife of country music singer and songwriter Hank Williams, the mother of Hank Williams Jr. and the grandmother of Hank Willi ...
. She bestowed on him the nickname
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
. They retired to her home in
Brynmill
Brynmill is a suburb of the City and County of Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom, UK. It lies about two miles (3 km) to the west of Swansea city centre. It is a residential area forming the southern part of the Uplands (electoral ward), Uplands ...
in Swansea in 1973. After Audrey died in 1978, he was remarried to Mrs Molly Waverley Sholto Douglas in 1980.
He suffered from
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
in later life, and died at home in Swansea. He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at
Pwlldu Bay on the
Gower Peninsula
Gower ( cy, Gŵyr) or the Gower Peninsula () in southwest Wales, projects towards the Bristol Channel. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan. In 1956, the majority of Gower became the first area in the United Kingdom ...
, where the ashes of his second wife Audrey had also been scattered.
Published works
*''The Megalithic Monuments of Wales'', Cardiff:
National Museum of Wales
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
, 1936.
*''The Prehistory of Wales'', Cardiff: National Museum of Wales, 1951.
*
*"Excavations in the City of London", in
Bruce-Mitford, R. L. S. (ed.) ''Recent Archaeological Excavations in Britain'', London:
Routledge & Kegan Paul
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...
, 1956.
*''The Excavation of Roman and Mediaeval London'', London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1968.
See also
*
Notes
References
* David Gill, 'Grimes, William Francis (1905–1988)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 3 May 2013William F Grimes: The Making of a Prehistorian David WJ Gill, Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, 10:1 (May 2000)
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grimes, W. F.
Welsh archaeologists
People from Pembroke, Pembrokeshire
People educated at Bedford Modern School
1905 births
1988 deaths
Academics of the UCL Institute of Archaeology
Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
People of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England
Presidents of the Royal Archaeological Institute
Sutton Hoo