Andrew Downing Saunders

Jonathan Coad, FSA, contributed the following tribute to our Fellow Andrew Saunders 1931—2009, who died of cancer on 13 March 2009, at the age of 77.

Andrew Saunders had an international reputation as the leading authority on the history and evolution of this country’s artillery defences from their tentative beginnings in the fourteenth century to the abolition of Coastal Artillery in 1956. He was a prolific author of well-researched and written books, articles and guide-books on these and related subjects. He managed to combine this with a busy professional career, culminating as Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings from 1973 to 1989.

Saunders’ family home was at St Austell where his interest in Cornish history led to him being made a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedd at the age of seventeen. He spent most of his formative years at Oxford, first as a choral scholar at Magdalen College School and, after National Service in the RAF, at Magdalen College. Here he read history, played rugby, rowed for the college, and became President of the Oxford University Archaeological Society. His archaeological experience was furthered at the excavations at Kaupang in Norway before he was recruited into the Ancient Monuments Inspectorate in 1954 by the then Chief Inspector, Bryan O’Neil. Inspectors, in what was then a very small department within the Ministry of Works, were expected to develop a wide general knowledge of the tangible remains of Britain’s past, from prehistory to modern times, and were further encouraged to develop special interests within this broad framework. Their work focused mainly on the conservation and display of guardianship monuments in the ministry’s care and the scheduling of field monuments, but Saunders’ archaeological expertise at a time when archaeologists were in short supply rapidly led him to spend three seasons excavating a plough-damaged prehistoric settlement site at Castle Gotha, near St Austell, as a ministry ‘rescue excavation’.

O’Neil had pioneered the study of early artillery forts in this country, and he encouraged Saunders to follow in his footsteps. A seminal point in Saunders’ academic interests came in 1956 with the abolition of the Coastal Artillery arm of the army and the consequent obsolescence of a very large number of mainly nineteenth-century coastal fortifications. Saunders was asked to carry out a rapid assessment of these for the Ancient Monuments Board. His report was a model of clarity and for a long time formed the basis for judgements on their preservation, including decisions to take into state care the key exemplars of Forts Cumberland and Brockhurst and elements of the huge Napoleonic fortifications at Western Heights, Dover.

Always keen to promote the cause of conservation by sharing his knowledge and enthusiasms with a wide audience, Saunders published some of the results of this survey in 1960 in an article on ‘Palmerston’s Follies’ in the Journal of the Royal Artillery. A careful study linking Harry’s Walls, the remains of a Tudor fort on the Isles of Scilly, with documentary evidence in Hatfield House, enabled him to show that the fort was forty years older than had been supposed and had never been completed. This publication demonstrated his clear understanding of the importance of combining meticulous field- work with documentary and topographical research and setting his findings in a wider context.

Archaeological excavations, however, were only a small part of his professional work, much of which centred on the conservation of guardianship monuments, predominantly castles and monastic sites, working closely with architects and superintendents of works and the small teams of ministry craftsmen. This system could be bureaucratic, but at its best it achieved a level of care for the entire guardianship estate that has never been equalled by a later age more focused on promoting popular monuments and outsourcing skills. It also ensured that Inspectors gained a deep understanding of these monuments, sharing this with a wider audience when they wrote, as they were expected to, the accompanying ministry “blue guides”.

In 1964 Saunders’ talents were rewarded with promotion at an unusually young age to Inspector of Ancient Monuments for England, responsible for staff applying consistent standards of care, conservation and display over the entire guardianship estate of more than 400 monuments throughout England. He also approved every one of the repair grants offered by the ministry to owners of private monuments. Both tasks involved a heavy schedule of travelling and an ability to cope with a lava-flow of official files that at times threatened to overwhelm his desk. He also regularly prepared papers on a whole range of subjects for the Ancient Monuments Board for England, a distinguished and independent body whose advice ministers ignored at their peril. Although demanding, the nine years he spent in this post were probably the happiest of his professional career. Guardianship monuments were still regarded as being akin to documents in the Public Record Office, important elements of our national identity to be cared for accordingly. Further monuments were coming in to State care, and staffing levels were improving. Saunders was a kind and enthusiastic mentor to young colleagues, encouraging them to develop their interests, including directing excavations on guardianship sites as part of broader research and conservation programmes. His tours of inspection were always enjoyable and instructive, with wide-ranging discussions sometimes begun high on seemingly perilous scaffolding and continued in the evening over a convivial drink.

In 1973 Saunders succeeded Arnold Taylor as Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings, the fuller title reflecting his wider remit following the creation the previous year of the Directorate of Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings. This amalgamated the Ancient Monuments Inspectorate with the listed buildings section of the former Ministry of Housing and Local Government within the new Department of the Environment. This was a period of growing public concern about the destruction of the country’s heritage from intensive farming, redevelopment or plain neglect. It saw the founding of SAVE Britain’s Heritage, concerned with threatened buildings, and Rescue, focused on endangered archaeological sites. To these growing external pressures were added those of welding together a new organisation better able to meet these and other challenges. Not least among the latter was the government’s subsequent decision to devolve its responsibilities and set up English Heritage. This inaugurated a further lengthy period of radical changes, many driven by sometimes-questionable reports from outside consultants. This would have been an especially taxing time for anyone in the role of Chief Inspector. For Saunders, an academic at heart, whose interests lay in applying scholarly and professional standards to the conservation of the nation’s archaeology and built heritage and in encouraging others to do likewise, seeking to retain the best of the old in this new environment was an onerous and largely thankless task. On his retirement in 1989 his post, first established for General Pitt Rivers in 1882, was abolished as part of the drive to transform the organisation into a management-led body.

Saunders found solace away from his growing administrative burdens by retaining and developing his research interests which were wide-ranging. His long-running annual excavations at Launceston Castle shed new light on this important western stronghold, and a steady stream of publications on a varied range of subjects brought his work to a wide audience. He founded and edited the short-lived but widely regarded quarterly publication Fortress and, in 1989, published Fortress Britain, still the best introduction to the world of artillery fortifications. His enduring interest in Charles II’s great military engineer culminated in 2004 in Fortress Builder, his magisterial and definitive biography of Sir Bernard de Gomme.

Formal retirement did not lead to a slackening of pace and Saunders was much in demand to serve on the councils of academic societies and official bodies. He was President of the Cornwall Archaeological Society [1968—72], a Vice-President of the Society for Medieval Archaeology [1977—81], and a Council member of the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology. He was a founder member of the Castles Studies Group and a founder member, and later an energetic Chairman, of the Fortress Study Group [1995—2001].

For many years he served on the Council of the Royal Archaeological Institute. He co-ordinated and saw to publication the Institute’s research programme on early castles. Later, he was a distinguished and popular President, overseeing during his period in office from 1993 to 1996 the 150th anniversary celebrations of the Institute, attended by HM The Queen. From 1996 to 2002 he was chairman of the advisory panel on the Defence of Britain Project for the Council for British Archaeology, assessing the remains of Britain’s twentieth-century defences.

Saunders had an international reputation in his field, serving as Chairman of the International Fortress Council (1995—8) and as one of two British representatives on the Scientific Council of Europa Nostra (1989—99). It gave him well-deserved pleasure when, very shortly before his death, he was presented with the Coehoorn-Mortar award for his research work and for furthering international co-operation. This is the highest honour of the Stichting Menno van Coehoorn, the long-established society devoted to the study and preservation of Dutch military defences.

Many people beyond his immediate professional colleagues owe Saunders a great debt. A kindly man, seemingly shy and diffident on occasions, he was always willing to share his very considerable practical and academic knowledge and he gave quiet encouragement, help and advice to all who asked. He set high academic standards for himself and he expected the same from his staff, while encouraging it in others.

The following obituary, by Ronald Porter, first appeared in the Independent on 13 June 2009.

Andrew Saunders was the Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings at the Department of the Environment, and later at English Heritage, from 1973-1989. For much of his life, he was a very distinguished, albeit strictly part-time, professional archaeologist. And he ended his career as a respected and popular senior administrator and professional advisor on England's ancient monuments and historic buildings.

Andrew Downing Saunders was born at St Austell, Cornwall, in 1931. He won a scholarship to the Magdalen College School in Oxford and, after National Service, he went on to read for a history degree at Magdalen College, Oxford. Following graduation and a spell of work on an archaeological dig in Scandinavia, he joined the Ancient Monuments Inspectorate, to which, at the age of 23, he was appointed as an inspector.

The job involved advising on the preservation and upkeep of ancient monuments which had been scheduled as worthy of preservation under the Ancient Monuments Acts. Saunders advised the Chief Inspector and the Ancient Monuments Board which in turn advised the Minister. This was a demanding post which involved him in much report writing and extensive travel around the remoter areas of England. Despite a heavy workload, in his spare time he joined in archaeological digs and published his findings in professional journals. He had a lifelong interest in artillery defences and fortresses, from the early 14th century until the mid-1950s.

In 1973, Saunders was promoted to the job of Chief Inspector at the relatively early age of 42. He was to take over the reins at a very difficult time. In 1970, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Housing were absorbed into a new "super ministry" – the Department of the Environment. Prior to the formation of this new department, ministerial responsibility for the built heritage was, amazingly, split between two entirely different departments: scheduled ancient monuments were dealt with by the Ministry of Works, and historic buildings – relatively "newer" structures – by the Ministry of Housing. The new Department of the Environment was created overnight, but the manifold problems associated with the merger were left to Saunders to sort out over the coming years.

A new Departmental Directorate had to be formed, with the late V.D. Lipman (known as "old VD" to all who worked with him) as Under Secretary. Saunders was given the difficult task of merging the Historic Buildings Investigators and the Ancient Monuments Inspectors into a single, viable unit. He was very successful in this sensitive task, primarily because both sets of professionals soon realised that Saunders had no personal axe to grind and that his sole aim was to make the new Inspectorate an efficient and streamlined unit.

In 1983, the National Heritage Act was passed and the Directorate of Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings was hived off by the Thatcher government to become English Heritage. Saunders retained his post as Chief Inspector and head of the professional staff in the new set-up. But morale was at a low ebb, with rumours that stringent cuts were in the offing. Saunders did his utmost to veto proposed cuts to his budget that were suggested by the new breed of management consultants and accountants. Gradually, morale began to improve. Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, the new Chairman of English Heritage, also greatly helped in the process, being a charming peacemaker with whom Saunders quickly formed an excellent working relationship.

One of the last, but probably the most controversial and difficult of cases on which Saunders had to advise Edward Montagu was the application to demolish the historic – and listed – Mappin and Webb and associated buildings, opposite the Mansion House at No. 1 Poultry in the City of London. The application was proposed by the multimillionaire Peter (now Lord) Palumbo, a close friend of Princess Diana. Prince Charles said that the replacement structure resembled "a 1930s wireless".

Both Saunders and the Chairman advised the Secretary of State for the Environment to reject the application. They argued that to demolish six listed buildings in one go would set a very bad precedent and could encourage a lot of local authorities to grant similar applications. Furthermore, the replacement building was considered to be inappropriate, bearing in mind the proximity to the Mansion House and other old buildings. However, English Heritage's advice was rejected. The Secretary of State's Public Inquiry Inspector recommended that permission be granted: "It might just be a masterpiece", he argued.

On retirement, Saunders threw himself full-time into the world of archaeological digs. For many years he led the excavations at Launceston Castle in Cornwall. He continued writing for archaeological journals and was made an Honorary President of many local archaeological societies, from Hendon in London, to Cornwall in the west and Cranbrook in the south-east.

Andrew Downing Saunders, civil servant: born St Austell, Cornwall 22 September 1931; married 1961 Hilary Jean Aikman (marriage dissolved 1980; two sons, one daughter), 1985 Gillian Ruth Hutchinson (one daughter); died Cranbrook, Kent 13 March 2009.