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Somerset Man born and bred, I’ve lived in Cheddar most of my life, and in good ol’ Weston- super-Mare since 1997. My interest in archaeology started when I was at University, although I actually got my degrees in biochemistry. It was bit wobbly and involved with ley-lines and things at first, but a leap into my local archaeological society at Axbridge and a course on researching the origins of Somerset place-names led to a desire to work in the field. At the time, I was working delivering food to pubs (for the late lamented ‘Cheddar Cheese Straws’), but when they went bust, after a spell of the dole, I began working with the old MSC and did a 2 year fieldwalking parish survey of Marshfield in the Cotswolds (with much-needed support from one Mr M Aston), published 1985. From there, I went on to be an archaeological contractor, doing things as varied as pottery research and identification at Bristol Museum, road evaluations at Avon and Gloucestershire and lots of other fieldwork. I got my break by becoming the SMR Officer for Avon in 1991, then became the County Archaeologist on the death of my good friend Jan Roberts in late 1992. After Avon was slain in 1996, I took up the same post with North Somerset where (for the moment) I remain. Personal things: Single (although not dedicatedly so!), got a ginger cat called the Reverend Howard, interested in photography, computers, do a bit of hedge laying, grow my own veggies, can be seen walking the Somerset countryside at all hours of day and night, and nothing else about me is interesting enough to bother you with.
Special Interest Areas
Landscape archaeology, inter-tidal archaeology, medieval stone crosses, field survey work of any kind. Promoting archaeology to the public. Currently working on Charterhouse-on-Mendip (Somerset) and Cadbury-Congresbury hill fort and Locking parish (North Somerset).
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