Marcus Binney,
CBE (b. 21 September 1944)
is a British architectural
historian and
author. He is best known for his conservation work regarding
Britain's heritage.
Early and family life
Marcus Hugh Crofton Binney, born circa 1944, is the son of
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir
Francis
Crofton Simms MC and his wife, Sonia (née Beresford Whyte).
His father
was held as a prisoner of war in
Italy
during the Second World
War. His mother worked in
code-breaking. Following his father's death
and his mother's remarriage to Sir
George
Binney DSO in 1955, Binney took his stepfather's surname.
Binney was
educated at Eton
College
and read history of
art at the University of Cambridge
. The architect
Walter
Ison was a family friend, who encouraged the young Binney to
study Sir
Robert Taylor
for his PhD.
Binney married The Hon. Sara Anne Vanneck, daughter of Sir
Gerald Charles Arcedeckne Vanneck, 6th Baron
Huntingfield, on
23 August 1966. They were divorced in 1976. She died in 1979.
Binney has since remarried to Anne (née Hills).
Binney has two children: Francis Charles Thomas Binney and
Christopher George Crofton Binney, a marine biologist and a chef
respectively.
Career
Binney was
a co-curator of the seminal exhibition The Destruction of the Country House held at the
V&A
in 1974, with Roy Strong
and John Harris, which gave
impetus to the movement to conserve British country houses. He was a driving force
behind the foundation of
SAVE
Britain's Heritage (SAVE) the following year, and remains its
president. As its name suggests, it is devoted to the salvation of
Britain's architectural heritage and retention of such buildings
for the nation. It campaigns for the preservation and reuse of
endangered historic buildings, placing particular emphasis on
finding new uses for them. In 1975 he was awarded the London
Conservation Medal. He was also involved in the foundation of the
Railway Heritage Trust and
the
Thirties Society, and
SAVE Jersey's Heritage, was made an
Honorary Fellow of the
Royal Institute of British
Architects in 2004, and has been a vice-president of the
Ulster
Architectural Heritage Society since 2005.
Binney was
instrumental in saving Calke Abbey
and its contents for the nation in 1984; he had
highlighted and publicised the loss to the nation of such historic
houses following the failure of SAVE's attempts to preserve
Mentmore
a decade earlier.
He also writes widely on the conservation of the built environment.
From 1977 until 1984 he was Architectural Editor of the British
Country Life
magazine. He served as Editor from 1984 to 1986 and continues to
contribute articles to the magazine. He has been the architectural
correspondent of
The Times since
1991. He was founding Chairman of
Heritage
Link in 2002.
Binney is also the author of numerous books, mostly concerned with
the preservation of Britain's architectural heritage; while many of
these can be typified by such titles as "
The Country House: To
Be or Not to Be" and "Re-use of Industrial Buildings" he has
also written books dealing with the experiences of those involved
in secret operations during
World War
II, such as "
Secret War Heroes: The Men of Special
Operations" and "
The Women Who Lived for
Danger".
He has
lectured on architecture in the USA
, and
narrated a 39-part television series "Mansions: The Great Houses of
Europe" from 1993 to 1997, broadcast widely in North America, the
Middle East and the Far East.
In recognition of his services to conservation and Britain's
heritage, he was awarded an
OBE in 1983, and
advanced to
CBE in
2006.
Books
- Lost Houses of Scotland (1980) with John Harris and Emma Winnington, Save
Britain's Heritage, ISBN 0905978056, ISBN 978-0905978055.
- The Country House: To Be or Not to Be (1982) with
Kit Martin, Save Britain's Heritage, ISBN
0905978129, ISBN 978-0905978123.
- Chatham Historic Dockyard: Alive or Mothballed (1984)
with Kit Martin, Save Britain's Heritage,
ISBN 0905978196, ISBN 978-0905978192.
- The Ritz Hotel, London (1999) Foreword by HRH the
Prince of Wales, Thames & Hudson, ISBN 0500019347, ISBN
978-0500019344.
- The Women Who Lived for Danger: The Women Agents of SOE in
the Second World War, London, Hodder & Stoughton, 2002,
ISBN 0 340 81840 9.
- The Ritz Hotel, London (2006) Centenary
Edition, Foreword by HRH the Prince of Wales, Thames & Hudson,
ISBN 0500512795, ISBN 978-0500512791.
- In Search Of The Perfect House: 500 Of The Best
Buildings In Britain And Ireland (2007) Weidenfeld &
Nicolson, ISBN 0297844555, ISBN 9780297844556.
References
External links
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