Celebrating Hampshire Historians

Quirk, Roger Nathaniel

November 1909 – November 1964

Roger Quirk was the son of Robert Quirk and his wife Stella (neé Sedgewick) and grandson of John Nathaniel Quirk (1849 – 1924) Bishop of Sheffield.   He was educated at Winchester College, and Kings College, Cambridge where he obtained a 1st class Natural Science tripos, a BA in 1931, and an MA in 1935. In 1941 he married Kate Weber at Salisbury Cathedral.

He entered the Civil Service in 1931 and worked in various departments including the Ministry of Fuel and Power, Office of the Lord President of the Council, and Office of the Minister for Science.  He was also an Under-Secretary for the Department of Education and Science. He was made a Companion of the Bath in 1960 and a Fellow of the Society of Arts.

Quirk was a member of the Historical Manuscripts Commission between 1959 and 1964, and a member of the Institute for Historical Research Committee from 1963.  He served on the Council of the British Records Association from 1962 onwards.

Quirk published a number of articles on Anglo-Saxon and medieval archaeology and art history, mostly relating to Winchester Cathedral.  His article on Winchester Cathedral in the Tenth Century (1959) concludes with the plea that ‘The carrying out of serious excavations at Winchester ought to be a very high priority for this country.  The site north of the present cathedral...could well be claimed to be the most important unexcavated monastic site of Saxon England.  It is to be hoped that the means, as well as the will to carry out this important project will be found.’

Two years later, Quirk’s vision began to be realised, as Martin Biddle supervised work in the Cathedral car park and Wessex Hotel area. Quirk provided the documentary evidence for the report that followed.  This was the start of a decade of work which saw the formation of the Winchester Excavations Committee in 1962 and Winchester Research Unit in 1968.  Sadly, it also saw the death of Roger Quirk in 1964, at the early age of 55.

Sources

National Archive

Wikipedia

Archaeological Journal

Portrait

Winchester Cathedral Library from 'The Glories of Winchester Cathedral' by Birt, R & Kerr, A W (1948)

Contribution to county’s history

Brilliant scholar who explored the early documentary history of Winchester Cathedral and who instigated the programme of excavations 1961-71 directed by Martin Biddle, that revolutionised the approach to urban archaeology. 

Relevant published works

• Biddle M, Quirk R N (1962) Excavations near Winchester Cathedral 1961, Archaeol Journ 119, 150-194

• Quirk, R N (1954) The Tomb of Cardinal Beaufort, Winchester Cathedral Record 23, 6-10 (1954)

• Quirk, R N (1954) The Monuments of prior Basing and the ‘Old Bishop in Marble’, Winchester Cathedral Record 23, 12-21

• Quirk, R N (1954) The Saxon Cathedral, Winchester Cathedral Record 25, 8-16 (1956)

• Quirk, R N (1956) Winchester Cathedral in the Tenth Century, Archaeol Journ 114, 28-68

• Quirk, R N (1958) The Cathedral School, 1000 years ago, Winchester Cathedral Record 27, 4-8 (1958)

• Quirk, R N (1961) Winchester New Minster and its 10th Century Tower, Journ Brit Archaeol Assoc 24, 16-54

• Quirk, R N (1962) The Gaveston Tomb and its shield slab Winchester Cathedral Record 31, 8-12 (1962)

• Quirk, R N (1963) The Millenary of Saint Ethelwold, Winchester Cathedral Record 32, 8-14 (1963)

• Quirk, R N (1964) The Excavations at Winchester, Trans Ancient Mons Soc 12, 81-96

The Winchester Cathedral Record arcticles can be viewed online.

Other Comments

Contributor

Dave Allen May 2024

Key Words

Winchester Cathedral

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