Sir – Christopher Gray’s mention of refusal by the occupant of Shirburn Castle to allow an architectural survey by respected academic Sir Nikolaus Pevsner led me to check my copy of the latter’s ‘Oxfordshire’ Buildings of England series.
It seems that Sir Nikolaus himself concentrated on the University and city, while his co-author, Jennifer Sherwood, was left with the monumental task of covering the whole of the county, including Shirburn.
It’s not recorded as to how the communication was done (research for the book pre-dated email by nearly 30 years) but presumably letter was the formal method.
Even without being able to describe the castle from personal observation (the description was taken from the Victoria County History), her contribution to this classic work is significant and sometimes overlooked by writers, when the book is co-authored by a more senior one.
S. Wyatt (Mr) Oxford
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