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JULIAN LITTEN
(b.1947) was educated at St Peter’s Collegiate Boys’ School,
Wolverhampton, and Cardiff University. He has a PhD from
Cardiff University in History & Archaeology and an honorary
degree of Doctor of Art from De Montfort University,
Leicester. On the curatorial staff of the Victoria and
Albert Museum between 1966-1999 and 2001-2005, he was
Visiting Lecturer in Built Heritage Conservation at
Canterbury Christ Church University College, Kent, between
1999 and 2004. He currently dedicates his time to built
heritage and burial law issues.
As a
funerary historian he devised the burial of the Unknown
Mariner from the Mary Rose at Portsmouth Cathedral in
1984, was consultant to Westminster Abbey in 1987 for the
re-display of its collection of royal funerary effigies, and
staged the re-enactment of the heraldic funeral of Prince
Arthur (d.1502) for Worcester Cathedral in 2002. His
English Way of Death: The Common Funeral since 1450 was
published in 1991 and has been reprinted on four occasions
in revised editions. In 1994 he produced the introductory
essay to The Funeral Effigies of Westminster Abbey (2nd,
revised, ed. 2003) and, in 1998, the introductory essay to
Grave Concerns: Death and Burial in England 1700-1850.
Dr Litten is
a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, a Fellow
of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and a member of
the Royal Archaeological Institute. A member of the
Cathedrals Advisory Commission for England between 1985 and
1990m and subsequently of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission
for England 1991-2006, he was Chairman of Portsmouth
cathedra; Fabric Advisory Committee between 1989-1999 during
which time he steered the completion and reordering of the
building. He has been a member of the Westminster Abbey
Fabric Commission since 1993, Ely Cathedral Fabric Advisory
Committee since 1999 and that of St Edmundsbury Cathedral
since 2006. Dr Litten is Principal of the Society of the
Faith, Vice-President of the Church Monuments Society,
Chairman of the Ledgerstone Survey of England & Wales,
Chairman of the Church Maintenance Trust, Chairman of the
Friends of Hardwick Road (King’s Lynn) Cemetery, Founder of
the Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery, a member of the
Association of Burial Authorities Executive, of the English
Heritage/Church of England Human Remains Advisory Service
and a Trustee of the Natural Death Centre. Dr Litten also
serves on the Cathedrals Fabric Commission Inventory Group
and the Library Working Group.
Dr Litten
represented the Diocese of Chelmsford on the General Synod
of the Church of England from 1985 to 2007. He was a member
of the 1988 care of Cathedrals Measure Revision Committee,
1991 Care of Churches and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction
Measure Committee, the 1992 Faculty Jurisdiction (Rules)
Measure Committee, the 1992 Faculty Jurisdiction (Injunction
and Restoration Orders) Rules Measure Committee, the 1993
care of cathedrals (Supplementary Provisions) Measure
Revision Committee, the 2002-03 Church Archaeology & Human
Remains Working Group, the 2004 Clergy Discipline Measure
(Rules) Committee and the 2006 Cathedrals Amendment (Rules)
Measure Committee.
Julian
Litten lives in Norfolk, in one of the former buildings of
King’s Lynn Priory. |
