Clement-Jones family 12/22 - Person Sheet
Clement-Jones family 12/22 - Person Sheet
NameFrancis Manning Marlborough PRYOR MBE FSA, 8176
Birth1945
EducationEton and Trinity College Cambridge
MotherBarbara Helen ROBERTSON , 8177 (1913-1993)
Spouses
2Sylvia, 8179
ChildrenAmy , 8180
Notes for Francis Manning Marlborough PRYOR MBE FSA
Francis Manning Marlborough Pryor MBE FSA (born 13 January 1945) is a British archaeologist who is famous for his role in the discovery of Flag Fen, a Bronze Age archaeological site near Peterborough, and for his frequent appearances on the Channel 4 television series Time Team.

He has now retired from full-time field archaeology, but still appears on television and writes books as well as being a working farmer. His specialities are in the Bronze and Iron Ages.

]Biography

Pryor is the son of Barbara Helen Robertson & Robert Matthew Marlborough Pryor MBE TD (known as Matthew) & the grandson of Walter Marlborough Pryor DSO** DL JP, soldiers who served in both World Wars respectively[3]. He was educated at Eton College with his first cousin William Pryor and studied archaeology at Trinity College, Cambridge, gaining a PhD in 1985.

He married Sylvia in 1969, and migrated with her to Toronto, Canada, on a landed immigrant scheme. There he started working at the Royal Ontario Museum as technician, working for Doug Tushingham who helped fund Pryor's first project in the United Kingdom. This was at North Elmham and the excavation was directed by Peter Wade-Martins who exposed Pryor to the benefit of opening large area excavations.

Pryor returned to the UK in 1970, where the construction of the new town at Peterborough offered the opportunity to do large scale archaeology ahead of the planned development work. Between 1970 and 1978, he alternated between digs in the UK and writing up the excavation reports and giving presentations on his work in Canada. Pryor and his first wife were divorced in 1977, and during the course of these projects, he met his second wife, Maisie Taylor, an expert in prehistoric wood; they worked together on the series of projects in the Peterborough area, the most famous of which is Flag Fen. He has a daughter, Amy, from his first marriage. He was a founding member of the Institute of Field Archaeologists in 1982.

Pryor was awarded an MBE "For services to tourism" in the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours.
Last Modified 8 Jun 2012Created 4 Mar 2023 using Reunion for Macintosh