{"id":14128,"date":"2026-10-21T15:28:56","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T14:28:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.berksarch.co.uk\/?page_id=14128"},"modified":"2026-10-21T15:33:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T14:33:00","slug":"ivan-donald-margary-an-officer-gentleman-soldier-and-philanthropist","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.berksarch.co.uk\/index.php\/ivan-donald-margary-an-officer-gentleman-soldier-and-philanthropist\/","title":{"rendered":"Ivan Donald Margary, An Officer, Gentleman, Soldier and Philanthropist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BAS Lecture \u2013 17 October 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

by Dr David Rudling FSA, Sussex Archaeology and History<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Rudling began his lecture by saying that Ivan Margary is one of his heroes, but sadly he never met him. He lived from 1896 to 1976 and is best known for his book \u2018Roman Roads in Britain\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Margary was born into a military family on his father\u2019s side, while his mother was the daughter of a wealthy financier and banker. His parents lived at Chatham Park in Felbridge, East Grinstead, from 1892 to 1940 and Margary was home schooled here. In 1913 he went to Exeter College in Oxford to study chemistry and in the same year, aged just 17, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society. His studies were interrupted by the First World War when he went to France in 1916, but in 1917 he was shot in the back and returned to England. In 1918 he returned to France five days after the armistice. Chatham Park was used as a hospital during the war and sadly the house no longer exists. Margary wrote his unpublished war diaries from 1916 to 1919, which are now housed with the Sussex Archaeological Society in Lewes. They resemble field note books and include arial photographs and sketches of potential archaeological features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 1919 to 1921 Margary completed his studies at Oxford and in 1927 he inherited a considerable amount of money as well as the large estate of Yew Lodge, Felcourt, on the borders of Sussex, Surrey and Kent and became a gentleman farmer. In the same year he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and joined both the Sussex and Surrey Archaeological Societies. The Sussex Archaeological Society was formed in 1846 and was one of the first in the country. Margary was the Chair for many years and a member until he died in 1976. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1930 he bought and gifted 15.5 acres in Wych Cross, East Sussex, to the National Trust, the first of many philanthropic gestures to the National Trust all over the country and to many other organisations. In 1932 he married the very wealthy Dorothy Jolly and they were given a Guard of Honour by the Lingfield Fire Brigade who Margary funded. Dorothy then moved into Yew Lodge. In the same year he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1939 he purchased land that included part of the Holtye Roman Road in East Sussex and this began his love of Roman roads. From 1940 to 1945, during the Second World War, he was Lieutenant of The Sussex Regiment in charge of prisoners of war in Sussex. In 1943, along with Alexander Keiller, they contributed to the excavations at Avebury and Windmill Hill and helped the National Trust to purchase this important site. In 1947 he was elected Vice President of the Surrey Archaeological Society and in 1969 he made one of several donations to this society, in this instance to pay for the binding of their journals. They wrote a memorial publication in his honour in 1987. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1948 he wrote the book \u2018Roman Ways in the Weald\u2019 and in 1955 he wrote the first edition of \u2018Roman Roads in Britain\u2019. In 1960, with Professor Richard Atkinson, they purchased Antiquity Journal and saved it from closure. From 1961 to 1968 excavations were undertaken at Fishbourne Roman Palace and in 1962 Margary purchased the land and gifted it to The Sussex Archaeological Society. He also paid for the cover building and they now house his archaeological toolbox. He donated money to many other good causes, including \u00a35,000 to the British School at Rome in 1962 and money to Exeter College, Oxford in 1964 for one of the quadrangles. In 1964 he joined the Kent Archaeological Society and was its Vice President from 1964 to 1974. In 1974 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the British School at Rome. Margary died on 18th<\/sup> February 1976 and his wife Dorothy died two years later. Yew Lodge was purchased by Rentokil in 1979 and today it is a conference centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margary is most famous for his interest in Roman roads and indeed the London to Brighton Roman road went through his land at Felcourt. Dr Rudling then went on to outline the many archaeological excavations that Margary undertook. He wrote them up using old maps and annotated aerial photographs with notes beneath, and these are now housed with the Sussex Archaeological Society. His many excavations included Saxonbury Camp, East Sussex in 1929 and Dry Hill Camp, Lingfield, Surrey in 1932. He published all his excavations with the relevant archaeological societies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Holtye Roman Road is a well-preserved 250m section of the London to Lewes Roman Road in East Sussex. It was first excavated in 1939 and the surface consisted of iron slag. The excavated section was never filled in and was kept clear of vegetation up until 2010. By 2017 it had vegetated over, but the Sussex Archaeological Society stepped it to clear it which they continue to do today. Recent magnetometry surveys have revealed more Roman roads in this area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margary excavated at Bridge Farm near Barcombe Mills and Lewes and more recent excavations here revealed a Roman villa and a bathhouse. Margary identified and mapped the Sussex Greensand Way and predicted an eastward extension that recent geophysical surveys have confirmed. He is also famous for his unique numbering system of Roman roads that he added to Strip Maps. Main roads had 1 digit (e.g. Watling Street), principle branches had 2 digits (e.g. Stane Street) and minor branches had 3 digits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margary wrote the following books, that include excellent illustrations and sketches throughout:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1948 \u2013 Roman Ways in the Weald<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1955 \u2013 Volume I of Roman Roads in Britain<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1957 \u2013 Volume II of Roman Roads in Britain<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1967 \u2013 revised, single-volume second edition of Roman Roads in Britain<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1973 – revised, single-volume third edition of Roman Roads in Britain<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1903, Codrington wrote the first edition of his book Roman Roads in Britain, and Margary built on this for his books. Margary reviewed the book \u2018The Roads that led to Rome\u2019 written by Victor Wolfgang von Hagen in 1967 which he stated was an immense task. Margary also wrote 70 papers in total, on several themes other than Roman roads, including a 1940 paper on Roman centurions at Ripe, East Sussex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite all of his philanthropic gestures (including to his staff and several local organisations) and his huge contribution to archaeology, he never looked for fame and indeed shunned publicity. Examples include him not being pleased when Exeter College, Oxford, named the Margary Quadrangle after him and he also turned down an OBE as he felt he\u2019d done nothing to justify it, saying he was simply lucky to have inherited great wealth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Rudling finished the lecture by saying that very few photographs of Margary exist and should anyone come across any, to please get in contact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Report by Debbie Cousins<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BAS Lecture \u2013 17 October 2026 by Dr David Rudling FSA, Sussex Archaeology and History Dr Rudling began his lecture by saying that Ivan Margary is one of his heroes, but sadly he never met him. He lived from 1896 to 1976 and is best known for his book \u2018Roman Roads in Britain\u2019. Margary was … Continue reading Ivan Donald Margary, An Officer, Gentleman, Soldier and Philanthropist<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13309,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-14128","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.berksarch.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.berksarch.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.berksarch.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.berksarch.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.berksarch.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14128"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.berksarch.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14128\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14133,"href":"https:\/\/www.berksarch.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14128\/revisions\/14133"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.berksarch.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.berksarch.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}