The 2026 OGS Crawford Lecture will be ‘My life and work in Winchester’ by Dr John Crook FSA.

John Crook is an independent architectural historian, archaeological consultant and photographer.

He has published many books on subjects ranging from the Medieval Cult of Saints to the activities of William Walker, the diver employed to save Winchester Cathedral in the early twentieth century.  Much of his publication output is based upon his many years of work at the Cathedral and the Hospital of St Cross.

More recently his projects have included a major assessment of the development of Westminster, involving the creation of a series of phased plans, at 1:1000 scale, from the twelfth to the twentieth century.

He will recall his long career in the midst of the archaeology of Winchester.  He says that he did not start by any orthodox route!