Dr Simon Thurley

Head and shoulders photo of Dr Simon Thurley

Dr Simon Thurley CBE FSA FRIBA FRHistS was appointed to the British Library Board on 1 April 2015.

Simon is a leading architectural historian and was until 2015 Chief Executive of English Heritage, the UK Government’s independent advisor on England’s historic environment.

Prior to this he was Director of the Museum of London, 1998-2002, and Curator, Surveyor of the Fabric and Main Board Member of Historic Royal Palaces. He is currently Gresham College Professor of the Built Environment and a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London. He is a Fellow of both the Society of Antiquaries and also the Royal Historical Society, and he is a Trustee of the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation.

He is the author of more than ten books including The Building of England, his history of English architecture, and The Royal Palaces of Tudor England, the subject of his PhD taken at the Courtauld Institute.

Simon is a member of the Board’s Capital Projects Committee and its Remuneration Committee.