Mark Bence-Jones
Encyclopedia
Mark Adayre Bence-Jones (29 May 1930–12 April 2010) was a British writer, noted mainly for his books on Irish architecture, the British aristocracy and the British Raj
. He regarded himself as being both Irish and English, seeing no contradiction in these statements of nationality.
, India
. His mother was half French and half English and had been brought up in Alexandria
, Egypt
. Bence-Jones was born in London, in 1930, but most of his childhood was spent in India, and plans for his education in England were curtailed by the outbreak of World War II
.
Following the war, the family moved to Ireland, where they had originally come from, the ancestral home having been Lisselane in County Cork
, which had left family ownership in the early 1930s. Instead they bought a decaying country house called Glenville Park, located near Cork City. Bence-Jones completed his schooling at Ampleforth College
, and went on to study history at Pembroke College, Cambridge
, then agriculture at the Royal Agricultural College
, at Cirencester
, with the intention of running the family's estate in Ireland.
Bence-Jones is best known for his authorship of Burke’s Guide to Country Houses Volume 1: Ireland, (1978). This was an ambitious work, trying to record the architecture of all the Irish country houses, including those that were, by then, lost or ruined. He made copious use of photographs and family albums in private ownership. He also wrote three books about India, Palaces of the Raj (1973), The Viceroys of India (1982) and Clive of India (1987). The first of these is believed to be the first book to give serious academic consideration to the subject of British architecture in India, He was the consultant editor for Burke's Irish Family Records, 1973-76.
He also tried his hand at writing novels: three comedies of upper-class life in Rome, London and Ireland. One of these received an enthusiastic review from John Betjeman
, but none remain in print.
In 1965, he was married to Gillian Enid Pretyman, grand-daughter of the Conservative politician Ernest George Pretyman
and author of a collection of poems: Ostrich Creek, published in 1999. They had a son and two daughters.
Bence-Jones was a devout Catholic, serving, at one time, as Chancellor of the Irish Association of the Knights of Malta (see Sovereign Military Order of Malta), and attending the Lourdes
pilgrimage.
In later years, ill health prevented him from finishing a biography of his friend, the novellist Elizabeth Bowen
. It also limited his travelling, and he gave the house at Glenville to his younger daughter. Bence-Jones died in his English house in Suffolk, in 2010.
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
. He regarded himself as being both Irish and English, seeing no contradiction in these statements of nationality.
Life and works
Bence-Jones was the son of Colonel Philip Reginald Bence-Jones who was the head of an engineering school in LahoreLahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. His mother was half French and half English and had been brought up in Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. Bence-Jones was born in London, in 1930, but most of his childhood was spent in India, and plans for his education in England were curtailed by the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Following the war, the family moved to Ireland, where they had originally come from, the ancestral home having been Lisselane in County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
, which had left family ownership in the early 1930s. Instead they bought a decaying country house called Glenville Park, located near Cork City. Bence-Jones completed his schooling at Ampleforth College
Ampleforth College
Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire, England, is the largest Roman Catholic co-educational boarding independent school in the United Kingdom. It opened in 1802, as a boys' school, and is run by the Benedictine monks and lay staff of Ampleforth Abbey...
, and went on to study history at Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
, then agriculture at the Royal Agricultural College
Royal Agricultural College
The Royal Agricultural College is a higher education institution located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK. Established in 1845, it was the first agricultural college in the English speaking world...
, at Cirencester
Cirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
, with the intention of running the family's estate in Ireland.
Bence-Jones is best known for his authorship of Burke’s Guide to Country Houses Volume 1: Ireland, (1978). This was an ambitious work, trying to record the architecture of all the Irish country houses, including those that were, by then, lost or ruined. He made copious use of photographs and family albums in private ownership. He also wrote three books about India, Palaces of the Raj (1973), The Viceroys of India (1982) and Clive of India (1987). The first of these is believed to be the first book to give serious academic consideration to the subject of British architecture in India, He was the consultant editor for Burke's Irish Family Records, 1973-76.
He also tried his hand at writing novels: three comedies of upper-class life in Rome, London and Ireland. One of these received an enthusiastic review from John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
, but none remain in print.
In 1965, he was married to Gillian Enid Pretyman, grand-daughter of the Conservative politician Ernest George Pretyman
Ernest George Pretyman
Ernest George Pretyman PC, JP, DL , known as E. G. Pretyman, was a British soldier and Conservative Party politician.-Background and education:...
and author of a collection of poems: Ostrich Creek, published in 1999. They had a son and two daughters.
Bence-Jones was a devout Catholic, serving, at one time, as Chancellor of the Irish Association of the Knights of Malta (see Sovereign Military Order of Malta), and attending the Lourdes
Lourdes
Lourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France.Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous...
pilgrimage.
In later years, ill health prevented him from finishing a biography of his friend, the novellist Elizabeth Bowen
Elizabeth Bowen
Elizabeth Dorothea Cole Bowen, CBE was an Irish novelist and short story writer.-Life:Elizabeth Bowen was born on 7 June 1899 at 15 Herbert Place in Dublin, Ireland and was baptized in the nearby St Stephen's Church on Upper Mount Street...
. It also limited his travelling, and he gave the house at Glenville to his younger daughter. Bence-Jones died in his English house in Suffolk, in 2010.
Non-fiction
- Mark Bence-Jones, The remarkable Irish, D. McKay Co., 1966
- Mark Bence-Jones, Palaces of the Raj: magnificence and misery of the Lord Sahibs, Allen and Unwin, 1973. ISBN 0049540173, 9780049540170
- Mark Bence-Jones, Clive of India, Constable, 1974
- Mark Bence-Jones, The Cavaliers, Constable, 1976
- Mark Bence-Jones, Burke's Guide to Country Houses: Ireland. Volume 1 of Burke's and Savills Guide to Country Houses, Burke's Peerage, 1978
- Mark Bence-Jones, Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, The British aristocracy, Constable, 1979
- Mark Bence-Jones, The viceroys of India, Constable, 1982
- Mark Bence-Jones, Great English homes: ancestral homes of England and Wales and the people who lived in them, British Heritage Press, 1984. ISBN 0517442957, 9780517442951
- Mark Bence-Jones, Twilight of the ascendancy, Constable, 1987
Fiction
- Mark Bence-Jones, All a nonsense: a novel, Peter Davies, 1957
- Mark Bence-Jones, Paradise escaped, Davies, 1958
- Mark Bence-Jones, Nothing in the city, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1965