Many members of the archaeological community will be sad to learn of the death of (John) Eric Robinson at the age of 95 on 3rd May 2025. He served as a Council Member of the Royal Archaeological Institute from 1989-2001, was Vice President from 1993-1999, and remained an Honorary Vice-President until his death. His passion for archaeology, conservation and particularly historical architecture involved him in an impressive range of activities that also encompassed British Heritage, the Drystone Walling Association of Great Britain, the Living Churchyard Scheme, the Welsh Stone Forum and many other similar bodies.
Eric was born in Newcastle upon Tyne on 30th October 1929. On finishing school, he was offered a place at Cambridge University but, due to financial hardship, eventually accepted a scholarship at Newcastle University where he did his first degree and PhD: not in archaeology, but in geology, which became his primary career.
Eric moved to London in 1954 to take up a position at University College, where he lectured and acted as a specialist micropalaeontologist for nearly half a century. During this time, he became a major figure in the Geologists’ Association, holding roles as Circular Editor, Librarian, Senior Vice-President and President (1991-1994). His distinctiveness, though, is that he eschewed the traditional academic route in favour of popularizing geology – bringing the science to the street, to the graveyard and to schools. He pioneered the now-widespread ‘urban geology’ concept, conducting large parties around city streets, opening their eyes to the rocks and fossils in the building stones and pavements, and explaining their origins. Anyone attending such a tour would inevitably be treated to wide-ranging diversions into architecture, art, history and the lives of the people involved in their making.
On his connection with the RAI, Eric explained in one of his essays that archaeologists, despite their impressive expertise, sometimes need help in recognising materials’ sources, whether they be ballast or building stone, and in understanding the relationship of buildings to their geological environment. This is where, as a geologist, he felt he could be useful. He wrote “There is no future in being introspective in our science. There are considerable returns when we look outwards to other disciplines.”
This outlook on life came to the fore when Eric was consulted on a conservation plan for the famous Cosmati Pavement at Westminster Abbey. Built by the Italian Cosmati bothers at the time of Henry II, the pavement consists of a beautiful mosaic featuring many different building stones. In an attempt at preservation, it had been covered up, first with straw and then by a rubber-backed carpet which was peeled back briefly for ceremonial occasions. As a geologist, Eric realized that the covering was in fact contributing to the pavement’s deterioration. The Cosmatis had incorporated Purbeck Marble from Dorset, which contained pyrite – an impure iron sulphide which can deteriorate rapidly when under an insulating cover. This intervention resulted in the abbey’s current policy of exposing the mosaic to the atmosphere more freely, while protecting it in other ways. Eric also published on the stones in the Tower of London.
Eric Robinson spent his later years in retirement in Watchet, Somerset, from where he continued to interact with both the geology and archaeology worlds. He was a true polymath, who was driven not so much by ambition as by an insatiable curiosity and love of the natural world. He will be fondly remembered as a husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend to many. To his students and colleagues, he stood out as a mentor, a friendly ear and a seemingly limitless source of information. In 2019, a group of colleagues got together to produce a commemorative tribute to him with a series of anecdotes from friends, ex-students and fellow geologists. This booklet was published by the Geologists’ Association as “Ericdotes.” More recently, his colleagues started collating and filing Eric’s vast body of work from across the years to form the “Erichive” – a major task and a true homage to the respect and love he commands. The “Erichive” is now housed at University College London, and ensures that his work and knowledge is preserved and can be accessed by all in future; it serves as a lasting legacy of a truly remarkable man.
Tony Doré, Wendy Rees and Helen Chave
