[5][6] Part of his childhood was spent in Jerusalem where he was first acquainted with Sir Steven Runciman, historian and Byzantine scholar.

From 1964 he was Research Fellow and from 1965 Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Birmingham, where he created a programme in Byzantine studies.

[4][5][2] In a distinguished career he has held fellowships at Athens University, Dumbarton Oaks and Merton College, Oxford.

[4][6] A number of photographs attributed to Bryer appear in the Conway Library[10] at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London.

This collection includes architectural images, religious and secular, across many countries and is in the process of being digitised as part of the Courtauld Connects[11] project.