Brian Hope-Taylor (b. Surrey, 21 October 1923 – Cambridge, 12 January 2001) was an artist, archaeologist, broadcaster and university lecturer, who made a significant contribution to the understanding of early British history.
In order to advance himself professionally, Hope-Taylor was permitted in 1958 to register at St John's College, Cambridge, to undertake a PhD thesis concerning the archeology of Yeavering, Northumberland, a seat of governance in Anglo-Saxon Britain, despite not having a first degree, never having been to university.
[2] Between the work at Doon Hill and Bamburgh, there came the call (in 1966) to undertake engineering excavations within York Minster, when it was realised that the great building was threatened by collapse.
During the repairs which followed, much of his time was spent on ensuring the completion of the essential archaeological investigations, in his capacity as Director of Research, with a committee chaired by his friend, Sir Mortimer Wheeler.
Hope-Taylor resigned his position in Cambridge in 1976 and moved up north, to live in Wooler, Northumberland – close to the Yeavering site that had been the subject of his thesis – where he was cared for in ill health by old friends Vera and Lionel Rutherford.