Under the tutelage of Henry William Carless Davis and Arthur Lionel Smith, he took first-class honours in modern history in 1908.
[2] He succeeded as House of Lords librarian in 1922, and served approximately three decades in the post while continuing to pursue his passion for genealogy and antiquities, earning a reputation for his expertise in both art and archaeology.
His knowledge of art and archaeology was encyclopaedic; and he always paid scrupulous attention to the unexciting but demanding work of classification and administration.
Peers placed great reliance on his recommendation of sources of information, and knowledge of parliamentary history, and he was even consulted on the rules of precedence.
It was a tribute to his knowledge and judgment when, towards the end of his career... Mr R. A. Butler (now Lord Butler of Saffron Walden) appointed him a member of the reviewing committee on the export of works of art.From the early 1920s he meticulously pursued his interest in the history of Yorkshire and published numerous volumes for the Yorkshire Archaeological and History Society.