[1] Listed degrees and qualifications: OBE, DLC, BSc, BA, MA, DPhil, DLitt, DLit, FSA, FSAScot, FRHistS.
[2] Rodwell excavated a number of prehistoric, Roman, Anglo-Saxon and medieval sites in Essex and Eastern England during the 1960s and 1970s, including Asheldham, Hadstock, Kelvedon, Rivenhall and Wickford.
Rodwell was instrumental in bringing about change and applying the principles of archaeological investigation to standing buildings of all types.
[citation needed] In 1975 he was appointed as the first director of CRAAGS, the professional archaeological unit covering the counties of Avon, Gloucestershire and Somerset[3] and led a major campaign of excavations and structural recording at Wells Cathedral (1978–93).
In 1981 he set up in private practice as a consultant archaeologist and architectural historian, specialising in the investigation, recording and analysis of churches, cathedrals and major secular buildings of medieval and later date, including castles, palaces and country houses.
In 1992 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and in 1998 was made a Membre d'Honneur of La Société Jersiaise in recognition of his services to the archaeology of Jersey, where over a forty-year period he led numerous archaeological and restoration projects on the island's churches, castles and vernacular buildings.
Rodwell also designed and built several additions to the manor house, including a library and an octagonal Gothick staircase tower and prospect chamber.
Rodwell has published extensively: books, academic monographs, pamphlets, articles in learned journals and chapters in collective volumes.