David Wright, M.A., Ph.D., F.S.A., F.S.G., F.H.G.

Education:

         Simon Langton Boys’ School, Canterbury
       University College, London:
          1985: B.A. (Hons) in Classics
          1988: M.A. (with distinction) in Latin Palaeography and Textual Criticism
          2001: Ph.D. A Critical Edition of Book 37 of Pliny’s “Natural History"

Full-time employment:

         2020: Principal of the Institute of Genealogical and Heraldic Studies, Canterbury
         1996-2001: Cataloguer, valuer and traveller,
                                Sotheby’s Philatelic Dept, 34-35 New Bond St, London W1A
          1972-1982: Valuer and auctioneer, Stanley Gibbons Ltd, 399 Strand, London
          1978–date: Self-employed genealogist and historian: genealogical papers
                                and articles. Lecturing at home and abroad.

Teaching:

          1992-2008 passim: Latin palaeography and Latin for local historians at the
                                               School of History, University of Kent at Canterbury
          2002-2003: Mediaeval Latin at the City Lit
          2003-2009: Latin at the London Summer School in Classics             
          2003-2005: Teaching Fellow in Latin, Mediaeval Latin, and Classical and
                                 Mediaeval Latin Palaeography at University College, London
          2020: Principal of the Institute for Heraldic and Genealogical Studies, Canterbury

Publications:

          East Kent Parishes (1991; 2nd ed. 2002)
          The Kentish Census Returns 1801-1901 (2003)
          Kent Probate Records (2004)
          A History of St Peter’s, Whitstable (2009)
          Bryan Faussett, Antiquary Extraordinary (2015)
          Tracing Your Kent Ancestors (2016)
              
          Articles:

          “The earliest parish registers of the Diocese of Canterbury: some
          observations, questions and problems” (Arch. Cant. 2014,153-87).

           "A Life of William Somner, 1606-1669" (Arch. Cant. 2019; 2020)

Other Studies:

          2001-2002:  Kent and Canterbury Hospital Chaplaincy Course
          2004-2008:  Diocese of Canterbury Licensed Reader Training
          2008-2009:  Diploma in Counselling Studies at University of Kent     

Interests:

          Latin language and the classics generally; palaeography; philology; art;
          archaeology; ecclesiastical and other architecture; Anglo-Saxon and
          Mediaeval England; ecclesiology; genealogy and heraldry; philately;
          chess; bridge; walking; travelling in remote places. Working knowledge of
          the contents of many major museums and galleries, especially in London.
          Reasonable fluency in French; reading knowledge of German and Spanish.

Honours:

         Fellow of the Society of Genealogists, F.S.G. (2009)
         Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, F.S.A. (2017)
         Fellow of the Institute of Heraldic & Genealogical Studies, F.H.G. (2021)