In Memoriam: Penelope Walton Rogers, FSA, Dip.Acc.

It is with great sadness that we write with news of the recent passing of Penelope Walton Rogers, a long-time friend, collaborator and Honorary Visiting Fellow of the department. Penelope was a central figure in both the archaeology of York and the development of artefact analysis more generally.

As proprietor of the Anglo-Saxon Laboratory (and as such a near-neighbour to those of us based in King’s Manor), Penelope was well known to everyone in the fields of early-medieval archaeology, artefact study, or textile and fibre analysis.  Her reputation as one of the leading specialists in the study of archaeological textiles, clothing, dyes and fibres was established back in the 1980s, and since then she has undertaken specialist research for large numbers of clients across Europe and beyond, making an incredible contribution to the study of textiles. Alongside this work, Penelope also worked on a wide range of early-medieval artefact assemblages, leading to her foundation of The Anglo-Saxon Laboratory in 2001. Her contribution to our understanding of the archaeology of York has been immense; her volumes in the Archaeology of York fascicule series in particular are classics and sit on the shelves of finds specialists across Europe.

From a departmental perspective, working with Penelope has offered both staff and students great opportunities. She was a regular contributor to teaching, introducing several cohorts of second-year students to the study of textiles and fibres, as well as presenting to our Viking Studies Research Group on one of her favourite subjects: the study of gender in early-medieval archaeology. Penelope supported numerous Masters and PhD projects through spending time with students at the microscope, passing on her expertise and skills to a new generation, and offering experience in an active archaeological finds lab. She was also a keen and valued collaborator for staff, most recently being a key member of Steve Ashby and Søren Sindbæk’s Craft Networks in Viking Towns project, and producing two characteristically magisterial overview chapters for the ensuing volume, on textile manufacture and metalworking in Viking-Age Britain and Ireland.

Penelope’s loss is keenly felt in York, and leaves a void in the global community of early-medieval finds researchers. Penelope does, however, leave us the legacy of her work, which will continue to act as the foundation for leading-edge artefact research in the decades to come.

Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Penelope’s friends and family at this terrible time.

Select Bibliography

Walton, P, 1989, Textiles, Cordage and Raw Fibre from 16-22 Coppergate (The Archaeology of York 17/5), London: CBA for York Archaeological Trust.

Walton Rogers, P, 1997, Textile Production at 16-22 Coppergate, (The Archaeology of York 17/11). York: CBA for York Archaeological Trust.

Speed, G, and Walton Rogers, P, 2004, ‘A burial of a Viking woman at Adwick-le-Street, South Yorkshire’, Medieval Archaeology 48, 51-90.

Walton Rogers, P, 2007, Cloth and Clothing in Early Anglo-Saxon England (AD 450-700) (CBA Research Report 145). York: CBA.

Walton Rogers, P, 2013, Tyttel’s Halh: The Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Tittleshall, Norfolk, East Anglian Archaeology 150.

Walton Rogers, P, 2020, ‘Chapter 12. Non-ferrous metalworking networks in Scandinavian-influenced towns of Britain and Ireland’ in S P Ashby and S M Sindbæk (eds), Crafts and Social Networks in Viking Towns, 251-283. Oxford and Philadelphia: Oxbow.

Walton Rogers, P, 2020, ‘Chapter 5. Textile networks in Viking-Age towns of Britain and Ireland’, in S P Ashby and S M Sindbæk (eds), Crafts and Social Networks in Viking Towns, 83-122. Oxford and Philadelphia: Oxbow.