James Peill
James van Someren Peill | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1971 (age 54–55) Herefordshire, England |
| Education | Monmouth School |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh (MA) |
| Occupations | Author and Officer of Arms |
| Spouse | Saskia née Lawson-Johnston |
| Website | www.college-of-arms.gov.uk |
James van Someren Peill FSA (born 1971), is a British author and historian, who since 2024 serves at the College of Arms in London as an officer of arms and member of the Royal Household.[1]
Biography
Early life
Brought up in Herefordshire, Peill attended Monmouth School where he was Captain of Boats, before going up to read History of Art at the University of Edinburgh, graduating MA in 1994.[2]
Career
Peill joined Christie's as a graduate trainee in London specialising in furniture and worked as an auctioneer in New York, becoming a director, until 2008. Recruited in 2009 by the 10th Duke of Richmond, Lennox and Gordon as curator of the Goodwood Collection (until 2022).[3]
Elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (FSA) in 2016,[4] Peill is the author of Glorious Goodwood: A Biography of England’s Greatest Sporting Estate (Constable & Little, Brown, 2019) and The English Country House (Vendome, 2013), as well as co-authoring, with fellow antiquarian Desmond FitzGerald, Irish Furniture (Yale, 2007) and The Irish Country House (Vendome, 2010).[5]
Joining the College of Arms as a probationary officer in 2022, Peill was appointed in 2024 as Bluemantle Pursuivant in succession to Mark Scott.[6]
Family
In 2008 Peill married Saskia Lawson Johnston (born 1985), an artist and only daughter of the Hon. Philip Lawson Johnston, the glass engraver;[7] and granddaughter of Ian Lawson Johnston, 2nd Baron Luke KCVO.
See also
References
- ^ "Bluemantle Pursuivant - College of Arms". College of Arms. 16 April 2024.
- ^ "The afternoon session at Edinburgh". The Herald. 15 July 1994.
- ^ "The History Man". www.goodwood.com. 10 July 2019.
- ^ "Mr James Peill". Society of Antiquaries of London. 3 March 2016.
- ^ "James Peill". Thames & Hudson.
- ^ "No. 64374". The London Gazette. 19 April 2024. p. 7898.
- ^ "Philip Lawson Johnston". Philip Lawson Johnston. Retrieved 27 February 2026.