Roger Bowdler completed a PhD at Cambridge on 17th century church monuments with memento mori imagery in 1991. He worked at English Heritage (latterly Historic England) for 28 years as a historian and later a listing inspector, becoming Director of Listing and leading many reforms to the heritage protection system. He now works as a consultant at Montagu Evans, advising clients on heritage issues, as well as teaching and writing. Roger is a member of the London Diocesan Advisory Committee, a trustee of the War Memorials Trust, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.