Keppel Archibald Cameron Creswell

Author(s): R. W. Hamilton
Source: Muqarnas, Vol. 8, K. A. C. Creswell and His Legacy (1991), pp. 128-136
Published by: BRILL
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 R. W. HAMILTON

KEPPEL ARCHIBALD CAMERON CRESWELL*

Whenin 1950thePresidentoftheRoyalAsiaticSociety, In thesummerof 1891,beforehe was twelve,Archie

Sir GerardClauson, presentedto K. A. C. Creswellthe wentto Westminster School.His mother,a RomanCa-
Society's Triennial Gold Medal he said: "Professor tholic,was reconciledto the choiceofan Anglicanes-
Creswellhas notonlygotto thehead ofhis profession; tablishmentby the hope that an ecclesiasticalambi-
he has createdit." If,as I believe,thatwas said notby ence,ofwhatevercolour,mighthave at leasta salutary
wayofconventional hyperbolebutas a consideredsum- influence.But heredity had transmitted fromthevicars
mary of Creswell's achievement,implying thathe had of Radford not the least inclination to the beliefsor
the
given study ofIslamic architecturea professional of
or, practices religion, and to the end of his days Archie
perhaps one mightsay, a scientific
qualitywhich it had would have none of them.
previouslylacked,it is ofinterestto ask whatwerethe At Westminster he did well and theretookthefirst
originalor distinctivequalitiesin Creswell'swork as an steps toward developingthe aptitudesthat were to
archaeologist or historian which prompted the Presi- shape his One ofthesewas mathematics.
future. All his
dent'sparticularchoiceofwords. fiveyearsat theschoolwerespentin theMathematics
The answeris to be soughtpartlyin thecontentand or ScienceSet,and formostofthelastthreehe heldthe
styleofCreswell'swritingand also partlyin themanner firstplace in thatset.He wonfiveprizesofsomesortfor
ofhis life;forthetwoare interconnected. He could not schoolwork,includingin histhirdyeartheVincentMe-
haveaccomplishedthetaskhe sethimself, on theprinci- morialPrizeforEnglish.It maybe thathe had already
ples he had adoptedin earlyyears,withoutalso adopt- acquired that giftof terse and trenchantexpression
inga programmeand a stylewhichgovernedthewhole which is a conspicuousquality of his archaeological
courseofhis life. writing.One oftheprizesgainedat Westminster was a
ArchieCreswell- togivehimthenamebywhichhe copy of George Rawlinson's TheSeventh GreatOriental
was knownat homeand amonghisfriends - was born Monarchy (perhaps the whole set); and in later years
in Londonon 13 September1879,in a smallfamilycir- Creswellattributedhis earlyinterestin theEast partly
cle which gave no apparent hint of the directionin to thisbook. Even earlier,as a small boy,he had been
whichhis careerwould lie or ofthegiftsthathe would givena storybook illustratedwithpicturesofeastern
develop.His father,Keppel Creswell,was 38 yearsold buildings;and thisset himoff,about theage oftwelve,
at the timeand connectedwithLloyds. Nothingelse collectingpicturesand descriptionsfromtravelbooks
seemsto be knownabout himthatmightbe relevantto whichhe enteredin a scrapbook.So began his firsten-
his son's career.His wife,Margaret,was thedaughter thusiasmforeasternarchitecture and a methodicalap-
ofa solicitorin Rugby.Therewas a daughter,Margery, proachto itwhichhe neverabandoned.His mathemat-
Archie's only sister.They lived at 12 Regent's Park ical bent,too,was to be reflected in a constantreliance
Road. on measureddimensionsas the foundationofarchae-
Keppel Creswellcame ofa Nottinghamfamily.His ologicalinvestigation, in his interestin metrology,and
fatherand grandfather had bothbeen clergymen, suc- in a habitual alertnessfornumericalor geometrical
cessivevicarsof the Nottinghamparishof Radford,a propertiesin thebuildingshe studied.The mathemat-
livingwhichbetweenthemtheyheldforseventy-seven ics ofa buildingcould stirhimto eloquence,as in the
years,from1803-1880.The firstrecordedancestor,Sa- conclusionofhis studyoftheDome oftheRock,where
muelCreswell,was proprietor oftheNottingham Jour- he wrote:
nal.

*
Reprinted with permission fromthe Proceedingsof theBritishAcademy,vol. 60 (1974): 3-20.

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 KEPPEL ARCHIBALD CAMERON CRESWELL 129

Some oftheratiosinvolved... especiallythatwhichthe ironyor derision, the hotch-potchofweirdfantasiesinto

diameterofa circlebearsto itscircumference,
whichen- two equal and exactly balanced schemes, tabulated on
tersintotheequationofmovement ofeverything
inspace, the page in geometrical form, thus satisfyingan in-
nay,further,intotheequation ofmovementof thevery
electronsoftheatomitself,are fundamentalin timeand tellectual drive fororder and claritywhich may be rec-
space,goingdowntotheverybasisofourownnatureand ognized in all his writings.
ofthephysicaluniversein whichwe exist,and [he ends, Clearly, however,thiswas a digressionfromthe main
returningtoearth]maywellappeal tous subconsciously. current of Creswell's thought. In August 1913 he was
corresponding with the Burlington Magazine on the
Besides mathematics at WestminsterArchie went in se- chronology of a Persian tiled mihrab;and later in the
riouslyforphysical and muscular fitness.He won three year published in the same magazine his own firstessay
prizes for gymnastics, and presumably then acquired "On the Origin of the Persian Double Dome." Shortly
that robustness and tolerance of fatiguewhich enabled afterthathe read a paper to the Royal Asiatic Societyon
him later to endure shatteringjourneys across semi- "The History and Evolution of the Dome in Persia,"
desert tracksand retain energyto carryout forthwith, in which impressed his audience by its originality and
conditions oftenof extreme discomfort,the meticulous grasp of building techniques.
archaeological surveys that his work required. This In May 1914 Creswell decided to apply forappoint-
meant not only inspection and writtenrecords but also ment in the Archaeological Surveyof India. His letterof
measured plans and photography; forbesides being an application is the best source we have for this period,
indefatigable traveller he was a resourcefuland accu- and is worth quoting extensively:
rate surveyor and a photographer of fullyprofessional
skill. Muhammedanarchitecture has fora longtimeabsorbed
Leaving Westminsterin the summer of 1896 Creswell mythoughtsand sparetime.Besidestheoriginalstudies,
which I enclose, I have accumulated a considerable
entered the City and Guilds Technical College at Fins-
amountofnotes;in thecase ofPersiaand Mesopotamia
bury to study electrical engineering.He became famil- alone, I have read, apart fromarchitectural works,140
iar with the technicalitiesofarchitecturaland mechani- booksof traveland over40 articlesin theJ.R.G.S. and
cal drawings, and acquired that elegant and decisive J.R.A.S. FromtheseI have extractedeveryarchitectural
and which must strike reference theextractsunder(1st)thetownand
classifying
draughtsmanship calligraphy theparticularbuilding.In thiswayI haveobtained
(2nd)
anyone examining the drawings by his hand that ac- 1100 sheets,in some cases 30 fora singlebuildingand
company and match his lucid and disciplined writing. over 100 fortownssuch as Isfahanand Meshed. These
There followedsome years ofemploymentin the elec- extractsat presentcover the periodfrom1900 back to
trical firmof Siemens Bros.; then- ratherunexpected- 1665and have beeninvaluableto me,earlywritersoften
- in the branch of giving dated inscriptionswhichhave sinceperished,be-
ly London the Deutsche-Bank, sidesotherinformation as to restoration& c. I have also
where he was workingin 1914. But throughoutthisperi- made a cardindexofdatedbuildingsin Persiaand Meso-
od the real interestofhis lifewas already Muslim archi- potamia and Central Asia, arranged chronologically,
in
tecture, particular that of Persia. His serious applica- which has also been invaluable,enablingme to look at
tion to the subject began in 1910, when he was card aftercard,visualizethebuildingsand so realizeviv-
idly theexact evolutionof thestyle.I have 257 of these
thirty-oneand started to collect a library. Sixty years cards,myseriesbeingfourtimesas extensiveas anypub-
later this was one of the most complete private collec- lished up to the present.I have recentlycommenceda
tions on this subject, much of it sumptuously bound bibliographyof MuhammedanArtand Architecture, a
during his annual visits to London. In December 1912 thing badly wanted, butit onlyextends at presentto 400
he published his firstarticle. It was not architecturalat cards.
all; and few of us could have guessed that it would be
contributed to The OccultReview,with the title"A Com- At this point, reading the letter,one mightgain the im-
parison of the Hebrew Sephiroth with the Paut Neteru pression that thewriter'sinterestlay more in the perfec-
of Egypt." It is impossible to guess what may have tion of a bibliographical method than in enjoyment of
lured Creswell into this bizarre and unexpected field; the buildings themselves. But this would be a mistake.
but the point of the article was to propose a precise cor- With unexpected warmthoffeelingthe lettercontinues:
relation of myths in the cosmogonies of ancient Egypt
and the Qabalah. By the end ofit Creswell's disciplined I wouldgiveanythingto getout to theEast and see and
pen had characteristicallyorganized, withouta trace of workon buildingsI have beendreamingaboutforyears.

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130 R. W. HAMILTON

earnestness:
Then, withcharacteristic It is notknownhow long,ifat all, he remainedcon-
cernedwithequipment.In April1918he was appointed
Butthereis onefactI mustbe perfectly frank about.All StaffCaptain in the Royal Air Force, and was twice
myinterests andsympathies arewithMuhammedan ar- mentionedin General
chitecture,whichmakesa peculiarandspecialappealto Allenby'sdispatches.In theNew
Year of 1919 he became M.B.E. (MilitaryDivision).
mebeyond anyotherstyle;whereas theHinduspirit and
geniusis a thinginwhichI haveneither partnorunder- But what made Creswell's futurewas gettingappoint-
standing, and were my work to lie in that directionit ed, with help from D. G. Hogarth,inJulyof1919as In-
wouldinevitably lack thatkeenness and driving force of Monuments in
whichonlycomesofa labouroflove. spector Allenby'smilitaryadminis-
trationof Occupied EnemyTerritory.To compilean
inventory, his firsttask,Creswell(now an ArmyCap-
That is about as near as Creswellevergotto revealing tain) was stationedinitiallyat Aleppo,towardtheex-
an emotionalattitudeto hissubject.For all theavowed tremenorthof the area, thensuccessivelyat Amman,
intensity and polarizationofhisfeelingsas betweenthe Haifa, and Jerusalem.In thisway,travellingby army
Muslim and the Hindu spirit,it is probablytruethat transport,on horsebackor by donkey,he was able to
what most moved him in architecturewas not the measure and photographmonumentsfromthe Eu-
thoughtofhumanmotivesortemperaments inspiringit phratesto the bordersof Egypt."By May 1920," he
but the spectacle and intellectualcontemplationof writes,"I feltI had gotan adequate knowledgeofSyr-
physical forcesand materialsinteractingin a well- ian architecture, and I drewup a proposalfora History
or
planned aptly enriched structure. So, to introduce of the Muslim Architecture ofEgypt."
thefirstvolumeofhisEarlyMuslimArchitecture, Creswell Events had turnedthe focusof Creswell'sinterest
chose as a mottotwo versesby G. G. Williams(from fromPersia to Egypt;but he was aware thathis study
Westminster SchoolEpigrams)ofwhichthesecond reads: mustbeginin Iraq and Syria,wheretheearlieststage
"Man sets dead stonesin counterpoise,by thrustand was set. In the tenmonthshe had spentin Syriaand
pressuremarshalsstrife:wrestling, grim-silent theyre- Palestinehe had travelledover5,000 miles,taken960
joice: thus to brute matter God gives life." photographs,made twentymeasured drawingsand
It has sometimesbeen thoughta shortcomingof written300 pages ofnotes.It was characteristic ofhim
Creswell's method and style of historythat having to includethesestatisticsin theproposalwhichhe sub-
achievedan exhaustivestatementoftheevolutionofa mittedshortlyafterto King Fuad I ofEgypt.The work
form,or ofa particularbuildingor seriesofbuildings, was tobe,in Creswell'swords,an "exhaustivehistory."
enumerating everyexamplein precisechronological se- It was to have plans,drawings,and photographs of65
quence, he would as a rule regard that as fulfillinghis per cent of the monuments, with brief referenceto the
purpose and leave to others anyprofounder speculation rest. There were to be chapters on the evolutionof the
on social,economic,or politicalcauses. Thereare some mosqueplan,oftheminaret,ofdomesand pendentives
groundsforthatcriticism, thoughit is by no meansal- and oftheplan ofthemadrasa. Special chapterswereto
ways true. The fact is that Creswell set out to write be included on the representation oflivingformsin Is-
about architecture, notpeople. For himthetruthto be lam and on themilitary architecturerepresented bythe
establishedconcernedbuildings;human beings and walls and citadelofCairo. Therewas to be a fullbibli-
theiraffairswerepartoftheevidence,notviceversa.In ographyforeverymonumentcompiledfromthelitera-
so faras humanaffairs gave theclue toan architectural tureofbotharchitecture and travel.
problem, or contributed to the interest of a building, or King Fuad was pleased to patronizea monumental
even justified an entertainingdigression,Creswell work devoted to what Creswell describedto him as
wouldmakefulluse ofthem;buthe was notconcerned "one of the greatestand mostinteresting branchesof
to reversethedirectionofhis thought. Muslim architecture, which will make knownin all
Creswelldid notget to India. War brokeout in Au- partsoftheworldthegloriousachievements, as wellas
gust,and itwas war notIndia thatin theend gave him the historyand evolution,of modernarchitecturein
whathe desired.Selectedon probationforappointment Egypt." Creswellreceivedas a personalgiftfromthe
as an AssistantEquipmentOfficerin theRoyal Flying King a grantof?E 800 forthreeyearsto enable himto
Corps in April 1916,he was in due course posted to concentrateon his taskwithoutfinancialdistraction.
Egypt;and in Egypt,as it proved,he remainedforvir- He lostno timein gettingdemobilized.To makethe
tuallytherestofhis life. mostofa freepassagehomehe gothimself chargedwith

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 KEPPEL ARCHIBALD CAMERON CRESWELL 131

confidentialdispatchesfromLord Allenby to H.M. The Bibliographywas a quite formidableaccom-

High Commissionerin Constantinople;wherea fort- plishment.It represents, he tellsus, theworkofabout
night'sdelay,whiletheciviland military authorities
de- threemonthsa yearforthirty-nine years.The number
batedwhichofthemshouldundertakehisfurther trans- ofbooksand articlesrecordedis about 12,300;ofperiod-
portation,enabledCreswellto explorethemonuments ical volumesexamined11,749;and ofauthorsindexed
and otherattractions ofConstantinople. Havingpassed 4.620. He made it a rule,withrareexceptions,to cata-
through Parisintimeforan OrientalCongress,hewas de- logue no itemwhichhe had not examinedhimself.A
mobilizedin Londonin midJulyand was back in Cairo Supplementappeared in 1973, the year beforehis
withtwenty-two casesofbookson 13October1920.This death.
he latercalledthemostimportant date ofhislife. Over and above thesemajorworks,sixtyotheritems
At thattimeCreswellestimatedthathis bookwould are listedin thebibliography ofhis workincorporated
compriseabout a thousandpages in threevolumesand in a volumeofStudies inIslamicArtandArchitecture inhon-
wouldtakehimfiveyearsto prepare.But,as usual,the ourofProfessor K. A. C. Creswell,publishedin 1969bythe
task proved greaterthan the estimate.Creswellhad CenterforArabicStudiesoftheAmericanUniversity in
stipulatedforthehelp ofa draughtsman;butnonewas Cairo.
provided.Drawingsin thearchivesoftheConservation But thedistinction ofCreswell'slifeworkdid not,of
Committeewereto be at his disposal; but theyproved course, lie in the number or bulkofhiswritings; itlayin
so inaccuratethathe had to re-measureand plan every a calculated philosophywhich he practisedwithun-
building himself.Thus drawing,photography,and failingconsistency. Archaeologyforhimwas an empir-
writingof the textall fellon his shouldersunassisted. ical disciplinedirectedstrictly to measurablefacts,the
Above all, renewal of archaeologyin the Near East buildings themselves and their parts. The historyat
broughtto lightfreshand important monuments which whichhe aimedwas thepatternoftheirevolution,elic-
had to be included.So, by 1928theestimateoftexthad itedfromthefactsby exhaustivescrutinyand meticu-
increasedto 1,260pages in fourvolumes;whileby 1969 lous chronology. He insistedon this,foran archaeolog-
theworkas actuallypublished,expandedby doubling ical theorycould be upset,as he had manyoccasionsto
of its firstvolume in a second edition,had grownto show,by a singlefactmisdatedor overlooked;and the
1,769pages in fivehuge tomes.Materialsfora sixth, evolutionofa formcouldbe completely misrepresented
dealing with the last two centuriesof Mamluk rule, ifnottracedto itsverybeginnings. Thereforehe would
weredestinedto be leftincompleteat his death. emphasizethe firstappearance ofany significant fea-
These figuresand datesare relevant,fortheHistories ture, and authenticate it by seeking out and listing,in
(now divided into two, comprisingrespectively Early chronological order with dates,every relevantexample.
MuslumArchitecture and TheMuslimArchitecture ofEgypt) This couldbe tedious,butitwas effective. Thus,having
werethepivotaboutwhichCreswell'sliferevolved.Be- asserted(MuslimArchitecture ofEgyptI, 8) that"before
side them,however,in 1961he finishedanothermajor thefourthcenturymosque entranceswereplain open-
work,hisBibliography oftheArchitecture,
ArtsandCrafts of ings flushwiththe wall," and thatthe projectingen-
Islam.It is interestingthathe beganthisin 1912,before tranceto the mosque at Mahdiya in Tunisia was the
he had seen a single Islamic building,and at a time "earliestmonumentalentranceknown,"he proceeded
whenhe "saw no prospectofbeingable tovisittheEast to enumeratenineearlierplainexamplesand fourlater
and studyitsarchitecture on thespot." That illustrates monumentalones,all dated,to provehis point.
theinnatebias ofCreswell'smindtowardmethodand Conversely, Creswellhad no useforaprioritheorizing
bibliographyfortheirown sakes; his passion formar- and wouldsatirizeit withdevastatingwit.G. T. Rivoi-
shallingfacts,drawingthemup likea squad ofsoldiers, ra, withhis faithin the priorityof Rome in everyad-
dressedchronologically in linewithno gaps permitted. vance, was a constantvictim.He was unluckyto dis-
This was a built-indisciplineinseparablefromevery- pute, with ill-judged rhetoric, the second- to
thinghe did. It explainsmuchofhis character,hisper- third-century date of some stone pendentivesin the
sonal habitsand evenappearance,as wellas hisstyleof baths at Gerasa: "What a singularphenomenon,"Ri-
scholarship.It is typicalthateven haircutswereduly voiraexclaimed,"so important a discovery wouldbe...
noted,withothercommitments, in his engagementdi- makingits appearancein Syria,perfectand complete,
aries.The drillwas indispensablefortheultimatesuc- in the days of the Early Empire!" On whichCreswell
cess ofhis work. commented:"Whata singulardiscoveryRivoirawould

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132 R. W. HAMILTON

have made ifhe had evervisitedQasr an Nuwayjis" (a edges,he somehowovercamewhatmighthave seemed

second-century domed tomb near Amman with true an insuperablehandicap.In Cairo he kneweverynook
pendentives) "and lookedinside!" and cranny,and wouldact as guidetoyoungorold who
Skimped research by experts would also come off showedsome interest.In Syria,too, and Palestinehe
badly.WhenE. Diez rejectedidentification ofthemihrab would appear as surelyas theswallowson thesceneof
at Mshattabecauseofitssize,saying"thebreadthofthe any new findor projectofconservationin theMuslim
nichewouldbe exceptionalevenin a verylargemosque field.So in thecourseofyearshe gaineda moredetailed
of late date (such a depth is hardlyever foundany- knowledgeofIslamic monuments in thearea thanany-
where)," Creswell promptly enumerated twenty-one of one else alive.
equal or greaterbreadthor depth,and commented: Livingin Cairo, Creswellbecame ifnot exactlythe
"This wildstatementis all themoreremarkablein that discoverercertainly thefirstrealexplorerofitsgreatest
Diez is theauthorofthearticleMihrabin theEncyclopae-single monument,the northernmedieval wall and
diaoflslam,so he shouldhavebeenbetterinformed." He gates. Of thesehe wrote:
devotednot less thanfifteen pages, a veritable sledge-
hammer,to obliteratethe old archaeologicalchestnut My own archaeological examination, duringwhichI
have traversed thewhole length... and walked,crawled,
which identifiedthe Umayyad Mosque at Damascus
orclimbed intopracticallyeverytower, sometimesenter-
withtheChurchofJohntheBaptist."These twotheo-
inghousesto do so, had revealedto me threedistinct
ries,"he wrote(Dussaud's and Watzinger's),"are alike stylesofwork, andI maintain thatportions oftheworkof
remarkableforthecompletedisregardtheyexhibitfor Badral Gamaliandoftheearlier andlaterworkofSalah
the evidence not only of the Muslim and Christian ad Din stillexist.
sourcesbutforthearchitectural factsas well." He pro-
ceeded then systematically to detail six architectural What thatpassage omitsis thatCreswellhimselfmea-
absurditiesand at leasta scoreoftexts(in chronological sured and drew the whole of what his crawlingsand
orderas always) whichmade nonsenseofthemythbut climbingsrevealed.In muchthesameway,byvisitsre-
wereignoredby its supporters. peatedas oftenas necessary(whichhiswayoflifemade
These examples, which could be endlesslymulti- possible)or bypersonalcontactwithexcavatorsoroffi-
plied, are worthquotingnot to show Creswellas the cials,notonlyin Cairo butin thewholeregionfrombe-
gadflyofforeignscholars,but to emphasizetheprinci- yondEuphratesto theAtlantic,Creswellassuredhim-
ples thathe himselffollowed:thepre-eminence offact selfthathisfactson everymonument wereas exactand
over theory,howeverbrilliant;the importanceof pre- up-to-dateas possible.That and his tirelesssearchof
cise chronology;and the necessityof exhaustivere- currentand past literaturewerethefoundations ofhis
search,bothin architecture and literature, by eventhe work,notlikelyto be seriouslyshakenorsupersededby
mosteminent.Two scholarsinhisfieldwhom,perhaps, anyothermethodor,foryearstocome,byanyothersin-
he mostadmired,who bothadheredto similarprinci- gle-handedscholar.Therein,perhaps,Creswellmaybe
ples, wereL. A. Mayerand Max van Berchem.It was said to have "createdhis profession."
van Berchemto whomhe dedicatedhis Bibliography in In 1931 Creswelljoined the staffof the Fuad Uni-
1961withthewords:"To thememoryofMax van Ber- versity ofCairofirst as a lecturerand threeyearslateras
chem,perfectfriendand perfectscholar." professor in a new Chair ofIslamic Artand Archaeol-
Creswellcouldadheretotheruleofexhaustivesearch ogy. In this capacityhe became in 1939 an ex officio
by settingpracticableboundsto his subject.The Mus- memberoftheHigherCouncil fortheConservationof
limArchitecture ofEgypt,withitsantecedentand col- Arab Monuments.In 1949 he accepted trusteeship of
lateralconnections,was a themewhichone man,ifhe the Palestine ArchaeologicalMuseum in Jerusalem,
startedearlyenough,couldhopeto coverin a lifetime of and foreighteenyearssharedwithfellowtrusteesthe
exclusiveconcentration. Accordingly, from1920Cres- delicatetaskofsustainingtheperfect orderand precari-
wellmade Cairo his homeand forthenexthalfcentury ous independenceof thatstrandedrelicof Britishad-
applied his time and almost all his movements(in- ministration. His tenureof the UniversityChair was
cludingthreemonthseach yearin England) to becom- abruptlyended by the Egyptiansin 1951 forreasons
ingintimately acquaintedwitheveryaccessiblemonu- thatare notrecordedbutwereprobablyrepresented as
mentand everyrelevanttext.He neverlearntto read allowableundera "probationary"clauseinsertedin the
Arabic; but thanksto friends,whosehelp he acknowl- two-yearcontractsunderwhichfortwenty yearsin suc-

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 KEPPEL ARCHIBALD CAMERON CRESWELL 133

cessionCreswellhad been employed.He feltjustlyag- tively.Then,in 1956,theSuez affair fellon Egypt.Cres-

grieved at thisdismissal, themore so as forseveralyears well was now a timeless figure in the humblerstreetsof
thereafter no successorwas foundto be appointed.Fur- Cairo, a familiarspectrefromsome earliergeneration,
thermore,continuationof his work,which the two passing withoutthoughtof molestationthroughthe
KingsofEgypthad sponsored,dependedinpartat least crowd.The authorities, however,decidedthathissafe-
on his universitysalary. Travelling expenses were tycould no longerbe assured.He began to pack; then
heavy;and he was in additionpartlysupporting hissis- learntthatexportofhis librarywould be banned.Re-
terat home,a sufferer fromarthritis. However,firstthe fusingtobe partedfromwhathe valuedequallywithhis
RockefellerInstituteand thenthe BollingenFounda- life,he resolvedtostayinCairo. An Americancolleague
tion came to the rescue with successiveFellowships, is said to relate- I cannotsay withwhat embellish-
and thesituationwas saved. ment- how,visitingCreswellon businessat hisflatin
Creswellwas nota bornteacher;hislecturesconsist- Hasan al Akbar,he was confronted by his host,then
ed largelyofreadingsfromhisownbooksorarticles,re- eighty-seven, seated withinthedoor poised and ready
pletewithfactsbuttoomagisterialto encouragein a to- todefendhimself and hisbooksvietarmis againstanyag-
tally inexperiencedaudience any inclinationtoward gression.
independentinquiry.It is hard to say how farhe may Things,however,did not reachthatextremity. The
have instilledin his Egyptianstudents,manyofwhom AmericanUniversity in Cairo offered sanctu-
indefinite
wouldlaterseekappointment in thearchaeologicalser- aryforthebooks,and Creswelldecidedtopresentthem
vice,a scientificor disinterested approachto archaeol- as a gifttotheUniversity. Buthe stipulatedtoretainab-
ogy;probablynotfar.But theyrespectedand mayhave solutecontrolof them,whichhe enforcedby his own
likedhim. He workedhard fortheirinterestsand ca- presencein theroomwheretheywerekept.Here,foras
reers,and some remainedhis staunchadmirers.But a longas his life'sroutineendured,commutingbetween
bulkyrecentworkin Arabicon Arab Architecture bya his flatand his library,an inflexible rulewas enforced:
former"best pupil" contains no acknowledgement of the precisearrangement of books on the shelveswas
debt to Creswell. sacrosanct; their integrity from all marks perpetual;
Undoubtedlyhis best serviceto Egypt was in the theirinviolability by profanehands absolute.
Council forConservation,ofwhichfortwelveyearshe It may be surmisedthatthisregime,whicheffectu-
was an assiduous and energeticmember. It was ally debarredstudentsfromusingthelibraryand pre-
throughthisbodythathe bulliedand cajoled theMinis- venteditsincorporation in anycatalogue,was a setback
try of PublicWorks and thePlanningAuthority of Cai- to the expectations of the University.However,it had
rotocarryoutat a costof?E 40,000thegreatclearance, also beenarranged,on theinitiativenotofCreswellbut
fora lengthof420 metres,oftheeleventh-and twelfth- oftheUniversity, foran Assistant'spostto be provided
century wall and gates of medieval Cairo, the greatest to "help look after the library"and take a share in
monument ofthecityand a monument, too,iffreshrub- teaching. Thus for the firsttime in his lifeCreswell
bish and shantiescould be keptfromit, of Creswell's foundhimselfwithan assistant,Dr. ChristelKessler,a
initiativeand pertinacity.He said later that "thejob graduateoftheFree University ofBerlinand a student
wouldhave beenmuchharderifmanyoftheofficials in- ofIslamics.Sinceitwas farfromCreswell'sintention to
volvedhad notbeenformer pupils of mine." That is the to
delegate any other person the least shareof responsi-
best testimony to his successas a university professor. bilityformanagementofhisbooksorfororganizinghis
Beside that personal achievementthere is frequent archaeologicalpapers,themain functionof theassist-
mentionin the proceedingsof the Council, and in his antwas to act as buffer and intermediary betweenpros-
ownbooks,ofotherworksofconservation or clearance, pectiveusersofthelibraryand itsdefender.It is rightto
notonlyin Cairo (e.g. excavationoftheNilometer)but add, however,thatin thecourseoftimesomemorenor-
also in Palestineand Syria,carriedoutat hisrequestby mal and permanentmeanswerefoundofat leastpartial
officialsor archaeologists,compliantor sympathetic. accommodationto theminimumneeds ofa facultyli-
In 1952 the firstvolume of The MuslimArchitecture of brary.
Egyptappeared,thesubstantiveworkon whichhe had Simultaneously withthetransfer ofhis library,Cres-
embarkedthirty-two yearsbefore.The twopreliminary well himselfwas appointedas a DistinguishedProfes-
but equally massivevolumesentitledEarlyMuslimAr- sor,withstipend.He greatlyappreciatedthistimelyge-
chitecturehad been publishedin 1932 and 1940 respec- nerosityof the AmericanUniversity,which solved a

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134 R. W. HAMILTON

really awkward problem. There could be no truermea- your valuable translation,whichI have spent the day
sure of the depth and sincerityof his appreciation than studying.But I reallyam rathersurprisedat thefootnotes
the giftof his library; forin the past, especially during ... one wouldalmostgettheimpressionthatscholarship
did not existoutsideFrance; in factthatnothingworth
the early years of the war, he had been severely critical
consultingexisted except what has been writtenin
of America and Americans. Numerous other honours, French.Whydo you avoid quotingEnglishsourceseven
military,civil and academic, had already come to him, in thosecases in whichthebestsourcefora givenpieceof
which are recorded in works of reference.He was elect- information happensto be in English?
ed Fellow of the British Academy in 1947. He became
C.B.E. in 1955; and in 1970, at the age of ninety,he re- He then lists twelve of his correspondent's footnotes
ceived fromthe Queen a Knighthood. where better referenceswould have been to Creswell's
All who had travelled with him, who had enjoyed his own works.
high spiritsor relished his oftenentertainingdisplays of He was convinced during his timeat Fuad University
inveterate prejudice, would agree that Creswell had a that a conspiracy against him, and against the appoint-
vein of eccentricity.He was somethingofa dandy in the ment of English staffgenerally,existed amongst French
fashion of a decade or so past, moving with military academics in Cairo, led by one who owed his own ap-
swagger in impeccably tailored close-fittingsuits and pointment partly to Creswell. He embodied his griev-
hat setjauntilyjust right.His starched white collars, in ance in a four-page typed memorandum detailing evi-
whatever desert or climate or cramped conveyance he dence going back to 1931, when the person in question
mightbe travelling,possessed a magical and, to less im- was instrumentalin gettingthe post offeredto Creswell
maculate companions, mystifyingimmunityfromdust reduced fromProfessorto Lecturer, and ending:
and sweat. He was the master of casual encounters in
the streets,of which his stick was the symbol ifnot the Since thenhe has done all he can todownme,tokeepme
offcommittees, topreventmystudentsfromfilling open-
instrument. He would not be obstructed by lesser
ings in his museum,to get controlof theArabic Monu-
breeds. Once an Egyptian would have stopped him en- mentsalthoughhe knowsnothingabout architecture, to
teringan overcrowded lift.Creswell seized the nearest controlmyactivitiesat theUniversity bymeansofa com-
occupant, hauled him out and took his place. But the mitteechosenbyhimself and T. H., and finally
toboostF.
manoeuvre was self-defeating;the liftwould not start, as a candidate formy post. Tuesday's outrageousin-
cident [unidentified]is simplythe culminationof ten
for Creswell had ejected the lift attendant. The only
years undergroundhostilityagainst an interloperin a
point forCreswell, telling the story,was the servilityof fieldwhichhe thinksoughtto be entirely French.[He] is
his victim. In caf6s or restaurants he would exact per- thespearheadofFrenchanti-British influencehere,and
fectionof service, even, it might be, to the embarrass- he is helped by numerous Egyptians with French
wives...
ment ofhis guests and beyond the capacity ofthe estab-
lishment. No bureaucracy or instrument of pro-
crastination could repel his probing persistence in any In 1939, a series of lettersshows him pressing the Brit-
cause he had taken up; and his causes were taken to the ish Embassy to stand by a clause in the recent Anglo-
top. Egyptian Treaty by which the Egyptian Government,if
These were well-known outward manifestations of it feltthe need forforeignhelp, would give preferenceto
Creswell's idiosyncrasy; some of them have been de- British nationals. He was incensed and exasperated by
picted before now in print.' But behind this confident the inertia of the Embassy when a vacant Chair of Phi-
and forcefulcharacter there were inner stresses and losophy was given to an elderlyFrenchman withoutbe-
anxieties, which erupted at times and repelled some of ing advertised in England. He protested to the Embas-
his acquaintances. These are not easy to define, but sy; but the reply, intended to be placatory, only made
should not be leftout of account. The mildest and least things worse; for it revealed that the writer actually
mysteriouswas an exaggerated sensitivityto neglect or thought that the Frenchman who had been appointed
underestimation of his own work. Always meticulous was English.
and sometimes generous in acknowledging scholarly
contributionsor help received fromothers,he would be If the Embassy [commentedCreswell],withabout five
Oriental Secretaries,insteadof theone onlywhichsuf-
hurt,and not remain silent,ifhis own seemed to him to ficed forover fiftyyears, are capable of describinga
be overlooked. About 1955 a French acquaintance sent Frenchmanas an Englishman,and thencongratulating
him his translationof CAliofHerat. In a letterof thanks themselvesthatwe are keepingour end up, well ... the
Creswell called this: wholeplace needsoverhaulingfromtop to bottom.

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 KEPPEL ARCHIBALD CAMERON CRESWELL 135

In 1931, at a lunch partyin Cairo, conversation with an pressed his regretto the Egyptian Prime Minister, com-
English Professorof Literature had touched on the sub- pensated the parents of the student,and ordered a Brit-
ject of a conflictbetween police and Congress volunteer ish General to walk in the funeral procession. Later in
pickets in an Indian bazaar. Creswell wrote next day to the same year a West Indian cricketerwas turnedout of
the professor: a London hotel and eight Members of Parliament rose
to demand that the hotel's licence be withdrawn. This
I am anxiousto understandeverypointofview,butI am
conjunction of events infuriatedCreswell. He wrote an
by no means clear as to yours.You said thatnowadays abusive and sarcastic letterto each of the eight M.P.s:
one cannotgo on breakingheads, yetyou seem to deny
that it was the Government'sduty to suppresspeople
who enforcetheirviewsbythisvery Now I don't Thereis something wrongat homewheneightM.P.s can
procedure.
wanttorunawaywitha falseimpression ofyourattitude, get excitedovera slightput upon a WestIndian and re-
so I shouldbe verygratefulifyouwillgivemeyourviews maindumbwhenone oftheirownfleshand bloodis mur-
on thefollowingpoints... dered ... I ask you, did theAmericanAmbassadorex-
press his regretforthe murderof that Englishmanat
Liverpool?Did an AmericanGeneralmarchin hisfuner-
Six weeks later, having received no reply, Creswell al procession?No. But whyworry?He was onlyan En-
wrote again by registered post with a copy of the first glishman...
letter.Eight monthslater, having stillreceived no reply,
he wrote a third time:
A lecture published during 1944 in theJournaloftheRoy-
When I put forwardmyviewsat Graves Superieur's,I al CentralAsian Society,which "records everythingwe
did so withthegreatestpoliteness,in spiteofyourvulgar have done to upset the Soviet, but suppresses many
interruption of "ROT." My two lettersto you were things the Soviet has done to upset us," greatly upset
couchedin the mostpoliteterms,but you have notan- Creswell. He wrotefour
pages to the editorin refutation
sweredeitherofthem.I consequently feelrelievedofany
of what he called a "mischievous and unpatriotic arti-
furtherobligationto be polite,and now speak plainly.
You made a numberof remarksat Graves, but when cle," and sent a copy with a letterto the author. He got a
asked to put yourideas in black and white... you de- dusty answer, ending: "Ne sutorultracrepidam.In other
clinedtodo so, becauseyousaw thattheyled to a reductio words, stick to architecture." Unabashed, Creswell re-
ad absurdum. You are an unmitigated renegadeand a dis- plied with a briefpage affirmingand defendinghis own
graceto thename ofEnglishman.You werea poisonous historical
influenceat theResidency,as Lord Lloydsoon realized, principles and ending: "Finally, may I sug-
and it's a damnedgoodjob thatyou are out ofthecoun- gest that, afterfailureof your own effortto writeaccu-
try. rate history,you stick, shall we say to gardening."
So, while Creswell acquired some friends,therewere
There was a happy ending, nevertheless;fora diary en- also some who found him a menace. No one in Cairo
tryten years later shows: "F." (the same person) "to tea knew or understood him betterthan thewriterofa letter
at 5." fromwhich I thinkit is appropriate to quote some pas-
Creswell's acquaintances learnt to avoid disputing sages here. This was a senior and much respected offi-
his views on political topics, or to expect a row. "Sur- cial whom Creswell liked and trustedand to whom he
render," as he called it, in India, Ireland, or any part of sent copies of the lecture to which he had objected and
the Empire; support of Zionism, or trustof World Jew- of the ensuing correspondence. His friendreplied witha
ry; praise of the Soviet Union; black immigrationinto hand-writtenletterof considerable length:
Britain; or moralizing attitudes by Americans - all of
these, especially when accepted by politicians or jour- The lecturercertainlywroteyou a rathercurtreply;but
nalists, would arouse Creswell's hackles and animate are yourown qualifications as a studentofforeignaffairs
his pen or tongue. It happened during 1943 that an such as tojustifytheratherviolent,aggressive,and pro-
vocativeattitudeyou usuallyseem to take up on such
American sentry in Liverpool shot dead an unarmed matterswhere opinionsnecessarilydifferverywidely.
British docker who had abused him. The sentry was Personally,I feeltheydo not,and abouta yearago I ven-
triedby an American militarycourt and acquitted; that turedto expressthisview as a resultofa harangueyou
was the end of the matter. Shortlyafter,in Cairo, one of gave us at a CommitteeMeetingoftheArab Monuments.
I am certainlynot preparedto deny thatyou are often
a crowd of students panicked when an Australian sol-
perfectly rightin your politicalopinions,indeed I fre-
dier in a convoy threwa smoke bomb, and was run over quentlysharethemmyself, but... ifyoucouldbe lessvio-
by a tram. The British Ambassador immediately ex- lentand less dogmaticI thinkyouwould persuadeyour

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136 R. W. HAMILTON

listenersmoreeasily.It is notso muchwhatyousay but ments in proper sequence up to the reign of Al Malik
how you say it whichdistressesand, forgivethe word, and Nasir Muhammad. The fifty-four years of his life
boresthem.One shunsconversation withyouforone nev- that he had given to the task had carried him so far; but
er knowswhereit is goingto lead, and at a social gather-
ing surely violent controversialargumentis out of they did not sufficefor the furthervolume or volumes
place... Let me once again assure you that I am fre- that were stillneeded to deal, by his meticulous method,
quentlyin sympathywithyourviews so you need em- with the many monuments ofthe later Turkish and Cir-
phaticallynotlookuponme as a politicalopponentwhose cassian Mamluks.
eyesmustbe openedto thelight.I am old,lazy,and hate Creswell never married. In his ninety-fourth
MoreoverI do ratherfeelthatmycareerhas year his
controversy.
health failed him, and bachelor lifein a Cairene flatbe-
givenme somewhatmoreexperienceand knowledgeof
European politicsthanyourscan have done. came impossible. With the help of friendsand officials
in Cairo, not without difficulty, he returnedto England
Creswell grew old slowly. The second volume of The forthe last time in June 1973, and aftera short time in
MuslimArchitecture of Egyptappeared in 1959, when he hospital spent the last seven months of his lifecared for
was eighty;his Bibliography in 1961; and the second edi- - by a twist of fate - by monks. It was the Alexian
tion of Early MuslimArchitecture, Vol. I, in his ninetieth Brothers in whose house at Acton he died on 8 April
year. There was much new matter to incorporate in this 1974. A short Arabic verse quoted in the textwhich he
new edition, and much revision, especially of those chose to introduce his firstEgyptian volume may be
chapters on the mosaics in Damascus and Jerusalem, read as an epitaph to himself:
forwhich he relied on contributionsby his chiefcollab-
orator, Mme Gautier-van Berchem. He was well
aware, by now, that time was running out; he was se-
verely hampered and irked by deafness; and it took all
his still great powers of persuasion, pertinacity,and Theseareourworks, thattellofus; so,after ourgoing,lookat
drive to bring togetherand coordinate the component ourworks.
parts of this gigantic work, 732 pages long, before his
strengthgave out. There are detectable signs ofold age,
but he did it; and even lived to see one more work com- NOTES
pleted, the Supplement to the Bibliography, published in
[Author'sNote:]
1973. I amgratefultoMr.Francis L. Creswell,
Mr.L. C. Spaull,Archivist of
Creswell had then reached the inevitable end of his Westminster School, A. Williams
ProfessorJohn andMr.Michael Rogers,both
powers. He had not achieved the whole compass of that oftheAmerican inCairo,for
University information havekindly
they to
supplied
"exhaustive history" which he had outlined to me. I
Especiallyhavetothank
Dr. Christel much
Kesslerfor information
andfor
King
Fuad in 1920. In his uncompromising dedication to letting meseepersonal papersin herpossession
and thenoteasilyaccessible
Proc.s-VerbauxoftheCommittee
forConservationin Cairo.
chronological order, he had advanced step by step from
the beginnings of Islam, calling the roll of his monu- 1. SirMortimer Wheeler, StillDigging,
p. 160.

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