Annual Report 2007-8 - The British School at Rome

C HAIRMAN’ S F OREWORDIt’s a particular pleasure to re-engage with the BritishSchool at Rome as the incoming Chairman. It feelsalmost like an institutional tradition, as one of mypredecessors as President of Trinity College, Oxford —Henry Pelham, Professor of Ancient History — was notonly the first Chairman of the BSR, just over a hundredyears ago, but the prime mover behind its launch. My timeas Ambassador in Rome gave me a very comprehensiveand pleasurable introduction to the BSR’s work but seeingit from the other side, as it were, has been equallyrewarding, if challenging. I was constantly struck whileAmbassador by the breadth of the BSR’s activities. Iattended lectures on Renaissance art, a presentation ofPompeii by its author, Robert Harris, concerts, site visits toHerculaneum and Pompeii, and art exhibitions. But thatwas a mere taster. This report illuminates and illustratesthe quite remarkable range of activity from theHerculaneum Conservation Project to Portus, fromItalian film to contemporary art, from work on the PunicMediterranean to the Viva Roma project. And all thisagainst a background of very real financial pressureexerted on the School’s activities by the vagaries of thesterling/euro exchange rate. It is a signal mark of theBSR’s achievements and of the confidence ourstakeholders have in us that we continue to attractgenerous grants. It will be one of my priorities to try toencourage our core grant provider, the British Academy,to look at some overseas price mechanism, as used by theForeign and Commonwealth Office and the BritishCouncil, to mitigate the effects of the fall in the value ofsterling. Without some such system in place, any financialplanning becomes a lottery.I have stepped into big shoes in taking over from mydistinguished predecessor, Peter Wiseman. The BSR isgreatly in his debt for five remarkable years of dedicationand leadership. Peter and I had a han-over ceremony inBuckingham Palace with our President, HRH PrincessAlexandra, whose visit to the BSR in October 2007 wasone of the highlights of the year. Besides a memorablevisit to Portus, our Royal visitor presented honoraryfellowships and attended a poignant lecture by PeterWiseman. But there are other debts beyond those toPeter. I am very grateful to my fellow members ofCouncil and its subcommittees, whose wise counsel oftenguides my steps. I think it right to recognise in particularthe hard work of those who chair the committees. Specialthanks this year are due to Jenni Lomax and RickyBurdett, whose tireless work for the BSR is nearing itsterm. We shall be pressed indeed to find replacements forsuch vigorous and hard-working colleagues.As Ambassador, I was particularly well placed to seehow the Director’s high standing internationally raised theBSR’s profile and lent breadth to its activities. WithoutAndrew Wallace-Hadrill’s unique blend of scholarship andvision, for instance, it is doubtful that the PackardHumanities Institute would have chosen the School as apartner in the Herculaneum Conservation Project. We arevery lucky to have such an inspiring leader of the teamand fortunate, too, that he is supported by such able anddedicated colleagues in London and Rome. My personalthanks to Elly Murkett, the Director’s PA, for being atremendous source of support and for being so patient asI learn on the job.Sir Ivor RobertsChairman of Council3