Corinne Marie Gillian Bennett

The following obituary was first published in the Daily Telegraph on 2 August 2010.

Corinne Bennett, conservation architect and the first woman to be appointed a cathedral architect in Britain: born 3 March 1935; died 10 July 2010.

Recruited by Winchester Cathedral in 1974, Corinne Bennett oversaw a 15-year programme which included major stone repairs and the re-leading of some of the roofs. She carried out work on the choir and installed new lighting both inside and outside the cathedral, as well as restoring some of the houses in the Close. Over the years she became a popular figure in the community, and the tours which she conducted in the upper parts of the cathedral became a highlight for visitors.

Equally at home with sacred or secular projects, Corinne Bennett was responsible for the restoration of Brighton Pavilion, where she was consultant architect for 12 years from 1980. In 1989 she was the leading consultant for the repairs to the Albert Memorial, contributing the initial survey and report on which the subsequent work was based.
 
Corinne Marie Wilson, the daughter of a professor of geology at Imperial College, was born in London on March 3 1935. During the Second World War she and her younger brother, David, were evacuated with their mother to Montreal. On their return to England, Corinne was sent to the Sacred Heart Convent in Hove.

By the age of 12 she already knew that she wanted to be involved with the repair of ancient monuments and historic buildings, and a special male teacher was brought into the convent to give her drawing lessons. On leaving school in 1952 she went on to London University to read Architecture at the Bartlett School.

Her first post was with the firm Powell and Moya, and in 1963 she was taken on by the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works (now known as English Heritage). During this period she gained important experience in the emerging new techniques for the cleaning and preservation of stone, such as the injection of silane. The Tower of London, Holyrood House and the Emperors' heads around the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford were among the landmarks which benefited from her experiments. Throughout her career she was never more at home than when in a quarry discussing stone and carving with masons.

In 1968 she was invited to join the London office of Purcell, Miller & Tritton. Corinne Wilson was put to work on repairs at Ely Cathedral, showing no fear as she scaled the often mountainous scaffolding.

After being made a senior partner of the firm she set up a branch office at Sevenoaks when she was appointed consulting surveyor to the Rochester diocese. For her work on many of Kent's churches she was appointed MBE in 1988.

In 1979 she married Keith Bennett, also a conservation architect, and during the 1980s was involved in the care of a multitude of properties – among them Wilton House, Ealing Abbey, Charleston Farm-House in Sussex (a gathering place for members of the Bloomsbury Group) and the ruins of Cowdray House; meanwhile the National Trust recruited her to work at Mompesson House in the Salisbury Cathedral Close, Mottistone Manor and Lacock and Mottisfont Abbeys. She also prepared a report on the Royal Naval College buildings at Greenwich.

Among the most emotionally satisfying of Corinne Bennett's projects was the reordering of the chapel of the English College in Rome, where she installed a new altar and lectern and a new arrangement for the pews. As a devout Roman Catholic with a deep understanding of liturgy, she also much appreciated the opportunity to reorder and redecorate St John's Seminary at Wonersh in Surrey.

In 1991 she postponed her retirement and joined English Heritage as its national cathedrals architect. She was later appointed English Heritage's representative to the Church of England's Cathedral Fabric Commission, a role she fulfilled until 2006.

In her latter years she chaired the fabric committee at St George's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Southwark, and she was a member of the fabric committee of Chichester Cathedral. She was also on the art and architecture committee of Westminster Cathedral and served as an appeal trustee – she and Keith Bennett had married in the cathedral's Lady Chapel.

Corinne Bennett and her husband shared a passion for Corsica, which they visited nearly every year of their married life, and were the only English members of the island's history group, Fédération d'Associations et Groupements pour les Etudes Corses.

She was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1997. From 1979 she was a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, a Roman Catholic order which dates back to the 12th century, and of which she was appointed a Dame Commander.

Corinne Bennett died on July 10; her husband survives her, as does her brother, Father David Wilson, who conducted her funeral at St Peter's Catholic church in Winchester.

The following obituary, written by our Fellow Elain Harwood, first appeared in the Guardian on 4 August 2010.

Corinne Bennett Corinne Bennett examines a nave vault boss at Winchester Cathedral in the mid-1980s during her 15-year programme of works here

Corinne Bennett, who has died aged 75, devoted her long career to repairing many of Britain's best-loved buildings and to promoting the profession of conservation architect. She became the first woman to be appointed consultant architect to an English cathedral when, in 1974, she took on responsibility for the restoration of Winchester Cathedral.

Corinne oversaw a 15-year programme of works at Winchester, including the repair and releading of the roof, and the restoration of much of the stonework in the eastern half of the cathedral. The misericords in the choir stalls were restored and a programme of lighting was implemented, combining the romance of candles with discrete artificial light for the choirboys to read their scores. She became a popular local figure whose roof tours of the cathedral were legendary, thanks to her inspiration, her depth of knowledge and her verve. She was always wonderfully collaborative in her work and sure of herself without ever being overbearing.

Born Corinne Wilson, she spent much of her early life in Montreal. Her mother, Lucile, was French Canadian. Her Cumbrian-born father, Gilbert, was professor of geology at Imperial College London and inspired her love of building stone. On her return to Britain in 1944, she went to school at the Sacred Heart convent in Hove, East Sussex, and by the age of 12 was intent on a career in conserving old buildings. An arrangement was made for a male tutor to enter the convent to give her drawing lessons, and Corinne prepared to become an architect. She entered the Bartlett School at the University of London in 1952 and qualified in 1957. She then worked for the avant-garde architects Powell & Moya.

Corinne turned to historic building work, first with the London county council and then, in 1963, with the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works, which later became English Heritage. The conservation movement was emerging, and she was at the vanguard of new principles and techniques. She undertook pioneering studies in stone preservation and cleaning with the Building Research Establishment, near Watford, Hertfordshire, and applied these techniques at the Tower of London, Audley End House in Essex, the Jewel Tower at Westminster and Bolsover Castle. She was always at home in a quarry or discussing stone and carving with masons.

In 1968 Corinne was invited to join the London office of the architects Purcell Miller Tritton. There she had her first experience of repairing a cathedral, Ely, under Donovan Purcell, surveyor to the fabric, who became an important mentor. Corinne was made a senior partner of the practice and opened its office at Sevenoaks in Kent, where she was appointed consulting surveyor to the diocese of Rochester. Her repairs to Kent churches led to her being made an MBE in 1988.

She also worked on many National Trust properties nearby, including Chiddingstone, and Alfriston Clergy House in East Sussex. It was in Sevenoaks that Corinne met Keith Bennett, also a conservation architect. They married in 1979.

In 1980 she became consultant architect for repairs and alterations at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. In 1989 she produced a report on the Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens, London, which needed challenging repairs to its iron and mosaics. Among the buildings under her care in the 1980s were Wilton House in Wiltshire, Charleston Farmhouse and Cowdray House in Sussex, and Ealing Abbey, along with further work for the National Trust across southern England.

She was appointed to the Roman Catholic Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 1979 and rose to become a dame commander. She continued to champion conservation, and to pass on her vast knowledge, as co-founder of the Hampshire and the Islands Historic Churches Trust in 1989. In 1991 she postponed her retirement to return to what was now English Heritage, becoming its first cathedrals architect. Her deep Catholic faith, and understanding of its liturgy, was particularly valuable in her re-ordering of the English College in Rome and St John's Seminary in Wonersh, Surrey. In 1996 Corinne became English Heritage's representative on the Church of England's Cathedral Fabric Commission, a post she held until 2006. She was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1997.

Corinne and Keith restored the Victorian rectory at Michelmersh, near Romsey, Hampshire, to make it their home. She is survived by Keith and her brother, David.

The following obituary first appeared in The Times on 7 August 2010.

Corinne Bennett directed the repairs to Winchester Cathedral for 15 years as the first woman to be appointed as a cathedral architect in Britain. She later took charge of repairs to the exterior of the Brighton Pavilion, and in 1989 was the leading consultant for the restoration of the Albert Memorial in Hyde Park.

During her time at Winchester, she undertook repairs to a substantial amount of stonework, especially towards the east end of the cathedral, over the chancel and the Lady Chapel. She also completely restored and repaired the rose window in the north transept, and renewed leadwork on various roofs and gutters, conserved the misericords and seating of the choir, installed new internal and external lighting, and repaired some of the houses in the Close.

At the Brighton Pavilion, where she was consultant architect for 12 years, she gradually repaired all the domes, gutters and minarets. The latter had been remade in plastic fibre in a previous restoration; she restored them in stone. She also renewed much stonework, including the complex curved tracery outside the music room.

Her conservation work on churches in Kent was recognised when she was appointed MBE in 1988. A former colleague recalls how, when taken by Bennett on his first church inspection, he had watched with amazement as she hurled pigeon nests complete with eggs and chicks from the tower roof.

Other colleagues remember her wonderfully collaborative way of working, always ready with an experienced opinion, always sure of herself but never overbearing or insistent - a genuinely shared collaboration.

Corinne Marie Gillian Wilson was born in 1935, the daughter of Gilbert Wilson, a professor of geology at Imperial College, and his wife Lucile. She spent the war years in Montreal with her younger brother David. On her return to England in 1944 she went to school at the Sacred Heart Convent in Hove, East Sussex. At 12 she knew already that she wanted to be involved with the repair of ancient monuments and historic buildings and a male teacher was employed specifically to give her drawing lessons.

On leaving school in 1952, she studied at the Bartlett School of Architecture, part of University College London, graduating with a BA Hons in 1957. She first worked at Powell and Moya, and then in 1963, after a short time at the GLC Historic Buildings Section, she obtained a position with the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works, as English Heritage was then known.

She then undertook pioneering work in stone preservation and cleaning in conjunction with the Building Research Establishment, injecting silanes to harden stonework and statuary. The Tower of London, Audley End House, the Jewel Tower and Westminster Hall, Holyroodhouse, Bolsover Castle and the Emperors' heads around the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford all benefited from her endeavours.

In 1968 she was invited to join the London office of Purcell, Miller and Tritton as an associate, and began work on the repairs at Ely Cathedral; she would clamber to the top of the scaffolding without a trace of fear. She became a senior partner of the firm and set up a branch office in Sevenoaks, Kent, when she was appointed consulting surveyor to the Rochester diocese. She was also involved in National Trust buildings at Chiddingstone in Kent, and at the Clergy House in Alfriston, East Sussex. Upon her appointment as architect to the Dean and Chapter of Winchester in 1974 (a post she held until 1989), she started a further local office of the firm. She became a popular figure with the local community and her roof tours of the upper parts of the cathedral were legendary.

In 1981 she was appointed consultant architect to the repairs and alterations of the Brighton Pavilion, with responsibility for the exterior. Eight years later she was appointed the leading consultant for repairs to the Albert Memorial; she wrote a thorough report but her proposals did not come to immediate fruition as money for its repair was not then available. The restored memorial was finally unveiled in 1998.

Other buildings that came under Bennett's care included Wilton House (she restored the Palladian bridge), Ealing Abbey, Charleston Farmhouse and the ruins of Cowdray House. For the National Trust there was Mompesson House in Salisbury Cathedral Close, Mottistone Manor, Lacock Abbey, and Mottisfont Abbey. One of her most prized achievements was the re-ordering of the chapel of the English College in Rome, where she worked closely with the rector and students. After this came the re-ordering and redecoration of the St John's Seminary at Wonersh in Surrey, another emotionally satisfying experience for her, employing her deep understanding of liturgy.

In 1991 she was persuaded to postpone her retirement and join English Heritage as its national cathedrals architect, which involved much travel around the UK. She became English Heritage representative to the Church of England's Cathedral Fabric Commission in 1996 (she served until 2006), but her architectural independence, clarity of thought and vast experience meant she was much in demand for site visits.

She was a member of many societies associated with archaeology and architecture, often on their committees, and was a popular lecturer. She was particularly proud to be elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1997. In her latter years she chaired the fabric committee at St George's Cathedral, Southwark, for which she had a special affection. For a time she was also a member of the fabric committee of Chichester Cathedral. She was an appeal trustee and member of the art and architecture committee of Westminster Cathedral.

In 1979 Bennett became a Dame in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, becoming Dame Commander in 1988 and Dame Grand Cross in 2000.

She is survived by her husband Keith, a conservation architect and painter, whom she married in 1979.

The following obituary, written by Pamela Tudor-Craig, FSA, first appeared in the Independent on 16 September 2010.

Marie Corinne Gillian Wilson, architect: born London 3 March 1935; Cathedrals Architect, English Heritage 1992–96; MBE 1988; married 1979 Keith Bennett; died of cancer on July 10, 2010, aged 75

In 1974 Corinne Bennett became the first woman to hold the post of architect to one of the country's cathedrals. She was appointed by that sagacious Dean, Michael Stancliffe, to Winchester, one of the most ancient and breathtakingly beautiful of all our cathedrals. She came to the position through an apprenticeship in the understanding of ancient buildings that was already discernible at her convent school in Hove, where she was a pupil after her family came to England from Canada when she was nine. How surprised she would have been to know that she would become consultant architect to Brighton Pavilion, and to the Albert Memorial, two of the most bizarre buildings in England. The range of architectural responsibilities placed on her shoulders was breathtaking.

Corinne Wilson was born in London in 1935; her father was a professor of geology. After training at the Bartlett School of Architecture in London, she worked with the architectural firm Powell and Moya, the GLC Historic Buildings section and with the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works (nowadays English Heritage). Especially relevant to her later career was her pioneering study of stone preservation in her work with the Building Research Establishment.

Her special interest in the qualities of stone, always evident on her visits to masons' lodges and quarries, sprang from her father, a professor of geology. The Tower of London, The Great Hall and Jewel Tower at Westminster, Audley End, Holyrood Palace, Bolsover Castle, the replacement Heads of Emperors carved by Michael Black at the Sheldonian in Oxford, all came under her guidance.

By the 1970s she had joined Purcell Miller Tritton, with whom she was introduced to cathedrals and their problems at Ely. She set up their office at Sevenoaks, where her tireless work for the churches of Kent brought her an MBE. For the National Trust she worked at Mompesson House in Salisbury, Mottistone Manor, Lacock Abbey, Mottisfont Abbey, in Chiddingstone village and at the Old Clergy House at Alfriston.

The Hall of the House at Alfriston is repaired as perfectly as such a work can be. In other words, you are only aware of what has had to be done after careful examination, and the new is less evident than the original.

She also held briefs at Wilton House, Charleston Farmhouse, the ruins at Cowdray and the Royal Naval Palace at Greenwich. Her devout Catholicism made it natural that Ealing Abbey and the reordering of the chapel of the English College in Rome and of St John's Seminary at Wonersh came into her hands, and latterly she chaired the Fabric Committee of St George's Chapel, Southwark, and was a member of the equivalent Committee at Westminster Cathedral. Her version of "retirement" was to become, in 1991, the National Cathedrals Architect to English Heritage, and after that, until four years ago, she was English Heritage's representative on the Cathedrals Fabric Commission – a posting requiring extensive travelling and the bringing to bear of all her experience.

She also found time to be an inspired gardener and to look after the lovely houses she shared with her husband Keith Bennett at Michelmarsh and latterly in Winchester. Corinne and Keith also had a special relationship with Corsica and its ancient churches, and another with the Franco-British Union of Architects (Corinne's mother was a French-Canadian). She was proud to be elected to the Society of Antiquaries and was also a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

Among the many shared enthusiasms of Corinne and Keith was opera, which brought them annually to Glyndebourne. Last year I discovered the occasion was going to mark Keith's birthday, and the happy party we shared was to be the last time I saw her. As always, she radiated delight.

Corinne Bennett was a thorough professional: dedicated, fearless, and at the same time a dear, warm and lovely woman. She is survived by her husband. They had no children.