Architecture Expert, 83, Graduates With PhD

An 83-year-old architecture scholar has become one of the oldest people to graduate from the University of Liverpool.

John Harrison has achieved a PhD in the subject, 65 years on from when he first attended the university as an undergraduate.

After finishing his studies in 1963 he worked first as a city conservation officer before leaving to document the architecture of the Himalayas.

Mr Harrison, originally of Preston, Lancashire, said while studying had been “a bit more work than I had expected” it had been “fun” to continue his passion for the subject.

He said he had worked on historic building conservation in the early part of his career but, at the age of 44, decided he wanted to do something else.

“I needed a change so I bailed out and went travelling, and I fell in love with the Himalayas,” he said.

In 1985 he began to study the architecture of the area and went on to publish several books including his research on Tibetan architecture.

And, after some 40 years of further studies, he said he wanted to formalise his research.

“I saw you could get a PhD by prior publication so I thought I’d just bang all these books in and that’ll give me a certificate,” he said.

“But it turned out there’s a lot more to it.

“I’ve enjoyed it and it’s been good reviewing all the work that I’ve done.”

‘I’ll keep going’

He said despite being older than all of the university’s the staff “nobody seemed to have been too shocked” to see him on campus.

“It’s what you feel like inside,” he said.

“We can go to the gym, go swimming or walking to keep the body going – but you need something to keep the brain going as well.”

He said while it was a “relief” to have finally gained his doctorate it “was good to have done it”.

“I’ll keep going for as long as I can because it’s what I really enjoy doing,” he added.

Mr Harrison is set to return to the Himalayas this weekend to work with a group of young Tibetan architects documenting monasteries in the Ladakh region.