Exonian Ivan D Margary’s book extolled in The Independent

Ivan D Margary, a contemporary of JRR Tolkien at Exeter College, wrote the definitive guide to Roman roads in Britain. Now out of print, Graham Robb of The Independent says it is time the book was reprinted.

Ivan Margary inherited a fortune and his philanthropy is remembered at Exeter College by the Margary Quad, framed by the Chapel, the Rector’s Lodgings, the 1960s block and staircases 10, 11 and 12. Historians and walking enthusiasts may also remember him for Roman Roads in Britain (1973), a description of every surviving Roman road: 7,400 miles in total.

Graham Robb stumbled upon the book in a second-hand bookshop. You can read his reflections on the book and on Ivan Margary here.