Jon Drake (1963)

Jon Drake took a BLitt in Anthropology in the 1960s having had a successful career as an architect, running his own practice in Sheffield. He joined Linacre when in his 40s, having been a keen amateur Anthropologist since he was a child, and came under the guidance of Professor Evans-Pritchard in Anthropology

After Linacre Jon’s research was centred around English Traditions and Seasonal Customs, an area in which he took more than an academic interest. In the 1970s he was responsible for reviving May Day celebrations and a Morris dance side in his home village of Wheatley, Oxfordshire.

Jon published numerous pamphlets for the Folklore Society and also ran courses for Oxford Adult Education, on Seasonal Customs. He was a prolific collector and his study walls were lined with masks and artefacts. For Jon, symbolism and ritual were eternally fascinating, chiming with his own mystical, reverential outlook on life.

1962 - Celebrating 40 Years of Linacre College - 2002