Simon Houfe, who has died aged 84, was a Bedfordshire antiquary, an authority on 19th-century book illustrators, and guardian of the legacy of his grandfather, Sir Albert Richardson, the architect, conservationist and president of the Royal Academy.Simon Richard Byers Houfe was born on September 13 1942, the son of Eric Houfe, an architect, and his wife, Kathleen, the only daughter of the formidable Sir Albert Richardson. “The Professor”, as he was invariably known, dominated the upbringing of young Simon, who was brought to live in his grandfather’s atmospheric Regency townhouse, Avenue House in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, when he was only six days old. An only child, Simon, idolised his eccentric grandfather and inherited his Edwardian outlook and mannerisms.Both his grandfather and his father clearly hoped that Simon would follow them into the architectural profession, but that was not to be. He hated Stowe School, despite its Arcadian beauties, and on leaving was briefly sent to Florence as secretary to the elderly Violet Trefusis at Villa dell’Ombrellino – a rather alarming experience, from which he returned home early.No one was quite sure what to do with Simon, but he loved Avenue House, living there as caretaker and curator of its myriad collections after his grandfather’s death in 1964 – the Professor had strictly forbidden the installation of electricity, and there was very little heating, so Simon’s parents had long decamped to a more comfortable property elsewhere in Ampthill.Somehow, he obtained a job in the Department of Prints and Drawings at the Victoria and Albert Museum, where he developed a fascination that culminated in his Dictionary of 19th-Century British Book Illustrators and Caricaturists (1978), revised in 1999. His enthusiasm for local antiquarian curiosities, meanwhile, led to an authoritative guide to his home county of Bedfordshire (1995). In the early 1970s Houfe was appointed editor of The Antique Collector, a venerable magazine devoted to art and antiques, but this came to an end when the title changed hands.Avenue House – Tim KnoxOn inheriting Avenue House, he withdrew to pursue the life of a gentleman-antiquary amid the increasingly dilapidated splendours of his grandfather’s collections. Money was short, eked out by the rent from some cottages in Ampthill, and the occasional sale of works of art, although he always managed to maintain a grand old-fashioned car.He loved showing the house, entertaining friends in the Servants’ Hall, by now lit with electricity and warmed by a three-bar electric fire. Occasionally the Dining Room or the Great Drawing Room was pressed into service, lit only by candles.Avenue House became a shrine to the Professor, and Houfe’s tours of the house were peppered with anecdotes about his eccentricities, which he eventually collected into a comprehensive biography, Sir Albert Richardson: The Professor (1980). In 1999 he collaborated with Alan Powers on an exhibition on Richardson’s work at the RIBA Drawings Collection’s Heinz Gallery.As the years wore on, however, the upkeep of Avenue House and its extensive gardens became increasingly arduous. Negotiations with the National Trust, who were initially keen to take it on, foundered on the lack of endowment and the difficulty of accommodating large numbers of visitors.With deep reluctance, Houfe sold the contents of the house in a great sale orchestrated by Christie’s in 2013, and moved to a smaller house nearby that had been remodelled by his grandfather. Here he surrounded himself with favourite items from his grandfather’s collection – an Avenue House in miniature – while downstairs, in a former garage, he installed his library.A few years later the future of Avenue House, then lying empty, was secured after old friends acquired the house and its garden. He enjoyed watching the progress of their restoration, but he never really got over having to sell Avenue House.Simon Houfe, born September 13 1942, died July 27 2026Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays.
