John Pope-Hennessy - Early Years

Early Years

Pope-Hennessy was born into an Irish Catholic family in Belgravia, London, to Major-General Richard Pope-Hennessy and Dame Una Pope-Hennessy (née Birch), who was the daughter of Arthur Birch, Lieutenant-Governor of Ceylon. He was the eldest of two sons; his younger brother James Pope-Hennessy was a writer of note. He was educated at Downside School and read modern history at Balliol College, Oxford. At Oxford he was introduced by Logan Pearsall Smith (a family friend) to Kenneth Clark, who became a mentor to the young Pope-Hennessy. Upon graduation Pope-Hennessy embarked on what he referred to as his Wanderjahre, travelling in Continental Europe and becoming acquainted with its great art collections, both public and private.