Thurley grew up in Godmanchester, England. He feels that it was inevitable he became a historian since "by age seven I was helping out at Roman digs near my home... and childhood holidays invariably involved ticking off stately homes and cathedrals". He attended Kimbolton School in Cambridgeshire, before leaving to study for a BA degree in History at Bedford College. He passed with a 2:1, and continued his studies at the Courtauld Institute of Art. There he gained a distinction for a MA degree in Art History, and obtained a PhD degree with the thesis entitled "English Royal Palaces 1450–1550". In 2010 he was awarded an Honorary LL.D degree by the University of Bath.
Career
Whilst working on his doctoral research, he took up a post as Inspector of Ancient Monuments for English Heritage, later becoming Curator of Historic Royal Palaces and director of the Museum of London. He is also a prolific history broadcaster, presenting a history slot on BBC London for three years and – in television – presenting Flying Through Time, Channel Four's 2004 six-part series Lost Buildings of Britain, The Buildings that Shaped Britain and a six-part history of London. He also appeared as an expert in a number of episodes of the long-running Channel 4 archaeological programme Time Team.
Personal life
Thurley married Katharine Goodison, a lawyer-turned-hat-designer and daughter of Sir Nicholas Goodison. They divorced in 2007. He is of Anglo-Indian descent, in that his late father, a veterinarian, was born and raised in British India, and returned to England in the 1950s some years after India's independence in 1947. Thurley married secondly Anna Keay, a fellow historian, in February 2008. She was the Properties Presentation Director for English Heritage from 2002 to 2011, and is now Director of the Landmark Trust. They had known each other for about 15 years, but got to know each other better when they worked on a documentary called The Buildings That Shaped Britain for Channel 5 in 2006. They live in London and a medieval merchant's house in King's Lynn, Norfolk, and have two children. Thurley was the highest-paid member of English Heritage's staff: his emoluments in 2009 totalled £163,000, comprising a basic salary of £136,000 and a performance-related award of £27,000, twenty per cent of basic salary. His relative youth at taking this post led him to be dubbed a "boy wonder". He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2011 Birthday Honours for services to conservation.
