{{Short description|Classicist}} Born '''Arthur Hadrian Allcroft''' (1865 – 18 December 1929), he was a British classical scholar. He was born in Ashby in Lincolnshire, and attended Magnus Grammar School and Exeter Grammar School before studying at Christ Church, Oxford. His B.A. was in Classics and Greats. He was the author of ''Earthwork of England'' (1908), about prehistoric, Roman, Saxon, Danish, Norman and medieval earthworks. It was described by E. Cecil Curwen as "a standard work of reference".
Allcroft also wrote the two-volume ''The Circle and the Cross. A Study in Continuity'', published in 1927.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Allcroft |first=A. Hadrian |title=The Circle and the Cross. A Study in Continuity. |publisher=Macmillan & Co Ltd |location=London |publication-date=1927 |language=English}}</ref> It is a scholarly contribution to the history of religion and symbolism, and well illustrated with black and white photographs. His thesis is a continuity from pagan religious traditions to Christianity. Specifically, he argues that the circle is a symbol commonly found in pre-Christian religions and was incorporated into Christian symbolism through the use of the cross. This affected ritual, art/decoration, and architecture.
Other books included ''Downland Pathways'' (1924), about the Sussex Downs, and ''Waters of Arun'' (1930), about the River Arun, the latter being published posthumously.<ref name=":0" /> He and his wife both died on the same day, 18 December 1929, from throat infections.<ref name=":0">Curwen (1930), pp. 324–325.</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=19 December 1929 |title=Man and Wife Die on Same Day |pages=12 |work=Evening Standard |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98067406/death-of-hadrian-allcroft/ |access-date=21 March 2022 |ref=none}}</ref>
== References == <references />
== Sources == * {{Cite journal |last=Curwen |first=E. Cecil |date=1929 |title=Arthur Hadrian Allcroft |url=https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-1132-1/dissemination/pdf/086/086_322_325.pdf |journal=The Archaeological Journal |volume=86 |pages=324-325|ref=none}}
Category:People from Lincolnshire Category:British classical scholars Category:Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Category:1865 births Category:1929 deaths {{DEFAULTSORT:Allcroft, Hadrian}}
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