John McNeill in Spain, 2024. He had the gift of being able to elucidate buildings in a manner that engaged the professor and novice equally John McNeill in Spain, 2024. He had the gift of being able to elucidate buildings in a manner that engaged the professor and novice equally Photograph: none My friend John McNeill, who has died aged 67 after a short illness, was one of the UK’s leading scholars of romanesque architecture and sculpture.