An “outstanding archaeologist and pillar of Waltham Abbey Historical Society” will be remembered at his funeral tomorrow.

Peter Huggins, who was well known as a leading expert on Waltham Abbey’s past, died aged 90 on November 4 at a care home near to his daughter’s home in Fulbourne, Cambridgeshire.

Born to Anglican vicar Rev. Albert Huggins and his wife Doris in Kings Lynn on May 31, 1926, Peter was educated at Kings School, Ely, and obtained a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering at Bradford Technical College.

He was first employed as a railway worker, then the aircraft industry, then at the rolling mills in Sheffield before joining the rolling mills in Enfield.

With his wife Rhona, he moved first to Chingford then Waltham Abbey and later became a lecturer at what is now Middlesex University.

Having visited archaeological sites in Yorkshire and taken part in a dig at Stonehenge, he and his wife joined Waltham Abbey Historical Society in the 1960s and started directing local digs backed up by detailed research into the town’s archives.

His excavations found a sequence of five Christian churches on the same site, from the first in the 7th century followed by another in the 8th, one built by Harold before he became king, the fourth between 1090 and 1150 and the fifth an Augustinian abbey started by Henry II comparable in size and extent to Durham Cathedral.

All this except the western end, which remains as the church today, was destroyed when the monasteries were dissolved by King Henry VIII after 1540.

Mr Huggins’ archaeological work ranged over the town, going back to the Stone Age.

He produced a large number of papers and articles, some jointly with his wife and the late Ken Bascombe, another expert on Waltham Abbey history.

Stan Newens, fellow society member and former member of parliament for Epping and Harlow, said: “What is known today about Waltham Abbey, one of the most fascinating historic areas in southeast England, owes much to the dedication of Peter Huggins.”

The funeral is due to take place in the Abbey Church at 1pm tomorrow (November 22).