On History
News, articles & research from the
Institute of Historical Research
Latest posts
Bibliography of British and Irish History June 2024 update
What’s new in BBIH? The June 2024 update to the Bibliography of British and Irish History adds 4,305 new publications. The new update includes books, journal articles, book chapters, and edited collections covering all areas of British and Irish history, from...
The National vs. The Local, Amenity vs. Employment and Housing: The Case of the ‘Sunderland’ Seaplane Assembly Factory, Calgarth, Windermere, the Lake District
When the decision was taken by the Ministry of Aircraft Production to site a ‘Sunderland’ seaplane assembly factory and accompanying workers’ accommodation on requisitioned farm land at Calgarth on the shores of Lake Windermere in late 1941 in support of Britain’s war...
Strange Times Indeed: Writing on Cold War Britain in Contemporary Lebanon
In this blog post by Matthew Gerth we hear from the author of a recent University of London Press publication, Anti-communism in Britain during the Early Cold War, published as part of the New Historical Perspectives series, in association with the IHR and the Royal...
Spotlight
Conflict and climate change in the Arctic: what the seventeenth century suggests about the future
By Dagomar Degroot Environment & History, essay no. 13 In the final article of our ‘Environment & History’ series, Professor Dagomar Degroot looks to early modern climate change to ask whether arctic warming necessarily results in violent...
Features & Articles
A Fanfare for Garden History
This blog post was written by Pippa Potts is a co-convenor of the History of Gardens and Landscapes Seminar. The idea had surfaced occasionally but, as so often, it took a nudge from elsewhere to make it a reality. The idea was that the excellent papers being given to...
Pre-Raphaelite Outsider: James Smetham (1821-1889)
Since 2019 a team of archivists, creative practitioners, curators, and researchers have been exploring the life and work of the little-known artist and devout Methodist James Smetham. In this blog post, Dr Ruth Slatter (IHR Lecturer in Historic Environment and...
IHR Summer Reading Series
Volume 6 During the month of August we will be sharing summer reading lists, experiences, and suggestions from the IHR community. If you’d like to share your own, please Tweet (X) us @ihr_history. In this blog, we hear from IHR Fellows. Philippa Joseph Although most...
IHR Summer Reading Series
Volume 5 During the month of August we will be sharing summer reading lists, experiences, and suggestions from the IHR community. If you'd like to share your own, please Tweet (X) us @ihr_history. In this blog, we hear from Neil Stewart, Head of the IHR Library. Willa...
Publications News
The Victoria County History at 125: Now and the Future
2024 marks 125 years of the Victoria County History (VCH). In this second VCH at 125 blog post, Ruth Slatter (VCH General Editor – Architecture) sets out our ambitions for the project’s future. If you have not read the first post you can find it here. 2024 marks 125...
The Victoria County History at 125: Now and the Future
2024 marks 125 years of the Victoria County History (VCH). In two VCH at 125 blog posts, Ruth Slatter (VCH General Editor – Architecture) takes stock of where the VCH is and reflects on how it can continue to flourish and evolve in the future. In this first blog post,...
Maud Heath and Beyond: Exploring the Lives of Women Before 1600
This blog post was written by Louise Ryland-Epton. The Victoria County History of Wiltshire are involved in an exciting new project recovering the lives of medieval women in Wiltshire. Louise Ryland-Epton tells us more about it. These monuments commemorate a medieval...
Victoria County History Smartphone App: Retirement
In early 2020 we launched our VCH smartphone app, ‘A History of English Places’. It had been developed through a project funded internally by the University of London in 2014, and was produced in partnership with Aimer Media. In 2023, Aimer Media was bought up by...
Research & Resources News
Bibliography of British and Irish History June 2024 update
What’s new in BBIH? The June 2024 update to the Bibliography of British and Irish History adds 4,305 new publications. The new update includes books, journal articles, book chapters, and edited collections covering all areas of British and Irish history, from...
Decolonizing the Bibliography: the Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH) as a decolonising tool
Dr Eloise Grey completed a summer internship at the IHR in 2023 with the goal of looking at how to use the Bibliography of British and Irish History to decolonise research and history teaching. She reflects on this experience and the challenges of decolonising...
Invitation: Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH) editorial board membership
Would you like to help shape the Bibliography of British and Irish History and help us include more diverse voices and perspectives in what we do? We’re looking to appoint several new members to our editorial board. Editorial board members play a vital role...
Call for Section Editors: Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH)
The Bibliography of British and Irish History seeks to appoint 2 new Section Editors with research and/or teaching expertise in the following areas: Imperial, Colonial, Commonwealth, and Indigenous histories since 1783 Britain since 1960 Section Editors play a vital...