On History
News, articles & research from the
Institute of Historical Research
Latest posts
Queer Codes: Gay Men in the Civil Service
In this fascinating blog, Dr. James Southern, a writer and researcher for the UK government, provides some startling insight into discriminatory policies which served as the basis of an official bar on gay men working as British diplomats that lasted until 1991. The...
Bibliography of British and Irish History: June and November 2021 updates
What’s new in BBIH? The June and November 2021 updates to the Bibliography of British and Irish History combined add 5490 new publications. The new content includes books, journal articles, book chapters and edited collections covering all areas of British and Irish...
The Derek Keene Book Donation
Michael Townsend from the IHR's Wohl Library highlights some of the titles included in a kind gift from the library of Prof Derek Keene. Earlier in the year both the Institute and the wider academic community were saddened to learn of the passing of Prof Derek Keene,...
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
Environmental history: an online reading list for History Day, 4 November 2021
The Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH) provides records of over 627,600 publications (books, journal articles, and chapters in edited collections) relating to British and Irish history. The Bibliography defines British and Irish history very broadly, and...
Elizabethan Witchcraft, Sorcery, and a Very Troubled Marriage
Ahead of their new book 'Star Chamber Matters', Professor K. J. Kesselring (Dalhousie) dives into some of Star Chamber’s most riveting cases including this article on, marriage, ‘male witches’ and a grieving house-wife. An extraordinary court that ruled from the...
IHR Centenary Global Birthday Event: Reflections on History Past, Present and Future
On Thursday 8 July 2021, the IHR celebrated its 100th birthday, with a day of online celebrations taking us from Australia and South East Asia, to Africa and the Middle East, to Europe and North America. What did we learn about history today and in the future? The...
Christmas Under Cromwell: The Hidden Religious Festivals of Interregnum Britain
In this post Dr Rosalind Johnson introduces her chapter in Church and People in Interregnum Britain, published by University of London Press on 23 June. Edited by Dr Fiona McCall, the book provides a comprehensive account of every-day life, society and religion in the...
Publications News
Queer Codes: Gay Men in the Civil Service
In this fascinating blog, Dr. James Southern, a writer and researcher for the UK government, provides some startling insight into discriminatory policies which served as the basis of an official bar on gay men working as British diplomats that lasted until 1991. The...
Victoria County History: Outstanding Contribution Awards
We are delighted to introduce Victoria County History Outstanding Contribution Awards, as a small way to recognise and honour exceptional contributions to the VCH, and to express our gratitude.
Town before Gown – Oxford before the University
This is the last in Joe Chick's series of historic town walks using the Victoria County History’s app for mobile devices. ‘A History of English Places’ brings the VCH’s histories together with first edition Ordnance Survey mapping across England. Learn more here. With...
Freedom Seekers in Restoration London
Ahead of the publication of his new book Simon Newman explores the African and South Asian people who sought to escape enslavement in seventeenth-century London. His name was Quamy. His Akan day-name suggests that he came from the region of West Africa that we...
Research & Resources News
Bibliography of British and Irish History: June and November 2021 updates
What’s new in BBIH? The June and November 2021 updates to the Bibliography of British and Irish History combined add 5490 new publications. The new content includes books, journal articles, book chapters and edited collections covering all areas of British and Irish...
Environmental history: an online reading list for History Day, 4 November 2021
The Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH) provides records of over 627,600 publications (books, journal articles, and chapters in edited collections) relating to British and Irish history. The Bibliography defines British and Irish history very broadly, and...
Black History Month in the Bibliography of British and Irish History
The Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH) is a record of nearly 630,000 books, articles and essays relating to the British and Irish past, worldwide. Throughout Black History Month 2021, we have been running #FridayFind on the Institute of Historical...
Town before Gown – Oxford before the University
This is the last in Joe Chick's series of historic town walks using the Victoria County History’s app for mobile devices. ‘A History of English Places’ brings the VCH’s histories together with first edition Ordnance Survey mapping across England. Learn more here. With...