On History
News, articles & research from the
Institute of Historical Research
Latest posts
Sharing Hidden Histories: Reflections on ‘Digital Storytelling for Local History’ as part of the Being Human Festival
This blog post was written by IHR Fellow Maxine Beuret. Celebrating Collaboration, Creativity, and Community through Digital Tools The Being Human Festival is known for its engaging approach to public humanities, drawing together people from all walks of life to...
All the World’s a Stage: Performativity in the Life History Interview
This blog post was written by IHR Fellow Nilakshi Das. Life history interviews are rarely simple acts of narrating one’s life story. They unfold as a dynamic, relational interaction in which the interviewer and interviewee jointly shape how a life story is told and...
Christmas in the IHR Wohl Library
This blog post was written by Sasha Pond and Sarah Snelling, the 2025-2026 Graduate Trainee Library Assistants at the IHR Wohl Library. This Christmas at the IHR Wohl Library we are highlighting four seasonal works from our collection. This includes an Edwardian work...
Spotlight
On writing ‘Mother: An Unconventional History’
What is ‘unconventional history’? Feminist and historians Sarah Knott considers the intersection of form and function in her new book, ‘Mother. An Unconventional History’.
Features & Articles
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...
IHR Summer Reading Series
Volume 4 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. Daniel Snowman has been a Senior Research Fellow at the IHR since...
The IHR Summer Reading Series
Volume 3 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 Associate Fellow Michelle Johansen. My...
Publications News
The collaborative and volunteer-led process of researching and writing the VCH short Southend, Victorian Town and Resort
In this blog post, Ken Crowe, Chairman of the Essex Victoria County History Trust and editor of the newest VCH Short ‘Southend, Victorian Town and Resort’, reflects on the collaborative volunteer-led process of researching and writing this book. How did it all...
Adulthood in Britain and the United States from 1350 to Generation Z
This post first appeared on the blog of the Royal Historical Society, a partner in the New Historical Perspectives publishing series. Adulthood has a history. In this post, Maria Cannon and Laura Tisdall introduce their new edited...
VCH Ghost Story
With the nights drawing in, it’s the season for storytelling. This curious and disconcerting letter was found recently in the archive of the Victoria County History of England (addressed to then-General Editor, William Page) and is published here for the first time....
Digitising Red Books: the rigours and rewards of increasing online access to Victoria County History volumes (Part 2)
In this second of two blog posts, Anne-Marie Harvatt, VCH Digitisation Summer Intern 2024, reflects on the challenges and potentials of digitising historical sources. As discussed in the earlier of these posts, digitising a VCH Big Red Book is far from straightforward...
Research & Resources News
Introducing Dr Deborah Wilson: New Editor for “Ireland since 1800”
In this blog piece new Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH) section editor for Ireland since 1800, Dr Deborah Wilson, shares her use of BBIH when working with students and researchers at Queen’s University Belfast. Dr Deborah Wilson values browsing for...
A case for bibliographies in the age of artificial intelligence
This blog post discusses some of the reasons why bibliographies, like the Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH), are vital for historical study, research, and teaching. Doing historical research in the age of generative artificial intelligence (AI): some...
Bibliography of British and Irish History February 2025 update
What’s new in BBIH? The February 2025 update to the Bibliography of British and Irish History adds 3,736 new publications. The new update includes books, journal articles, book chapters, and edited collections covering all areas of British and Irish history,...
Emotion and Space in the Mid-Victorian Women’s Suffrage Movement in the Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH)
Lucy McCormick recently completed a summer internship at the IHR, in which she focused on representations of social class in the Bibliography of British and Irish History. In this blog, she explores how anti-suffragists weaponised emotion in relation to politicised...