April 2019

This blog is based on the presentation given on 8 November 2018, as part of the History at Northampton Research Seminars series at the University of Northampton. It explores the origins of perinatal (premature baby) care in the UK from 1947 to 1965, using recently available archival material for Northampton, made possible through the generosity of […]

It is hard to deny Brexit’s important place within recent radical right discourse and activity. Recently, Paul Stocker’s excellent book English Uprising has captured this part of that debate. The radical right had a significant impact in dictating the tone and trajectory of the Leave campaign, especially away from the official Vote Leave platform. Equally, those in […]

When I read that Jon Snow had told his MacTaggart lecture audience that he believed the modern media were out of touch with ordinary people’s lives I must say I almost spat out my coffee. The media out of touch? Really? Who knew? He’ll be telling us that politicians are out of touch next… But seriously […]

On 21-23 November, we hosted a series of public events at the National Leather Collection. ‘Leather at Lunchtime’ was funded by the Being Human Festival of the Humanities, and featured in their national programme. The idea behind the event was to give people an opportunity to explore the history of leather. This versatile material is […]

As a academic historian who works on the history of crime (and most of that in London) when I was offered the chance to take a peek inside a working English prison I could hardly refuse. I run modules on crime and punishment at the University of Northampton and help students explore the changing nature […]

I attended the Advance HE (formerly Higher Education Academy) teaching and learning conference, in Birmingham, for the first time this year Advance HE TL Conference 2018. Previous to this my experience of conferences was of academic history ones. Academics sometimes get a little bit too immersed in their own institutions. It seemed like a good idea […]

Many of you will know about and/or have participated in the History department’s current URB@N project, which has been focused on online interactions within the department. What we wanted to know was how students related online with History both before coming, and during their period of study. Codi Hart (current 2nd year), and Emma Tyler […]

This week is the 175 anniversary of the execution of Sarah Dazley at Bedford Gaol, the first and only woman to be hanged in public at the prison. Sarah’s crime was the murder of her second husband (William) and the suspected killing of her previous one (Simeon Mead) and their son Jonas. Dazley may well […]

I have been researching and teaching the history of crime and punishment for well over a decade now and the field now covers considerable ground. There are excellent studies of the criminal justice systems of the past, from the medieval to the modern age, ranging across a wide geographical area from Britain and its empire, […]

The execution of the Gunpowder Plotters, by Claes (Nicolaes) Jansz Vissche (1606) Today is the 412th anniversary of the execution of Guy Fawkes and his fellow Gunpowder plotters. As every school boy knows Fawkes was arrested on the 5 November 1605 as he prepared to blow up the Westminster Hall and send King James I […]

One symptom of a good conference is that you find yourself struggling to decide which parallel session to attend.  It’s a good problem to have and it plagued me throughout the recent conference entitled 1918-2018: The End of the War & The Reshaping of a Century. At one point I had to decide between the […]

There are many skills a historian acquires: distilling information, debates and arguments; finding, reading and analyzing primary sources; writing and publishing research; dressing smart but casual; finding obscure conference venues; looking marginally interested in endless administrative meetings (with full knowledge that each second saps a small piece of our zest for life – See here for […]

Anxiety is a very common problem, part of a wider range of mental health issues in any given society. Here are some stats: According to MIND one in four people in the UK suffer mental health problems each day MIND statistics. Overall estimates suggest that one in six of us will report an anxiety problem in […]

Holocaust Memorial Day has become a central fixture of the ways many people learn about the Holocaust. Supported by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust who create a wide range of resources, it helps schools, universities and community groups draw attention to the suffering experienced by Jewish people, and many others, during the Nazi era. Though focused […]