Putting on a Show with the Kenwood Chef

Alice Naylor, University of Portsmouth and Science Museum Group alice.naylor@myport.ac.uk  This blog reflects on a performance held as part of the 2022 Being Human festival, which won the Social History Society’s 2023 Public History Prize. The Kenwood Manufacturing Company Ltd was co-founded by Kenneth Wood and Roger Laurence in 1947. It is a historic British … Continued

Tiny Traces: African and Asian Children at London’s Foundling Hospital

Hannah Dennett, University of Warwick Hannah.Dennett@warwick.ac.uk This blog reflects on Hannah Dennett’s work to produce the ‘Tiny Traces’ exhibition, which was given a special commendation in the Social History Society’s 2023 Public History Prize. After a long campaign by its founder Thomas Coram, London’s Foundling Hospital opened its doors on 25 March 1741 to receive … Continued

MIRPUR VR

Hassun El-Zafar @hassunelzafar MIRPUR VR is an immersive experience which shares memories of Kashmir’s Mirpur district before the submersion of hundreds of villages under the Mangla Dam in the 1960s. According to the latest census, 70% of British Pakistanis have a heritage in Mirpur, with many families using compensation to travel to the UK during … Continued

Developing A Space For Academic And Community History Engagement

Kwaku @kwakubbm I’m an independent researcher with a particular interest in global and British African history; and a historical musicologist, with a particular interest in black music. I work with a small pan-London grouping of community organisations known as BTWSC/African Histories Revisited. During the 2020 pandemic, I developed a number of Zoom events, including the … Continued

Sudan Prison Exhibition: Memories of Kober

Shahenda Suliman ‘Sudan Prison Exhibition: Memories of Kober and Beyond’ was a one-day exhibition held in London in September 2022, focusing on prisons and prisoners in Sudanese history. Showcasing work harking back to the late 19th century and Anglo-Egyptian occupation, the exhibition aimed to highlight the role of prisons in colonial and post-colonial Sudanese political … Continued

Victims of the diswelfare state: listening for pertinent silences

Dr Michael Lambert, Lancaster University m.lambert3@lancaster.ac.uk @GrandCamouflage The current erosion of welfare state institutions – the National Health Service (NHS), social services, and schools – caused by years of underfunding and political intervention exposed by the pandemic, mean that many hark back to a time when things were different. A time when there was a … Continued

1918 Allotment

JC Niala, University of Oxford Jc.niala@stcatz.ox.ac.uk @jcniala This blog describes a public engagement project that won the SHS’s 2022 Public History Prize. You can read the announcement here. I was already researching urban allotments in Oxford before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Oxford did not have a city-wide waiting list before the pandemic started. … Continued

Afro Historyscapes Podcast

JC Niala, University of Oxford Jc.niala@stcatz.ox.ac.uk @jcniala African history tends to be characterised by its silences. The history that is known internationally is often framed in relation to European history meaning that tragic events and contested histories are foregrounded. In contrast, many diasporic African historians work to tell a history that is centred on the … Continued

Photographing Fairies

Dr Alice Sage, Goldsmiths, University of London @aliceemmasage This blogpost explains Alice Sage’s winning Pamela Cox Public History Prize project. You can read the announcement and watch an interview between the SHS and Alice here. This exhibition and engagement project was inspired by the 100th anniversary of the publication of the Cottingley Fairy Photographs in … Continued

War Graves in the United Kingdom

Rows of white headstones set into bright green grass

Megan Kelleher, University of Kent @MeganEKelleher Each year, individuals make pilgrimages to the former battlefields of the two World Wars to pay their respects to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. However, in light of the Coronavirus pandemic members of the public are now turning to their local area to research those … Continued