CfA! The wonderful Dr. Anna Antonova is looking for two PhD researchers to join her “Convivial Waterfronts: Reimagining Urban Coastal Conservation for Just Sustainability Transformations” project. Full call: www.sts.sot.tum.de/sts/sts-depa... #envhum #CfA #PhD #research #career

A true and perfect relation of a monstrous and prodigous whale

Evergreen post

'Details found in admiralty records and other archives have unearthed information about Jersey’s identity, his military service and even hint he may eventually have found freedom.' 1/2

New blog up on the Places, Plants and People Archive Network website, featuring lots of beautiful images of Kew Gardens! By @alyssamyers.bsky.social collections.reading.ac.uk/places-plant...

and you can see this document (and around 75 others telling the story of the American Revolution) in our exhibition ‘Revolution 250’ at The National Archives - opens 24/06! www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/whats-on/exh... #skystorians

CAUSE FOR CONCERN(E) In 1952, the Home Office received this complaint about the Cerne Abbas giant. The complainant reminded that ‘If this sketch offends’, the real giant was some ‘27,000 times life size, facing the main road from Dorchester to Sherborne’ (maths may not be accurate)

Spaces still available for my in-person records workshop on Equity and Conciliar Court records at The National Archives on 16 June 2026. The ticket price includes an online intro to Early Modern Legal Records on 11 June. Can't say fairer than that. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/past-early...

We’ve been told our content needs to be more informative so here you go

Fighting about the manuscript: this peer review situation between reviewer 1 (the helpful armored lion on the left bravely fighting to rescue the text) and reviewer 2 (the devil himself) was in fact a detail in a #earlymodern propaganda print of the #ThirtyYearsWar. #academicchatter

Join us on 7 May (12pm) for our next online lunchtime event exploring how archives can engage with difficult records through people-centred and trauma-informed practices! This month’s theme: Working with records for social justice Book a place here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/working-wi...

This delightful map of Dartmoor (showing Ashburton to Buckland-in-the-Moor, featuring Ausewell Rocks) was part of an Exchequer case in 1605, for settling the bounds of Ashburton manor: discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C3... [MPB 1/7]

Great details on this exploratory chart showing observations by Halley, Bouvet, Cook, etc. Reads like a birdwatchers’ guide to the Atlantic. Here be albatrosses! [MPI 1/400]

Our new exhibition Sea Stories is now on display, exploring Orkney’s deep-rooted maritime connections. From shipwrecks to sea magic, from whale strandings to the Southern Ocean, the thread which ties these objects together is their shared connection to the sea. ℹ️: shorturl.at/SlOxb

🔔 for those interested in women & the Maritime world

‘Repentant Avis’ - truly a top-notch early modern name. one (1) like and I will name my firstborn child ‘Repentant Avis’* *for reasons of my personal safety, this is a joke [TNA, HCA 13/227/7]

📣In our latest issue! Ellen Paterson @kebleoxford.bsky.social on 'Contemporary Parliamentary History and Petitioners in the Long Parliament, c. 1640–1642' #History #Politics #Petitions #CivilWar 17thc 📜🗃️ 👉Read open access: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Must be fonet in the rich man's world

An absolutely cracking example of Elizabeth I's Great Seal. TNA E 355/3. Fun fact, I found this in the first series I listed when I started working at The National Archives [E 355] discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1...

Check yourself before you REQ yourself. Court of Requests proceedings up to REQ 2/397 now searchable to item level on The National Archives online catalogue. So very close to the end (of the calendared material, at least). discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/r/C...

If you like your historic interiors with a globally-focused twist, on April 27 I will be giving a lecture for the Society of Court Studies on the interiors of the Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale at Ham House. It's in person in London, or online!

The New Researchers Conference begins tomorrow - if you are in the Southampton area feel free to drop you out can pay on the day as well

Race, Law and Empire, 1750-1850 Conference University of Southampton AND online 17th - 18th July 2026 Call for Papers extended by popular request. Full details below. Please share widely. Established, emerging researchers are very welcome. Supported by @leverhulme.ac.uk

We are pleased to be supporting the "Mexico in Algiers, Rabat in Bahia: Rethinking Interactions Between the Iberian Atlantic and the Magreb" workshop Taking place 22 May 2026 @cemskcl.bsky.social For programme and registration see: pastandpresent.org.uk/registration...

The #HouseofLords, often in the shadow of the Commons, asserted its power during the reigns of James I and Charles I. But it would be eclipsed by #civilwar. ⌛️ Last chance to read this archive article for free www.historytoday.com/archive/feat...

Full-funded (home or international) collaborative PhD studentship (Kew and Royal Holloway, University of London) available. Deadline 8 May. Topic: ‘Just acquisitions? Law and ethics over time in Kew’s overseas plant collecting history’ #Skystorians

looking forward to reading this, as one of the (many) unexplored threads from my doctoral thesis involved a Mysterious Hat Incident. hoping this will cap it off nicely. really brim with information. perhaps I will be bowl(er)ed over-

Trying to find out more about an image of a painting we hold at Newhaven Museum. It's of Seaford Bay, between Newhaven and Seaford. These are a few closeups. #SussexCoast Anyone have any clues as to painter or date?

Our colleague, Dr Oliver Finnegan, records specialist for the Prize Papers at @nationalarchivesuk, holds a workshop on 'Practical Archival Skills Training (PAST) Workshop on English High Court of Admiralty Records', more info below & tickets can be booked here www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/practical-...

Published today OA in @routledgehistory.bsky.social 'Maritime Humanities, 1400-1800: Cultures of the Sea' book series: www.routledge.com/Material-Cul... Many congratulations to the editors! ⚓⚓⚓

We’re welcoming applicants for a fully funded history PhD project researching the first 100 years of the UK's Public Record Office, ahead of its bicentenary in 2038. Find out more and apply here by Friday 8 May: phd.leeds.ac.uk/project/2475... (1/2)

On 16 April, we are in Sheffield to co-host this year's 'History and Archives in Practice' (#HAP26), with The National Archives, @ihr.bsky.social and @unisheffieldlib.bsky.social. This year's theme is: ‘Shaping Societies, Improving Lives'. Full programme now available: bit.ly/4s5UMCS #Skystorians

The programme is now available for the British Commission for Maritime History New Researchers Conference in April at Southampton. Full details and booking here: www.maritimehistory.org.uk/new-research...

OR, early modern sheep were, in fact, all blue

Please do spread the word about the @srsrensoc.bsky.social Scholars of Colour MA Scholarship Awards -- two pots of £4,000 each, and an optional mentoring opportunity. I've very much enjoyed being a mentor to a fantastic scholar through this scheme!

the rat's out the bag

PhD/MA student in #history etc looking to gain experience with a major UK #heritage institution? The National Archives’ student placement schemes are now open and accepting expressions of interest on our website (including one with yours truly..!) www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/professional...

I'm super happy to say my latest article on Caribbean sinew populations has been published with the International Review of Social History. It is available (open access!) here: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Want to learn more about the spectacular find on the Danish cargo ship Anne-Marie? Sign up for an exciting roundtable with researchers from the Faroe Islands here: www.eventbrite.com/e/ships-seaf... #skystorians #19thcentury #earlymodern #maritimehistory

For much more on Ireland during the imperial crisis and American War of Independence see the @virtualtreasury.bsky.social's Age of Revolutions Portal (virtualtreasury.ie/portals/age-...). The browse feature underneath the main search bar to the right shows all repositories and documents.

Delighted to see that Gijs Dreijer's second book has just been published Open Access! This is a major contribution to our understanding of how Dutch entrepreneurs engaged in the Scramble for Africa, exploiting the opportunities offered by other European colonial powers 🗃️

On 16 April, we co-host 'History and Archives in Practice, 2026' with @ihr.bsky.social, The National Archives, and University of Sheffield Library. For #HAP26 our theme is: ‘Shaping Societies, Improving Lives: the Impact of Archives and Historical Research’ bit.ly/4tvKUnX. Booking now #Skystorians

Cover reveal for Richard Frohock's fab new 🏴‍☠️ book! Piracy Mythmaking in the Eighteenth Century Criminality, Human Nature, & Civil Government from @routledgehistory.bsky.social will be published 21/5/26! www.routledge.com/Piracy-Mythm...

The Utah Historical Society just produced a new, excellent map of "The Peoples of North America in 1776." Great resource for anyone teaching, writing, presenting about Native peoples as part of their 250th work. america250.utah.gov/power-of-pla...

🚨🐟 CFP - COLONIAL HINTER-SEAS: A Conference on Subaquatic Resources and Waterside Lives from the Early Modern to the Contemporary, 10-11 August 2026, virtual, Zoom & 19-21 August 2026, in-person, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland. Details: www.colonialfisheries.com/colonial-hin... 🐟🚨

Dear history fans, what objects would you like to see in an exhibition on privateering & life at sea in the 18th century? Everyday objects, letters, navigational instruments, or something unexpected? It will also explore forced migration. I’d love to hear your thoughts #earlymodern #maritimehistory

Letters of marque! How delightfully early modern.

C 132/1/1 is a Chancery Inquisition Post Mortem for Richard Noel from 1236, making it The First Noel on The National Archives' online catalogue... discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C8...

‘so what illuminations are you going to put on this manuscript?’ ‘bear with me’ TNA, E 36/274

Over 20,000 item descriptions have been added to REQ 2 (Court of Requests proceedings) since March 2024. An absolute treasure trove for Tudor historians. discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/r/C...