History students
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‘Bells, Flags – and Bathing Costumes – in Big Procession’: British Street Parties
PhD student Fiona Lane shares some of her own research in the aftermath of the VE80 celebrations, focusing on very different types of street parties: those hosted by rent strikers in the 1930s. ‘It will be like Coronation Day again!’,… Continue reading
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Women in Our History: Sarah Ann Blenkinsopp
Our PhD student, Fiona Lane, shares what she has learned about the woman who rasied her grandfather Jack. Sarah Blenkinsopp’s (1857-1937) story starts, for me, with the tragic death of my grandfather’s parents. It is very unlikely that Sarah would… Continue reading
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Women in Our History: Lady Elisabeth Erskine
Our PhD student, Robin Harragin Hussey, shares what she knows about her grandmother. Elisabeth (1907-2004) was my grandmother. Elisabeth had a large influence on her church, Christian Science, by bringing many Kenyans into membership. Our family values are deeply Christian… Continue reading
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Women in Our History: Madeline Ethel Lancaster
Our final-year student, Hannah Grimshaw, shares what she has learned about her great-grandmother. Madeline Lancaster (née Styles), known often as Madge, was my great-grandma on my father’s side of the family. She was my grandma’s mother. Although Madeline died long… Continue reading
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Steering Santa: Modernising Father Christmas in Britain
James Smith, finalist in BA History, traces the evolution of Father Christmas in Britain across the nineteenth century. Father Christmas driving a car! Even in the twenty first century, the idea of him piloting anything other than a sleigh seems… Continue reading




