Joe Saunders

The cardinal rule of British politics is never, under any circumstances, be horrible to badgers

John Aubrey and the Victoria County History: Parallel Endeavours in Systematic Local History - On History Dr Louise Ryland-Epton describes the gestation of the latest Victoria County History (VCH), publications on Chippenham and its neighbourhood, looking at how this work was informed by earlier scholarsh...

In advance of the launch of our latest #PartnershipPublication (and the 400th birthday of John Aubery), tomorrow, please read our latest blog from @lrylandepton.bsky.social explaining the parallel paths Aubery's work and ours have taken.

Thanks to @ihr.bsky.social. #Skystorians

Dear everyone,

As per the post from the Bodleian librarian below, AI bots and scrapers are putting just about every website under great pressure, British History Online included.

A lot of excellent tech staff are working hard to keep everything working, but outages and siruptions are inevitable.

The Monarch Song | Horrible Histories | CBBC YouTube video by CBBC

The six-year-old has informed me that they were learning about kings and queens yesterday and there was a song.

A song, I asked?

Inevitably, some of @gregjenner.bsky.social's best (and certainly catchiest), work.

📣Out now on #firstview!

Jenni Hyde (@wallyberry.bsky.social) on 'Providence, Editorial, and News in Early Modern Ballads'

#News #Religion #God #Print #Everyday 17thc 📜🗃️

👉Read open access: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Two Working LEGO Printing Presses | LEGO® Ideas The development of mechanical printing changed how ideas move through the world. Once text and images could be printed rather than copied by hand, knowledge was…

Hi #EarlyModern Bluesky - did you know that someone brilliant has built working printing presses using Lego and they are trying to get enough supporters so that Lego will release it as a kit?

They look so cool!

beta.ideas.lego.com/product-idea...

The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, at Birkbeck, University of London, is looking for a talented researcher to join a project focused on expanding our understanding of non elite writers and writing in seventeenth century England. As Postdoctoral Research Associate you will join 'Written Worlds in Seventeenth-Century England', an exciting Leverhulme Trust–funded project. The role is offered on a 13 month, part time (17.5 hours a week) contract with a salary of £22,124 rising to £25,189 per annum (pro-rated £44,247 to £50,379 per annum). In this role, you will carry out dedicated research on non elite textual production, working closely with the Principal Investigator, Professor Sue Wiseman, and the Co Investigator, Dr Brodie Waddell. You will have the opportunity to work extensively with manuscripts and printed sources, visit archives, investigate datasets, develop the project database, and contribute to shaping the project’s scholarly outputs - and you may also be involved in textual editing. As Research Associate, you will focus on one of two thematic strands: 1. Non elite writing produced in the provinces, or 2. Writing produced by non elite women. Further details via link

We are hiring postdoc researchers to join our #WrittenWorlds project at Birkbeck, with Sue Wiseman, @mdpowelldavies.bsky.social, @richardjansell.bsky.social and I.

0.5FTE, 13 months, focus on women's or provincial non-elite writing #EarlyModern 🗃️
cis7.bbk.ac.uk/vacancy/post...

A man working a plow in a field - carried by a small elephant. This detail is from Sebastian Münster's Cosmographiae uniuersalis, vol. 6, 1550.

In 1550, one Elephant Power (EP) was the equivalent of 10 Horse Power (HP).

In a policy paper published today, Craig Muldrew discusses his new book ‘The Capitalist Self’ and explores what it can contribute to policy debates about the role of capital in contemporary society. historyandpolicy.org/policy-paper...

Suburbs Joe Saunders In medieval Britain’s towns and cities buildings were largely confined within their walls, a pattern which continued well into the 1500s.[1] Early urban maps, such as those by John Spe…

Suburbs, by Joe Saunders. Today, around 80% of England’s population are suburb dwellers and all kinds of researcher may be interested in the history of suburbs. how-to-history.com/2026/02/25/s...

The English Print Revolution: Caxton and Beyond See the first book in which Caxton was ever involved, one of the books he printed in England, and examples of later genres, typefaces and illustrations for which he paved the way.

‘The English Print Revolution: Caxton and Beyond’, a collab between @ies-sas.bsky.social and @senatehouselib.bsky.social celebrating 550 years of printing in England, opens @senatehouselib.bsky.social on 26 Feb 2026! www.london.ac.uk/about/servic...

Communities fight 'corporate' bid for seaweed rights Communities on Ireland's west coast say they will fight to safeguard their traditional seaweed rights against what they describe as a "corporate takeover "of their livelihoods.

Myself and Colin Breen have written in "Maritime Ireland" about seaweed harvesting on Ireland's coastline, in 19th century. These are local rights, well known and established through built features (e.g. wrack walls, kilns, etc). There is no way that such rights be taken over by foreign companies.

You know studying at degree level is not compulsory right? If you don’t want to study you can just not do higher education. You don’t need a little robot called Einstein to destroy the planet for you not to learn anything.

Academia.edu - Find Research Papers, Topics, Researchers Academia.edu is the platform to share, find, and explore 50 Million research papers. Join us to accelerate your research needs & academic interests.

FYI, Academia.edu has changed its terms of service to give an irrevocable worldwide license for anything uploaded to its site to be used for generative AI. I do not consent to this and have pulled all my papers.

Yes I'm the same! I should really try to give back.

Old books, ladder and laptop

Excited to be teaching some online short-courses in British historical research skills over the coming months including on Probate, Title Deeds, Local History and Chancery Records. #Skystorians #LocalHistory #FamilyHistory 🗃️https://www.pharostutors.com/joe-saunders

BOOKING IS NOW OPEN for our webinar week in July, "The Ones Who Got Away": www.pharostutors.com/webinars

With a star-studded speaker list and 15 talks there will be something for everyone! Buy individual webinars or save 20% with a full week pass.

#Genealogy #Ancestry #OnlineTalks #OnlineLearning

So many departments that have been shrunk based on the metrics that showed unsatisfactory employability outcomes. Every single time we yelled that *it is not in our power to change the economy* that is the Prime Minister's job.

Glad to have the neat graphs to point at next time. #UKHE

‘Is university still worth it?’ is the wrong question The graduate earnings premium isn’t really measuring what most people think

Turns out (says @jburnmurdoch.ft.com) it's not so much an oversupply of graduates in the UK (the same would be true of other similar countries but it's not) as an undersupply of the kind of jobs that a better-performing, more productive economy would supply.

Geograph, one of the best sources of images of places in Britain. Covering a range of historic buildings and landscapes. Mostly free to use. 🗃️ www.geograph.org.uk

Is Walking Research? A Methodological Ramble Mark HailwoodI needed to try something to get me writing again. Blessed with a period of research leave to resume work on my book – Everyday Life in the Seventeenth Century English Village &#…

'I would set off, with some sense of what I might be looking for, and see what I stumbled across...'

Is going for a walk a valid methodology for a historian? And if so, how much theory do you need to read before you start?

Some thoughts in my latest blog post:
manyheadedmonster.com/2026/02/10/i...

Well, I wasn't ready to hear that!

Annual Reports from the 1990s.

Yes, the 90s is now History... 🗃️

Joe Saunders History Here to help with any historical project including genealogy, property history, problem solving, archival photography and writing up research. Joe Saunders History

I am happy to undertake historic research on behalf of organisations of all kinds, including businesses and charities. My experience includes writing histories up for print and digital publication, as well as formal reports for internal use. www.joesaundershistory.co.uk

Early 19th century pamphlets.

Privileged to be working with the archives of the Commercial Travellers' Benevolent Institution, charting its history from 1849 to the present. Such organisations provided critical financial and social support recorded through a rich bureaucracy. 🗃️ how-to-history.com/2025/12/31/f...

Festival of Social History To celebrate 50 years of the Social History Society, we’ve teamed up with the Institute of Historical Research to host a Social History Festival! The festival will feature two expert discussion pan…

📣Bookings now open!

👉Celebrating 50 years of the Social History Society with our 'Festival of Social History' @ihr.bsky.social

Panels, zine-making stall, tours, lunch, a roundtable, & keynote by Naomi Tadmor

📅 24 Apr 2026
💷 from £10 for members

All welcome!
socialhistory.org.uk/events/festi...

Excellent choice of subject! A really useful way of 'connecting' with past communities. #OnePlaceWednesday

Blogging and Social Media Prompt, February 2026: #OnePlaceNetworks. Image: A diagram featuring 'head and shoulders' views of scores of people, connected by lines to represent social networks. www.one-place-studies.org/blogging-prompts/ One-Place Studies, where family history and local history unite.

New month, new blogging, vlogging and social media prompt! For February we have #OnePlaceNetworks – an opportunity to explore networks involving people in our #OnePlaceStudies, who were linked by a variety of familial, financial, business, charitable, religious, recreational and other relationships.

'Decade of chaos' alert as Liverpool St station scheme set for approval City Corporation sets February date for planning decision as campaigners warn UK’s busiest train station will be construction site for seven years

If you want to stop this because the price is too high in terms of commuting misery, impact on the heritage buildings, and placing the local community in the shadow of another tall building, please object here: Here's our helpful Guide: bit.ly/4jLWsim #SaveLiverpoolStreetStation

This is such a facile argument. Sure, let's have a conversation about how universities should be funded. But let's also talk interest rates, debt that functions like an extra tax, repayment thresholds, and what that's actually doing to millions of young people who did everything they were told to do