www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/professional... CFP! Spaces and Places of Care at The National Archives, UK Symposium: 7 Dec Proposals: 18 Sept We would love to hear from you if you work on archival collections and histories of care or welfare in any time period or global context. Please share!

Talking Records

Talking Records is a collections-based symposium held at The National Archives every year.

nationalarchives.gov.uk

#maritimehhistory

Manon C Williams@manoncwilliams.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Please circulate! Calling all PhDs and ECRs working on themes related to health, welfare, and community in the early modern maritime world: submit abstracts by 30 September to join this one-day workshop at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich on 14 January 2027. www.rmg.co.uk/collections/...

'I see thy glory like a shooting star' Shakespeare hiding inside Chancery records - these eighteenth-century boxes lined with waste sheets contain letters patent of denization The National Archives, C97

Symposium CFP: Spaces and Places of Care, The National Archives, December 2026 (in-person only) Do you work with archival collections connected to histories of spaces and places of care? This may be of interest! Read more here: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/professional...

Talking Records

Talking Records is a collections-based symposium held at The National Archives every year.

nationalarchives.gov.uk

📢 NEW WILL OF THE MONTH POST 📢 June's post explores the will of a Tudor clergyman who forfeited much of his property in the turmoil of the Henrician Reformation📜 His fortunes improved: his will reveals material comfort & ownership of many fine & decorative items sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...

CALL FOR PAPERS  📣   Experiencing Relief in Early Modern Britain: 1500-1800   We welcome papers from ECRs, PGRs, and established scholars. For more info (e.g., how to submit a paper) please see our website: earlymodernreliefconference2027.wordpress.com #earlymodern #earlymodernists #AcademicSky

The Many Lives of Cardboard is underway! We had a brilliant time at our first workshop in London last week and I've written a blog post with some initial reflections (read on to learn about cardboard's ancestors, tax evasion, & cheese in the 18th century: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/professional...

The Many Lives of Cardboard

In this blog, Lucy Razzall explores how The Many Lives of Cardboard project uses documents from our collection to trace the histories of this everyday material.

nationalarchives.gov.uk

There's a new 'Will of the Month' post over on the @materialwills.bsky.social blog! 📜 Read on to find out about the will of Sir Francis Cottington, who left money and jewellery to Catholic institutions in Valladolid 👇 #Skystorians #History @uoearchhist.bsky.social @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social

The Material Culture of Wills Project@materialwills.bsky.social · 6mo ago

📢 NEW Will of the Month Post! 📢 📜 April's post explores the will of Sir Francis Cottington (c.1579-1652), ‘Ambassador extraordinary' to the King of Spain. A Catholic convert, he died in Valladolid, leaving a 'Jewell of Diamonds' to a famous statue of Our Lady 💎 sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...

Looking forward to sharing some thoughts on cardboard, archives, and record-making at this exciting event: www.vam.ac.uk/event/VDwJLx...

Making Ecologies (May 2026) - Conferences and study days at V&A South Kensington · V&A

A one-day symposium brings together makers, researchers, and academics to share knowledge, explore material practices, and examine how situated making shapes contemporary craft and ecological futures.

vam.ac.uk

This was a brilliant project to be involved in with wonderful, generous, kind editors. Looking forward to seeing it in the world (gorgeous cover image too).

Adam Smyth@adamwithbooks.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Delighted to have written the Afterword for Katherine Hunt and Dianne Mitchell's fizzing collection on literary and material forms -- available for pre-order now with a discount.

Applications close soon for this MA/PhD student placement opportunity with me at The National Archives... do share!

Lucy Razzall@lucyrazzall.bsky.social · 7mo ago

At The National Archives we have six exciting opportunities for MA/PhD students to gain experience of the cultural/heritage sector through student placements, including one supervised by me: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/professional... Please share; questions welcome!

'3.4 to 4.3m tonnes of paper and cardboard waste are exported each year for recycling' Our AHRC project, The Many Lives of Cardboard, is underway & we're starting with cardboard histories in the records of the state at @nationalarchives.gov.uk.web.brid.gy www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Rubbish and recycling in England: what’s changing and why it matters

Nationwide reforms aim to standardise collections and expand food waste recycling to tackle stagnating rates

theguardian.com

Fascinating will of an C18th Jewish Londoner! Love these Will of the Month posts.

Dr Laura Sangha@lsangha.bsky.social · 7mo ago

📢MARCH WILL OF THE MONTH📢 Out today, our latest featured will is that of David de Crasto, a prominent Jewish Londoner who was the cantor or hazzan of the Sephardic synagogue. #EarlyModern 🗃️📜 sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...

19th century cardboard secret code device klaxon! are you an MA or PhD student looking to get experience sharing archive wonders with broader public/children? apply now (7 year old me is absolutely making cardboard secret code devices all summer)

Lucy Razzall@lucyrazzall.bsky.social · 7mo ago

At The National Archives we have six exciting opportunities for MA/PhD students to gain experience of the cultural/heritage sector through student placements, including one supervised by me: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/professional... Please share; questions welcome!

At The National Archives we have six exciting opportunities for MA/PhD students to gain experience of the cultural/heritage sector through student placements, including one supervised by me: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/professional... Please share; questions welcome!

The ingenuity of cardboard

Develop research-led resources for informal learning with family audiences inspired by a unique object found in naval correspondence from 1804.

nationalarchives.gov.uk

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

This 1843 Minute Book of the Royal Commission on Health of Towns was bound by John Smith, who also manufactured account books. The spine, now fragile and detached, reveals the use of account book waste in the binding (The National Archives, MH7/1)

Posters are up! 🎉

This beautiful letterhead from an educational supplier in 1912 offers a glimpse into diverse pedagogical methods at the time: Froebel's influential kindergartens & 'Occupations'; Object Lessons; chalk drawing & 'brushwork'; 'drills' & 'recitations'... (from Treasury records at The National Archives)

This is a fascinating picture of a widow writing what we'd today call a 'living will', in the 1780s. PROB 11/1143/398 at The National Archives

Dr Laura Sangha@lsangha.bsky.social · 9mo ago

📢FIRST FEATURED WILL OF 2026📢 'if it shall please God to afflict me before my Death’. Emily explores the will of Mary Young, who anticipated that she might lose mental or physical capacity at the end. #EarlyModern 🗃️ @leverhulme.ac.uk @uoearchhist.bsky.social sites.exeter.ac.uk/materialcult...

Our latest exhibition, Love Letters, is now open at The National Archives, revealing 500 years of love. From paupers, monarchs, queer networks & quiet acts of affection found in government records. Very proud to have been lead curator on this one, working with so many wonderful people! 💌