History@Portsmouth

University of Portsmouth's History Blog

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Research in Focus

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University and Museum Collaborations: History within and beyond the classroom

By on August 10, 2019 in Events, Learning in Focus, News, Public History, Research in Focus

In this blog, Dr Katy Gibbons and Dr Maria Cannon discuss the different ways in which the History team (both staff and students) at the University of Portsmouth have worked with the Mary Rose Museum, and highlight some ongoing and future projects. The History team at Portsmouth is very fortunate in having a number of award-winning museums on our doorstep, and staff and students benefit from this. Only 10 minutes walk from the History team at Milldam building is the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, and one of the museums housed here is the world-leading Mary Rose Museum. Now housed in a bespoke setting, the museum is able to offer an immersive […]

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students dissertation

‘Have faith in your abilities’: Researching and writing the dissertation

By on January 7, 2019 in Learning in Focus, Research in Focus

In this blog Dr Rob James, senior lecturer in history, throws light on the process of researching and writing an undergraduate dissertation. Rob specialises in researching people’s leisure practices, and teaches a number of units that focus on one of the most popular leisure pursuits of the first half of the twentieth century, going to the cinema. He would be happy to supervise students with dissertation topics that cover a broad range of topics located broadly in twentieth-century Britain. Mentioning the word ‘dissertation’ can send a ripple of terror across many a student cohort. It is like one of the characters in the Harry Potter books and films mentioning Lord […]

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View of Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, etching by Wenceslas Hollar, 1643, British Museum Print Q, C.100

Local History on Stage

By on December 21, 2018 in Events, Public History, Research in Focus

As part of his practice research PhD at Portsmouth, Vin Adams has written a play about the events here in 1642, just before Charles I raised his standard in Nottingham. The play will be performed in The Square Tower in Old Portsmouth, itself part of the action of the play, and brings to life many figures of the time including Queen Henrietta Maria, John Pym, Sir William Waller and, of course, George Goring. For anyone interested in local history, this should be an interesting exploration of Portsmouth’s part in one of the battles that prefaced the Civil War. Vin has been working on the project with Fiona McCall, senior lecturer […]

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A Christmas reading list

By on December 14, 2018 in Research in Focus

In this festive-themed blog, Dr Katy Gibbons, Senior Lecturer in History, recommends a few texts that feature a link to Christmas. Katy specialises in the religious and cultural history of 16th century England and Europe, and teaches amongst other units, a Special Subject ‘Conflict, Conspiracy, Consensus? Religious Identities in the Reign of Elizabeth I’. With Christmas fast approaching, no doubt many historians are adding reading material to their Christmas lists! For some historians, though, Christmas is the focus of the research they carry out – and there is a wealth of academic history that considers the changing significance of this festival over many centuries. So, for our blog readers, here are […]

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Park Building, Portsmouth

Park Building: A seat of learning and former home to the city’s central library

By on November 30, 2018 in Public History, Research in Focus

In this blog, part of a series of posts looking at sites of historical interest in Portsmouth, Dr Rob James, Senior Lecturer in History, reveals that Park Building, location for History’s Open Days, was once home to the city’s central library. Rob’s research focuses on society’s leisure practices, and he teaches a number of units that focus on one of the most popular leisure pursuits of the first half of the twentieth century, going to the cinema. Portsmouth’s first public library didn’t open until 1883, much later than most other sizeable cities in England. Indeed, the country’s first public library was opened over thirty years earlier, in Manchester in September […]

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Wymering Manor: Portsmouth’s oldest domestic building

By on November 22, 2018 in Public History, Research in Focus

In this blog, the fourth in a series of posts looking at sites of historical interest in Portsmouth, Dr Katy Gibbons, Senior Lecturer in History, discusses the significant but often overlooked history of Wymering Manor, the oldest domestic building in the city of Portsmouth. Katy’s research specialisms focus on the religious and cultural history of early modern England, and specifically on the Catholic communities living under Protestant rule. This connects to her teaching at Levels 4 and 6 of the History curriculum, particularly specialist modules on religious identity in Elizabethan England. For a place rich in heritage, Wymering Manor, on the outskirts of Portsmouth, is one of its often-overlooked gems. […]

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