Our research projects blog

Most recent posts

• Looking beyond words: Exploring the materiality of East and Southeast Asian records

  

  Published

  4 September 2026

  In this blog post, we explore the physical elements of a 19th century Chinese military map and what it tells us about our East and Southeast Asian records.

• Remembering Slavery: Reflections from the PASSAGE project

  

  Published

  21 August 2026

  In this blog post, the PASSAGE team reflect on some of the histories of enslavement that have surfaced through their research.

• Uncovering precious medieval silk seal bags in our collection

  

  Published

  7 August 2026

  Marc Vermeulen shares new discoveries made during a research project into medieval silk seal bags, highlighting the richness and diversity of the collection.

• Archive Rambler: from Lynmouth to Woolacombe

  

  Published

  27 July 2026

  Giorgia Tolfo continues the second leg of her journey while exploring how archival research and walking can work together.

• Archive Rambler: Lynmouth and Lynton

  

  Published

  27 July 2026

  Continuing her exploration into the combination of archival research and walking, Giorgia Tolfo sets off on the next leg of her journey.

• Recovering histories of Scandinavian seafarers in the Prize Papers

  

  Published

  4 June 2026

  On a three-month placement at the National Archives, Kaia Sollie explored records about Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian seafaring in the seventeenth century.

• Exploring archival value: Does the ‘perfect parchment’ exist?

  

  Published

  18 May 2026

  Olivia Page looks back on a recent conservation workshop that explored the sensory and physical qualities of historical materials.

• The Many Lives of Cardboard

  

  Published

  13 May 2026

  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.

• The architectural history of postcolonial West African universities

  

  Published

  11 May 2026

  In this blog, PhD student Adefola Toye considers how she has used colonial records to research West Africa's architectural history as part of her PhD.

• Clues from the high seas: tracing Suriname’s textile histories in the Prize Papers

  

  Published

  27 April 2026

  Viveca Mellegard explains how she used scientific analysis to investigate textile samples seized from a ship sailing from Suriname in 1795.

• Addressing offensive terminology in our catalogue

  

  Published

  7 April 2026

  In this blog, Andrew Janes explores how The National Archives team is addressing offensive terminology within our catalogue descriptions.

• Subhas Chandra Bose and India at war

  

  Published

  9 February 2026

  This blog explores the complex history of India’s role as part of the British Empire between 1939–45, during the Second World War.