Blog

From our students

We support a number of students across a range of disciplines as they undertake PhDs, placements and fellowships with us. Find out about the research our students are doing with us in their own words.

Recovering histories of Scandinavian seafarers in the Prize Papers

An opened volume showing two pages of ornately handwritten Danish text, including some astronomical symbols.

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.

Most recent posts

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.
Prototyping semantic search for case law

Published

28 July 2025

PhD student Caitlin Wilson showcases the latest results from her research into an accessible search function for The National Archives' Find Case Law service.
The history of ‘indecent advertisements’ in public toilets

Published

24 February 2025

Collaborative doctoral student Jessica Gregory shares her research using records held at The National Archives.
Narrating ephemeral archival presence: LGBTQ+ histories and Colonial Office records

Published

12 February 2025

PhD student Garfield Campbell took on the challenge of scoping LGBTQ+ lives in colonial records. Here, he reflects on his findings.
Using archives to examine the BSE epidemic

Published

27 January 2025

Student Isobel Newby reflects on the research process of undertaking a PhD during a global pandemic.