This year the Society publishes three new volumes in its Camden series of scholarly editions of primary sources. The first two volumes are published in June and August and available online and in print from Cambridge University Press.

NEW, VOLUME 69: The Papers of Admiral George Grey, edited by Michael Taylor (June 2025)

The Papers of Admiral George Grey presents the memoir, journal, and correspondence of George Grey, son of the Whig prime minister Earl Grey.

The volume documents the Grey family’s experience of the Whig ministry of 1830–1834, and George Grey’s own naval career which took him from the Battle of Navarino during the Greek War of Independence, to a decisive survey of the Falkland Islands, and then to the capital cities of South America during their pivotal early decades of independence

In doing so, the volume sheds new light on the political, diplomatic, naval, and imperial histories of the early and mid-nineteenth century.

The Papers of Admiral George Grey is published online and in print by Cambridge University Press (from June 2025). Due to a subvention from the Society, this volume will be available fully open access.

FORTHCOMING, VOLUME 70: The Holograph Letters of Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots (1489-1541), edited by Helen Newsome-Chandler (August 2025)

This volume presents the surviving holograph correspondence of Margaret Tudor, queen of Scots (1489–1541) as a stand-alone edition for the first time.

The 111 holograph letters (written in Margaret’s own hand) and 4 ‘hybrid’ letters (written by a scribe, with a postscript or subsection by Margaret herself) form an unprecedented epistolary archive, featuring the largest collection of holograph correspondence written in English or Scots of any medieval or early modern queen.

The letters chart Margaret’s life as a late medieval queen, including the challenges she faced in negotiating her dual identity as queen of Scots and an English princess, and her important role in Anglo-Scots politics and diplomacy in the early sixteenth century.

The Holograph Letters of Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots (1489-1541), is published online and in print by Cambridge University Press (from August 2025).

The third and final Camden volume published in 2025 — A Collector Collected: The Journals of William Upcott, 1803-1823, edited by Mark Philp, Aysuda Aykan and Curtis Leung — is published in November.

Recent volumes in the Camden series

Recent volumes in the series include:

The Household Accounts of Robert and Katherine Greville, Lord and Lady Brooke, at Holborn and Warwick, 1640-1649, edited by Stewart Beale, Andrew Hopper and Ann Hughes (November 2024).

• Robert Greville, 2nd Lord Brooke, was a prominent figure amongst the opposition to Charles I, a religious radical and intellectual who emerged as a successful popular leader in the early months of the English Civil War. This volume publishes the richly detailed household accounts kept for Brooke and his widow, Katherine, on an annual basis between 1640 and 1649.

Allen Leeper’s Letters Home, 1908–1912. An Irish-Australian at Edwardian Oxford, edited by David Hayton (July 2024).

• Allen Leeper, Oxford undergraduate and future Foreign Office mandarin, wrote regularly to his family in Australia from 1908 until he left university in 1912. Leeper’s letters, in Balliol College archives and the State Library of Victoria, record his experiences at Balliol, among a ‘golden generation’ decimated by the First World War, and on his extensive travels in Europe. They provide a vivid picture of a continent on the eve of war, written by someone whose background afforded a degree of objectivity.

The Last Days of English Tangier. The Out-Letter Book of Governor Percy Kirke, 1681–1683, edited by John Childs (November 2023).

• Governor Percy Kirke’s Out-Letter Book, here transcribed verbatim and annotated, covers the terminal decline of English Tangier, ending just before the arrival of Lord Dartmouth’s expedition charged with demolishing the town and evacuating all personnel. In 152 official letters, Kirke’s correspondence traces the decay of both the town’s military fabric and the soldiers’ morale and effectiveness, and the impossibility of reaching a satisfactory modus vivendi with the leaders of the besieging Moroccan armed forces.

La Prinse et mort du roy Richart d’Angleterre, and Other Works by Jehan Creton, edited and translated by Lorna A. Finlay (June 2023).

• Jehan Creton accompanied Richard II on his expedition to Ireland in 1399 and witnessed his capture by Henry Lancaster, who usurped the throne to reign as Henry IV. Creton’s account is of crucial importance for historians of the period, as he contradicts the official version of events in the Parliamentary Roll. This a completely new translation of the work, correcting the previous edition dating from 1824. This new Camden edition also includes Creton’s other known writings, the two epistles and four ballades.

Introductions to these and other recent Camden volumes are available from their editors via the Society’s blog.

About the Camden series

The Royal Historical Society’s Camden Series is one of the most prestigious and important collections of primary source material relating to British History, including the British empire and Britons’ influence overseas.

The Society (and its predecessor, the Camden Society) has since 1838 published scholarly editions of sources—making important, previously unpublished, texts available to researchers. Each volume is edited by specialist historians who provide an expert introduction and commentary.

The complete Camden Series now comprises over 385 volumes of primary source material, ranging from the early medieval to late-twentieth century Britain. The full series is available via Cambridge Journals Online, providing an extraordinarily rich conspectus of source material for British history as well as insights into the development of historical scholarship in the English speaking world.

Full online access to all Camden Series titles is available to all Fellows and Members of the Royal Historical Society as part of the Society’s Member Benefits.

The Camden Series is edited by Dr Richard Gaunt (University of Nottingham) and Professor Siobhan Talbott (Keele University).

Richard is Associate Professor in History at the University of Nottingham, with expertise in the political and electoral history of late-eighteenth and nineteenth-century Britain. Siobhan is Professor of Early Modern History at Keele University, with research expertise in the economic and social history of Britain and the Atlantic World. Both have extensive experience of preparing and publishing scholarly editions of primary texts.

Richard and Siobhan welcome submissions for future Camden volumes. If you have a proposal for a Camden Society volume, please complete and submit the Camden Series Proposal Form and send your completed proposal to the Editors: camden.editors@royalhistsoc.org.

In August, the Society publishes the next title in its New Historical Perspective book series: Waterscapes: Reservoirs, Environment and Identity in Modern England and Wales, by Andrew McTominey.

A study of reservoir planning and construction, Waterscapes is an important and novel contribution to environmental and urban history, and histories of the English and Welsh countryside.

The building of reservoirs in England and Wales was key to urban growth across the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, with the management of waterworks projects closely tied to the social and economic fortunes of rural areas, as well as the treatment of urban populations.

Drawing on methods from environmental history, cultural history and historical geography, this book explores the multiple and long-term impacts of reservoir construction and management in rural England and Wales. It examines how reservoirs transformed the rural environment, the management of the urban-rural hinterland, the development of cultural landscapes, the expansion of novel leisure activities, and the social impact on local communities.

Incorporating case studies from Leeds’s Washburn Valley, Liverpool’s Vyrnwy Reservoir and Birmingham’s Elan Reservoir, among others, Waterscapes‘ comparative approach highlights commonalities and differences in waterworks management across the country. It transforms our understanding of the national water industry, contemporary attitudes to the environment, and the identities – civic, gender and professional – that were intertwined with these waterscapes.

NHP titles, published and forthcoming, in 2025

• Voice, Silence and Gender in South Africa’s Anti-Apartheid Struggle. The Shadow of a Young Woman, by Rachel E. Johnson (March 2025)
• Reading, Gender and Identity in Seventeenth-Century England, by Hannah Jeans (April 2025)
• Atlantic Isles: Travel and Identity in the British and Irish West, 1880–1940, by Gareth Roddy (October 2025)
• Forging Fraternity in Late Medieval Society. The Palmers’ Guild of Ludlow, by Rachael Harkes (November 2025)

Andrew McTominey’s Waterscapes is the 23rd title in the Society’s New Historical Perspective book series for early career historians. As for all titles in the series, Waterscapes is published Open Access online, and free to access by all, as well as in paperback print.

Registration is now open for this year’s ‘History and Archives in Practice’ day conference (HAP24) which takes place on Wednesday 6 March 2024 at Cardiff University.

HAP is an annual gathering of historians and archivists to explore new projects, practices and collections. The conference is run jointly by the Royal Historical Society, Institute of Historical Research and The National Archives. This year, HAP is partnering with historians and archivists at Cardiff University, where the event will be held.

Our theme for HAP24 is ‘Historical Legacies: Collecting History, Historical Collections, and Community Voices’ (Welsh language version available here). The day combines panels, interactive sessions and collection demonstrations from over 15 projects, UK-wide, involving historians and archivists working collaboratively. A provisional programme for History and Archives in Practice, 2024 will be available online soon.

HAP24 provides opportunities to reflect on archival and historical legacies — of people, places, and practice; historical, physical, and digital. Join us as we consider questions of value, loss, preservation, access and the opportunities and challenges we face as historians and archivists in preserving histories and collections.

Bursaries to attend

HAP24 is a free event and organisers are committed to making the day as accessible and inclusive as possible.

There are a limited number of bursaries, of up to £150, available to support travel (for attendees based outside Cardiff), or to help with other costs (such as childcare) to enable attendance.

If you wish to be considered for a bursary please register for the event via the ‘book now’ button above and then complete the bursary application form, by Monday 19 February 2024. Applicants for bursaries will be notified of outcomes two weeks in advance of the event.#HAP24 is an in-person event at Cardiff University.

Please note that bookings for this event will close on 25 February 2024.

The Royal Historical Society — with partners The National Archives and Institute of Historical Research — is pleased to announce details of its ‘History and Archives in Practice’ Conference for 2024. HAP24 will take place on Wednesday 6 March at Cardiff University. The partnership with Cardiff comes after an open call earlier this year, inviting UK archives to host the 2024 conference.

HAP24 will be the second year for ‘History and Archives in Practice’ and the first when the core group partners with a UK university / archive. We look forward to working with colleagues in Cardiff now that the Call for Papers for HAP24 is open. For more on the theme for next year’s conference, and how to submit a panel proposal, please see below.

History and Archives in Practice, 2024: Call for Papers

HAP24 takes place at Cardiff University on Wednesday 6 March 2024 on the theme of ‘Historical Legacies: collecting history, historical collections and community voices’.

‘HAP24: Historical Legacies’ looks to the future (through the past) to discuss the impact of legacies past, present, and future. The event provides opportunities to reflect on the durability of legacies (historical, physical, digital), the democratisation of history, and our collective responsibility in working with communities to ensure that our collections and our practices are rooted in co-creation and collaboration.

With co-creation and collaboration in mind, we now invite proposals for ‘History and Archives in Practice, 2024’ on this theme.

We welcome submissions from historians, archivists, and heritage organisations alike. We are particularly keen to highlight and support smaller organisations, underrepresented collections, and marginalised voices as well as new and emerging research. This year we especially welcome submissions on the theme from projects in Wales.

Please submit an abstract (300 words) by Friday 15 December 2023 using this form

‘History and Archives in Practice’ encourages a wide range of formats that best showcase a collection and the experience / lessons of collaborative working between archivists and historians on shared projects. Suggested formats include:

• 20-minute papers
• Interactive workshops
• Full panels on a chosen topic (3-4 speakers with chair, 15-20 minutes per speaker)
• Introductions to specific collections and their potential for historical research
• Demonstration and handling sessions, introducing attendees to selected items from your collections, and their potential in research
• Other proposals and formats for communicating activity, experience and research are also welcome as we look to move on from traditional conference models

In the coming weeks and months, further information on HAP24 will be circulated on RHS, TNA and IHR social media, mailing lists and newsletters. Please do consider submitting a paper or panel proposal.

If you have any questions about HAP24 and submitting a proposal, please email: research@nationalarchives.gov.uk

About ‘History and Archives in Practice’

A partnership of The National Archives, Royal Historical Society, and the Institute of Historical Research, ‘History and Archives in Practice’ (HAP) is where historians and archivists come together to consider shared interests in archive collections, their interpretation and use.

History and Archives in Practice (HAP) is an annual event, building on its partners’ long experience of bringing archivists and historians into close conversation. Our first event ‘HAP23’ took place on 29 March 2023 at the Institute of Historical Research, London, and explored the theme of ‘Collecting Communities: working together and with collections’.

You can find out more and watch videos from the event here: History and Archives in Practice, 2023

From 2024 and beyond, HAP endeavours to partner with UK archives and institutions who similarly specialise in bringing together archivists and researchers. Each year, we draw on aspects of UK collections and emerging research being undertaken, integrating these into the annual event programme. This new format enables a formerly London-based conference to take place at archive centres across the UK.

In 2024 we partner with historians and archivists from Cardiff University who will both host HAP24 and collaborate with us in the planning and organisation of the day, showcasing their collections and the breadth of innovative and exciting research that is being undertaken across the institution and Wales itself.

The Royal Historical Society, and partners, are pleased to announce the launch of next year’s History and Archives in Practice call for participation.

Working with Memory: History, Storytelling and Practices of Remembrance
Senate House, University of London, Wednesday 5 March 2025

In 2025, people around the world will reflect on 80 years since the end of World War II, remembering this pivotal moment in global history and commemorating the lives lost during the conflict.

Those of us working with history and collections – archivists, historians, researchers and practitioners – think about memory on a daily basis. However, memory itself is an elusive and plural concept, it is both material and immaterial, and working with memory is not without its challenges. With HAP25 we want to consider these challenges, share our learnings, celebrate our successes, and delve into the possibilities that occur at the intersections of history and archives.

We seek to explore how we understand and work with memory, considering questions like: How are memory, storytelling and remembrance felt and practised? How do we decide what memories to collect, and whose stories to tell? And how can we imagine new, expansive and intersectional ways of working with memory within our practices?

HAP25 aims to explore, but is not limited to, some of the following topics:

• Commemoration and remembrance: How and why do individuals, communities, and nations work together to commemorate and remember? How have practices changed over time and how might they look in the future? What is the role of historians and archivists and what can we learn from those outside of our professions
• Storytelling, history and archival practice: How does storytelling inform, challenge and expand our practices as historians and archivists?   In what ways can we tell stories to enhance access to and collaboration with histories and collections? And how do innovative forms of collecting and engaging impact our understanding of storytelling?
• Ethics and working with memory:  What are the ethical challenges and considerations of working with and recording memory? How can storytelling and working with memory challenge archival absences?
• Home, personal memories and archives: How might we rethink collecting practices, to incorporate contemporary objects and personal archives? How do family historians work with memory?
• Community memory: How do communities work to ensure the inclusion of their stories and experiences? How do we best collaborate on this? Who is best placed to be doing this work? How do national memory narratives change? How do community memories get a place on the transnational stage of remembering?
• Institutional memory and beyond: How is institutional memory accessed? How can institutional memory interact with and respond to memory beyond the institution? How can historians, archivists, information managers and stakeholders collaborate to ensure that institutional memory is reflexive and reflective of the needs of different users?
• Beyond materiality: How do we think about the immaterial and material memory of collections How can we collaborate with conservators, heritage scientists and practitioners to look beyond the materiality of a record to preserve its memory

HAP25 is particularly keen to highlight and support smaller organisations, underrepresented collections, and marginalised voices as well as new and emerging research.

How to submit a proposal? 

• Please submit an abstract (300 words) by 11.45PM on 30 September 2024 using the form on the IHR website: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HAP25-CfP

Please get in touch with HAP organisers at research@nationalarchives.gov.uk if you have any questions.

More information is available on the IHR website: https://www.history.ac.uk/events/cfp-hap25

The Royal Historical Society is pleased to announce the next call for its RHS Workshop Grants for projects taking place in 2024. This scheme provides funding of £1,000 per Grant to enable historians to undertake activities, broadly defined, to pursue historical research, study and discussion. In this round, the Society will make up to six awards for Workshops held in 2024.

This is the second round of RHS Workshops Grants; further details of the four projects awarded funding in 2023 are listed below.

Applications are now invited via the Society’s online application portal, before the closing date: 23:59 on Friday 19 January 2024.

About the Call

RHS Workshop Grants enable historians to come together to pursue projects of shared interest. Projects are purposefully and broadly defined, and may focus not only on academic research but also on a wider range of activities relating to historical work. These may include but are not limited to:  

• discussion of a research topic or project by collaborators;  
• evaluation of historical methodologies, theories or practice; 
• workshopping and manuscript review of a proposed edited collection; 
• beginning and testing a research idea, leading to a future project;  
• piloting work relating to the teaching, research or the communication of history; 
• planning and writing a funding proposal;  
• undertaking networking and building of academic communities; 
• activities that combine, where appropriate, historians from a range of professional and other backgrounds, including higher education, related sectors of the historical professional, and community history groups. 
• Workshops may be open to an audience or closed to invited attendees according to the organisers’ preference.

The Society is particularly keen to support activities for which alternative sources of funding are very limited, or do not exist. The Society seeks to provide grants to those in greatest need of funding, where options for institutional support are minimal or not available.  

Each Workshop receives £1,000 from the Royal Historical Society to cover attendance and the costs of a day meeting. In this round the Society looks to provide up to six projects with Grant funding.

Workshops will be supported by the Royal Historical Society, with updates on outcomes reported via the RHS blog and social media. Projects leading to publishable work are warmly encouraged to submit content to the Society’s journal, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, for consideration.

Applicants are welcome to consider hosting Workshops at the Society’s offices at University College London, if desirable.

Eligibility

The Society looks to award up to six Grants to projects in this latest round. Eligible applications will be for projects that: 

• have applicants / lead organisers who are current members of the Society. For more on how to join the Society, please see here;
• request funds to support travel, venue hire, hospitality and overnight accommodation when required, as well as travel bursaries for public events; grants will not be awarded to support paid work; 
• may include participants travelling from Europe in line with the Society’s carbon policy; attendance by participants from further afield will not be supported by the grant; 
• remain in contact with the Society before and after the Workshop and agree to contribute an article on their project to the RHS blog, where appropriate. 

How to apply

If you have an idea for a workshop and would like to submit a proposal, please provide a 750-1,000 word statement. This should outline:

• the academic focus of the Workshop and the topic / activity under consideration
• the purpose and proposed outcome from the Workshop
• costings for holding a one-day event
• the location of the proposed Workshop, and whether this may be the RHS Office at University College London
• the lead organiser(s) and proposed participants who would be involved in the Workshop
• the proposed date of the Workshop, to be held in 2024

Proposals should be submitted via the Society’s online application system by the deadline of 23:59 on Friday 19 January 2024.

Recipients of RHS Workshops Grants, 2023

The following four projects were awarded funding in the first round of Workshops held in 2023:

• ‘Early Modern Error’ — lead organiser: Alice Leonard (Coventry)
• ‘Women and Plantations: New Directions in Tudor and Stuart Colonial History’ — lead organiser: Lauren Working (York)
• ‘Beyond the ‘Good’ / ’Bad’ Migrant Dichotomy: ways forward for early modern and contemporary history’ — lead organiser: Kathleen Commons (Sheffield)
• ‘Unboxing the Family Archive: New Approaches to Intergenerational Collections’ — lead organiser: Imogen Peck (Birmingham)