Applications are now invited for a new research programme — the RHS / Social History Archive Partnership — launched in September 2026. This offers researchers, at all career stages, free access to online primary source materials that are otherwise not available to them via an existing institutional affiliation or subscription.
Details of eligibility for this new scheme and how to apply, by the first deadline of 30 October 2026, are provided below.
The programme is a partnership between the Society and The Social History Archive. The Social History Archive, published by DC Thomson, is a comprehensive online archive of British, Irish, and former empire historical resources for academic research and teaching.
Successful applicants will receive 6 months’ free access to The Social History Archive, for personal use on a defined research project.
This programme is reserved for current Fellows and Members of the Society, providing access to research resources for historians working independent of HE institutions and those who have recently left higher education.
The Social History Archive combines a newspaper collection of more than 2,800 historical titles and over 100 million pages published between 1699 and 2014, as well as nearly 3,000 record sets (comprising almost 500 million images), spanning primary sources from the thirteenth century to 2025. In addition, the Archive provides 40 themed primary source sets, bringing together content on chosen topics.
A full listing of current content available in The Social History Archive (Summer 2026) is available here (opens as an excel sheet).
Applicants are invited to consult this sheet, via the tabs provided to identify newspaper and other primary source collections which may be relevant for your research and an application to the scheme.
Application timetable, 2026-27
Two calls for this new scheme will be made each year.
The first call — for access to The Social History Archive between January and June 2027 — is now open, with applications to be submitted via the Society’s applications portal.
CALL 1: Closing date for applications, Friday 30 October 2026 / Access to The Social History Archive from 1 January 2027 to 30 June 2027 OPEN
CALL 2: Applications to open in March 2027 / Access to The Social History Archive from 1 July 2027 to 31 December 2027
About the Partnership
The RHS / Social History Archive Partnership provides access for historians – who are Fellows and Members of the Society* – who require the Archive for research but do not have access to this resource via an existing institutional affiliation.
Calls for the Partnership take place twice a year, with up to 30 researchers receiving free access to The Social History Archive for a 6-month period in each round.
In creating this partnership, we seek to support research across the Society’s membership, including established independent historians and those who have recently completed or left higher education and whose access to online content is much reduced.
*Applicants must be current Fellows, Associate Fellows, Members or Postgraduate Members of the Society, without existing access to the Archive via an institutional affiliation and who demonstrate a need for access to pursue a research project.
How to submit an application for the current call
For this programme applicants must:
- submit their application via the Society’s applications platform before the stated deadline.
- be current members of the Society* (Fellows, Associate Fellows, Members, or Postgraduate Members).
- provide a brief 1-2 page CV and a statement (250 words max) on their research project and Archive content required to pursue this research. A listing of content available in The Social History Archive is available here (opens as an excel sheet).
- declare that they do not currently have access to the Archive via a personal or institutional affiliation.
- state their willingness to write a blog post on their project, on completion of the partnership, for promotion by the Royal Historical Society / Social History Archive, if requested.
Applications for the Call 1 should be submitted via the Society’s Applications Portal before the closing date of 23.59 on Friday 30 October 2026.
Applicants who are current recipients of Archive access may submit one follow-on application to extend an existing period of access, or may reapply for access for a second 6-month term in a later call (i.e. enabling a maximum term of 12 months’ access to the resource).
Selection of recipients and terms of access
If there are more than 30 applicants who can demonstrate the need for access to the Archive in any round, the Society will select successful applications by means of a lottery. On such occasions unsuccessful applicants who have demonstrated their eligibility for this scheme are welcome to resubmit their application in the following round.
Successful applicants will be provided with a personal login for The Social History Archive, to run for a limited 6-month period, for which the start and end dates will be made known; extensions to this access will not be permitted (without a second application), and login details must not be shared with others. Failure to comply with these requirements will result in termination of access.
Recipients are asked to acknowledge the support of The Social History Archive and Royal Historical Society in any publications resulting from access to Archive content. Selected recipients will be invited to communicate their research, and use of the Archive, for example via the Royal Historical Society blog and on the DC Thomson website.
Extending researchers’ access to other online resources
The Royal Historical Society is very grateful to The Social History Archive and DC Thomson for their involvement in this partnership.
The Society welcomes similar partnerships with other publishers and providers of online primary research content. If you are a publisher and wish to discuss this, please contact the Society’s President, Professor Lucy Noakes: [email protected].
How to apply to join the Society
Applications to join the Royal Historical Society as a Fellow, Associate Fellow, Member or Postgraduate Member are welcome at any time.
Further details of each category of membership are available here. More on how to apply, and the benefits of membership for each category, is also available.
Questions about the RHS / Social History Archive Partnership, and applications in 2026-27, may be sent to: [email protected].
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