I often feel that local history acts as my daily compass, a means by which to navigate the present. A little fanciful, perhaps, but the idea is an appealing one. The buildings and landscape of our towns and villages are a culmination of all that has gone before and, in this sense, the past does indeed live on into the present. I know that my life would be a lot poorer without local history, and especially without a sharing of ideas with like-minded people!
I came to BALH as a trustee via the Association of Local History Tutors (ALHT) when the two organisations joined forces in 2009. When family commitments later became pressing, I stepped-back from trustee and committee membership for a short while until joining the Outreach Committee in 2017.
My academic background is in landscape history, first as an undergraduate at the University of East Anglia followed by postgraduate study at the University of Reading. My working life started out with Oxfordshire Local Studies before moving to the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments for England (RCHME), initially within the National Library of Air Photographs at Swindon. Some thirty-plus years and several roles later, I continue to work for RCHME's successors, English Heritage and now Historic England. I’ve enjoyed a varied career encompassing teaching, exhibition management, and community programmes. All have provided wonderful opportunities to work with groups across many areas of England, and throughout I have witnessed the power of local history to inspire, enrich, enlighten, transform and unite.
I currently manage the Heritage Gateway, a portal website that brings together the national overview of historic environment information in England. I am working along-side Historic England’s digital team to replace the existing, now out-dated, website with a new accessible modern platform.
My own research interests are focussed on rural change and enclosure 1750 -1850, particularly within the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire and into north Wiltshire. I am working towards Associateship of the Museums Association (when time allows!). I am a long-term member and former Chair of the Community Archives and Heritage Group (CAHG) and an Associate Board Member of Kirklees Local TV, a community interest media-platform company.
