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Vernacular material, opinion polling or social survey? Approaching popular testimony in the Mass-Observation archive
by Rebecca Goldsmith @relgoldsmith The field of modern British history has experienced a new ‘turn’ in recent years. Historians like Jon Lawrence, David Cowan and Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite have pioneered the re-use of archived interview field-notes from post-war social science.[1] By and large, this trend has been motivated by an interest in the subjects of social…
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More Gravy than Grave
Christmas has always been fabled for its moreish cuisine. From Tudor feats of venison, boar, and beef, to today’s lean gobblers, the feast of St. Christ has been through quite a few meaty reincarnations. Once upon a midnight festive, the sight of arching swans or flamboyant peacocks would have been standard fare at Christmas. This…
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Richard of York gave battle in vain
By Ben Oldham (bo286@cantab.ac.uk) Christmas is not usually a time for warfare, but in the Wars of the Roses, despite the sanctity of the festive season, the opportunity to cut the head off a rival branch was not one to be missed. In December 1460, Richard, duke of York kept Christmas at Sandal Castle: a…
doinghistoryinpublic.org 