AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award (CDA) PhD studentship for "The fabric of London: two centurie[...]

TN United Kingdom; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 20,000; Full time

Job summary

An exciting opportunity awaits for a doctoral studentship focusing on the historical fabric of London through fire insurance policies. This collaborative project offers the chance to conduct in-depth research while gaining valuable skills in palaeography, data analysis, and digital mapping. The successful candidate will work closely with esteemed supervisors and contribute to a significant exhibition showcasing their findings. This is a unique chance to explore London's architectural history and engage with a wealth of archival materials, making a meaningful impact in the field of history.

Benefits

Annual maintenance grant

University tuition fees covered

CDA allowance

Qualifications

• Strong research skills in history and data analysis.
• Ability to work collaboratively on interdisciplinary projects.

Responsibilities

• Develop a project using digitised fire insurance records.
• Contribute to the history of London's built environment.

Skills

Palaeography

Data Analysis

Digital Mapping

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Master's Degree

Job description

AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award (CDA) PhD studentship for "The fabric of London: two centuries of fire insurance policies" (Faculty of History and Aviva Group), Cambridge

Applications are invited for a doctoral studentship offered by the Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership, starting in October 2025.

The studentship will be based in the Faculty of History. The successful applicant will work on a collaborative project co-supervised by Professor Amy Erickson and Dr. Alexis Litvine in the Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure (CamPop) and Ms. Anna Stone, Archivist at Aviva Group.

Aviva and CamPop have digitised fire insurance records from the late seventeenth to the mid-nineteenth century. Most of these policies relate to buildings in London, the capital and largest city in Europe, which was dramatically growing and changing over this period. The CDA holder will have scope to develop their own project with these sources. Possible focus areas include building history and materials of construction or economic history and ownership patterns, with a prosopographical study of property owners. The temporal scope may cover the full 170 years or a shorter period, incorporating additional records such as Land Tax or rate books, or records of the London Livery Companies, as appropriate. The CDA holder will contribute to the history of London's built environment and gain skills in palaeography, large-scale data analysis, and digital mapping. In the final year, the CDA holder will help prepare an exhibition on the archive and their research, to be presented in Norwich at Aviva's headquarters and in their central London office.

Funding:

The DTP studentships include an annual maintenance grant (£19,237 stipend + £600 CDA allowance) and university tuition fees at the home fee level. The university will cover the fee difference for international candidates through internal co-funding.

Application process:

Applications must be submitted via the University Postgraduate Application Portal. For informal inquiries about the project, contact the University supervisor.

The University values diversity and is committed to equality of opportunity.