History of Hallward Library Part 2: Designing the Library
September 6, 2023
2023 marks fifty years since the opening of Hallward Library at the University of Nottingham. In this second of four blog posts we delve through the University archives and contemporary publications kept at Manuscripts and Special Collections to explore the history of this unique building. In early 1969 the University Grants Council agreed to fund …
On the Road with Prince Leopold
August 30, 2023
With summer comes visions of blue skies, warm weather and unknown vistas – but sadly, so often these things remain simply dreams. It might provide some small consolation to our readers to learn that the people of the past were no more immune to wanderlust than ourselves: this was certainly true of Prince Leopold, the …
History of Hallward Library Part 1: Need for the Library
August 23, 2023
2023 marks fifty years since the opening of Hallward Library at the University of Nottingham. In this first of four blog posts we delve through the University archives and contemporary publications kept at Manuscripts and Special Collections to explore the history of this unique building. In 1928, when University College Nottingham moved into the newly …
Working with the Coventry Patmore Collection
August 15, 2023
This is a guest blog by School of English Placement student Louise Roberts, who in 2023 worked on cataloguing additional papers of Coventry Patmore (1823-1896) When learning about Victorian literature, there is no doubt that Coventry Patmore’s poem The Angel of the House will be mentioned as one of the most influential pieces of literature …
Advocates for animal welfare: The Three Rs
June 30, 2023
Debate has long raged about the use of animals by humans, both as food and for the advancement of science. The National Anti-Vivisection Society was founded back in 1875 and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection in 1898, by Frances Power Cobbe, campaigner for women’s suffrage and anti-vivisection activist. The Cruelty to Animals …
A grand day out from Rochdale to Nottingham via Aachen: to Know Power
June 27, 2023
This is a guest post by Helen Chicot, Reform and Prevention Lead at Rochdale Borough Council It honestly felt like an act of rebellion. In our little Whatsapp group, we half-joked about what the dress code might be (opting for “radical chic with arty vibes”) and took care to plan the snacks for the journey, …
Reading the correspondence of the Duchess of Portland
May 18, 2023
This is a guest blog by Arts Faculty Placement student Nabiha Iqbal, who in 2023, worked on cataloguing the papers of Dorothy Bentinck, Duchess of Portland (1750-1794). I was granted the unique opportunity to revisit the lives of the noble men and women of 18th century England through their primary means of communication: letters. Each …
The History of the Historian of Science
May 15, 2023
This is a guest post by Anna Vogt, History undergraduate. Although I am a history student, I have also always been fascinated with science, especially the ways in which the humanities and STEM subjects intersect. As such, I jumped at the opportunity to undertake a placement with Manuscripts and Special Collections working on the papers …
Plants & Prayers
April 30, 2023
Healing is what makes us human – but concepts of health and methods of healing have changed much over time. Visitors to our latest exhibition Plants and Prayers: health and healing before 1700 will see how healthcare in the past was not just the domain of the physician: priests to apothecaries to housewives all provided …
History of the James Cameron-Gifford Library, Sutton Bonington Campus.
April 23, 2023
Dr James Cameron-Gifford was a leading agriculturalist born in 1909. He first came to Nottingham in 1942 when he was appointed as Technical Officer with the Nottingham War Agricultural Committee. The object of the committee was to increase the county’s food production, and among the many tasks allotted to Cameron-Gifford was the development of a …
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