My research interests lie in early modern environmental history, with a focus on histories of water and flooding.

Early modern water and flooding

Most of my research has focussed on water and flooding in early modern England. This research started with my MA and PhD theses at the University of Warwick, and has been published in a number of journal articles and book chapters. In sum, this work has asked ‘how did people understand, prepare for, mitigate against and utilize flooding in early modern England?’ Using the rich but neglected records of Commissions of Sewers, along with more familiar local and national manuscript sources, evidence from print culture and information from the historical environment record, this research has tried to shed new light on how early modern people experienced flooding during an age of climatic, legal and social upheaval. One day, I will gather this together into a book, with the current working title: Troubled Waters: Flooding, Environment and Politics in Early Modern England. 

Internal Drainage Boards

I was co-investigator on an AHRC-funded project on the history of Internal Drainage Boards (c.1720-2018), working with Prof. Greg Bankoff (Hull), Dr Leona Skelton (Northumbria) and Dr Jane Rowling (Hull). We explored how Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) have shaped the land and flood-scapes of England since the eighteenth century, and the extent to which they have fostered community resilience. The project worked with stakeholders, including the Environment Agency and the Association of Drainage Authorities (ADA). The full project title was 'Local Governance and Community Resilience: How Internal Drainage Boards and Communities Managed Flooding in England'.

Environment and emotion

Together with Prof. Sasha Handley (Manchester), I co-edited a special issue of Environment and History titled 'Environment, emotion and early modernity'. The collection drew together scholars working at the intersections of environmental history and the history of emotions in the early modern period. My paper explored the emotional contexts of human-pigeon relationships during the decline and eventual extinction of the Passenger Pigeon. I remain interested in the links between environmental history and the history of emotions, and the history of pigeons.

Beached whales

I am interested in the environmental, economic, social, cultural and legal histories of stranded and beached cetaceans in Great Britain and Ireland. I am sporadically collecting references to beached whales and other large marine animal strandings on the British and Irish coast in the period before ~1750.

Social, cultural and religious history

I am also interested in the social, cultural and religious history of early modern Britain, and have previously published on the histories of early modern great fires, 'Egyptians' (Gypsies) and clerical conformity to the Elizabethan settlement.

PhD and MPhil supervision

I am interested in supervising students working on any area of early modern environmental history and early modern historical geography broadly defined. Previous theses I have co-supervised to completion include:

• Adams, Owen, 'The Skimmington Riots in the Forest of Dean, 1631-32: a contextual case study' (University of Bristol, MPhil thesis, 2021). 
• Chamberlin, Hanna Steyne, 'A Runs Through It: A multidisciplinary investigation of the impacts of the Thames Embankment construction at Chelsea, 1850-1891' (University of Manchester, PhD thesis, 2022).
• Hickey, Roy, 'Radical religion and the background to the development of the Quaker movement in the area of Pendle, the Ribble Valley, Craven, Westmorland and the Yorkshire Dales c1570 to 1652' (University of Manchester, PhD thesis, 2020).
• Merrill-Glover, Aneurin (Nye), 'Mosslands in Early Modern Lancashire: Carbon, Community, 
  and Conservation (1650-1850) (University of Manchester, PhD thesis, 2023).

I currently supervise:

• Adams, Owen, 'Forging associations with Forest Iron (1560-1680)' (University of Bristol, PhD).