Thesis title:
Slavery and Empire on Display at Charlecote Park
This thesis traces the links of slavery and colonialism within Charlecote Park in Warwickshire through the Beckford collection. This collection of predominantly Asian artefacts was bought at auction by George Hammond Lucy in 1823 after he inherited Charlecote House as part of his updating of the house for the arrival of his wife Mary Elizabeth. The thesis will explore how material expression of opulence and social standing was funded through colonial exploitation. It will draw attention to the global network that relied on dehumanisation and discrimination for the benefit of the few and analyse the culture that, knowingly or not, revelled in the material culture that came from imperialism and colonialism.
Research Area
Publications
2021
- Book Review of Gretchen H Gerzina, Britain's Black Past (Liverpool University Press, 2020), History Matters Journal, vol.1 no.2 (Winter 2021) https://www.historymatters.online/journal
Conferences
2021
- 'Where are Warwickshire's Black People? An Examination of the Black Presence in Warwickshire in the Long Eighteenth Century', New Perspectives on the History of African and Caribbean People in Britain Conference, Online, October 2021
- 'The Ties That Bind: Untangling Imperialism and Slavery Display at Charlecote Park', Global Britain: Decolonising Art's Histories, Association for Art History, Online, June 2021
- 'Interpreting and Examining Complex Histories in Britain's Historic Houses: A Potted History' with Charlotte Johnson, The World in a (Historic) House: Global Connections and Collections, Institute of Historical Research, Online, June 2021
- 'Learning to Appreciate the Archive', Archival Discoveries and Discussions Workshop, Royal Historical Society, Online, February 2021
2020
- 'Business Woman or Whore? Rachel Pringle Polgreen and Misogynoir in the Eighteenth-Century Anglophone Caribbean', British Society for Eighteenth Century Studies, Oxford, January 2020
2019
- 'Walking the Line: Parallels of mixed-race identity in the eighteenth and twenty-first century', What's Happening in Black British History? X, University of Leicester, May 2019
Public Engagement & Impact
I am committed to disseminating the results of historical research to a broader public and recently worked with Lion Television as a researcher for episodes of the hit television show Horrible Histories.
Other Research Interests
- Black British History
- Caribbean History
- Gender Studies
- Museum and Heritage
- Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century History
Memberships
British Society for Eighteenth Century Studies (BSECS)
Royal Historical Society
Paul Mellon Centre Doctoral Research Network
