Anglo-French relations during the age of Revolutions

Professor Katherine Astbury (SMLC) and Dr Charles Walton (History), in conjunction with historians at English Heritage, have successfully bid for a Midlands 4 Cities' Collaborative doctoral programme award funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council which is intended to encourage and develop collaboration between the University of Warwick and a non-academic organisation, in this case, English Heritage and some of their key properties in the South of England.

Overview

This research project will start in October 2025 and will explore Franco-British exchange at key English Heritage sites during the period from the start of the French Revolution to the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo and transform our understanding of how people, ideas, texts, and material objects from France and its colonies were circulating in Britain.

The project focus is on EH properties in the south of England, however the specialist academic expertise is based in the Midlands and the student will benefit from the strong research networks for the 18th century present in M4C institutions. The dissemination of knowledge from the research collaboration will be integrated from the outset. The CDA means that English Heritage will have access to the research ‘live’ rather than at the completion of a thesis and will feed into reinterpretation work at a number of sites. Prof Astbury has a significant track record of transmitting research from the current CDA on Portchester’s Caribbean prisoners in creative ways, including sound installations, temporary exhibitions, podcasts, theatre productions, photography projects, blogs, youtube videos, guided walks and trails, and we are excited to develop new ways of disseminating the research on this project. We expect research from this doctoral project to feature in pop-up exhibitions at Dover and Portchester castles for instance and on the site-specific pages on the English Heritage website. The pop-up exhibitions could also go on display in the archive in Caen and other Channel ports to raise awareness of shared histories. We will also explore presenting the research as part of the Being Human festival that happens nationally each November.

How to apply

See the Midlands 4 Cities' website for details (look for the Collaborative doctoral route):

Apply - M4C (midlands4cities.ac.uk)

Applications must be received by noon (UK time) on 13th January 2025

The Project

This collaborative studentship will extend our knowledge of English Heritage sites of the south of England as ‘contact zones’ between Britain and France between the start of the French Revolution in 1789 and the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. This will transform our understanding of the extent to which people, ideas, texts, material objects from France and its colonies were coming into contact with people in Britain despite the almost continuous period of war between the 2 countries. You will explore questions about

• diplomatic relations through exchanges that took place at Walmer Castle
• conditions of captivity but also points of interaction and sociability, most notably at Dover and Portchester castles, which held thousands of French prisoners of war at this time
• French visitors to Britain during the brief peace of Amiens in 1802
• Émigré presence along the south coast, from July 1789 immediately after the fall of the Bastille
• Imagined military exchange through the construction of the Western Heights and the Martello towers during the Napoleonic period
• Comparing and contrasting Anglo-French relations at EH sites with those managed by others, such as Hartwell House (NT, home of Louis XVIII in exile), or Sissinghurst Castle (NT, another prisoner-of-war camp)

Process

To carry out this project, you will acquire site-specific knowledge, research the broader socio-political context of the period and undertake archival work, primarily at the National Archives at Kew, but also in France (both in Paris and some of the Channel ports). Archival material will provide data and evidence of exchange between individuals as well as between governments and include data sets (lists of passengers, prisoners, émigrés, goods) as well as correspondence, documents and maps. The project will involve fieldwork on site at English Heritage properties where you will benefit from the expertise of properties’ curators and archaeologists as well as historians. You should be willing to improve or acquire skills in reading 18th-century handwriting in English (and ideally also handwriting in French).

Place

You will be based at the University of Warwick with supervisors who are experts on the Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods: Professor Kate Astbury (Modern Languages) and Charles Walton (History). You will need to spend some time at the key English Heritage sites that are the focus of the project and at the archives. You will also have a supervisory team at English Heritage with whom Professor Astbury has worked for a number of years. English Heritage has a strategic priority to increase the depth of historical understanding about its sites and add nuance to well-trodden narratives and academic collaboration with Warwick is key to the reinterpretation of sites and outreach activities. By highlighting and elaborating the stories behind Anglo-French exchange at a time of conflict, this project will explore the breadth of exchange at the time as well as how it is lived with and experienced. This collaboration will create an opportunity for focussed research on an aspect of a number of sites that has not so far been properly examined or understood.

Attributes the successful candidate will need

You don’t need to have done any archival work before – we will train you – you just need to be able to pay attention to details and think critically. You should have an undergraduate degree and interests in either modern languages or history or similar. You may be studying for or already have an MA or similar professional experience instead of an MA. You need to be willing to immerse yourself in the topic of Anglo-French exchanges of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and contribute to the dissemination of new knowledge. We expect the things you discover to feed into exhibition panels, guidebooks, outreach activities etc. A good knowledge of French and a demonstrable interest in this period are desirable but you will have the opportunity to learn and/or improve your French through the Language Centre at Warwick when you arrive. There is a full range of additional training options available, and we will identify together those that would be most beneficial to you when you start. You will need to be adaptable and able to work well on your own and as part of a team.