Dr Ian Friel
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drianfriel.bsky.social
Dr Ian Friel
@drianfriel.bsky.social
290 followers 320 following 310 posts
Independent historian, FSA and FRHistS, specialising in maritime, local and house history, based in UK. Author of five books on maritime history, multiple research papers and house histories. www.ianfriel.co.uk Rep: @donaldwin.bsky.social
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Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
royalhistsoc.org
JOIN US: our Associate Fellowship category is for those at an earlier stage their research careers - for example, completion of a #History PhD, or history professionals (teachers, curators, archivists etc) who make research possible.

Applications welcome at any time bit.ly/44r8NTg #Skystorians 1/2
Apply for Associate Fellowship - RHS
Closing dates for next applications: Mondays 9 March and 11 May 2026   Associate Fellowship recognises the contribution made by a wide range of historical researchers and advocates for History with es...
bit.ly
January 15, 2026 at 9:15 AM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
eicathomefinn.bsky.social
'This year, one of the aims of the conservation charity will be to make people feel more at ease in its grand houses and, where practical, allow them to sit on historic chairs and use libraries and reading rooms rather than simply peer into them.' Excellent initiative.
‘We want people to sit, pause, relax’: National Trust to open its libraries for public use
Charity plans to make stately homes more welcoming by inviting visitors to use furniture and reading rooms
www.theguardian.com
January 12, 2026 at 7:47 AM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
cambridgearch.bsky.social
The 2018 volume Riversides: Neolithic Barrows, a Beaker Grave, Iron Age and Anglo-Saxon Burials and Settlement at Trumpington has been released as a free Open Access download here: doi.org/10.17863/CAM...
January 12, 2026 at 8:01 AM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
natlibscot.bsky.social
This #MapMonday we're taking you back in time ⌛

We've just added over 9,000 out of copyright Ordnance Survey maps published in 1975 to our Map Images website.

What did your neighbourhood look like fifty years ago? 🗺️

🔗: maps.nls.uk/additions/#191

#MoreMaps
map of United Kingdom showing coverage of Ordnance Survey maps, with maps just added to the website shown in orange. detail from historic Ordnance Survey map with copyright statement crown copyright 1975
January 12, 2026 at 9:00 AM
drianfriel.bsky.social
OK, the Pompeii comparison may be overcooking it a bit, but this is clearly a really important discovery and I look forward to hearing more about it.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Margam park Roman villa find could be 'Port Talbot's Pompeii'
The largest Roman villa ever found in Wales lies less than a metre under Margam Country Park.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 12, 2026 at 9:18 AM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
davidveevers.bsky.social
Wow 2026 has been exhausting. So glad it’s almost over.

WAIT HOW LONG??!!
January 8, 2026 at 10:18 PM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
tudorwench.bsky.social
Awkward family photos. 😂
January 8, 2026 at 10:52 PM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
governorwalz.mn.gov
I invite all Americans to join Minnesota in a day of unity tomorrow.
January 9, 2026 at 12:15 AM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
brodiewaddell.bsky.social
Birkbeck is hiring a Lecturer in Medieval Studies (c.1300-1500), full-time and open-ended.

They will be formally based in English but expected to be able to contribute about 0.5FTE to History, including teaching and supervision.

Closing date Feb 23rd: cis7.bbk.ac.uk/vacancy/lect...
Birkbeck, University of London, is seeking a Lecturer in Medieval Studies to join our dynamic team within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Autumn 2026. As Lecturer in Medieval Studies you will contribute to the teaching of Medieval English literature and Medieval history across the Faculty, within our School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication, and School of Historical Studies - this includes our BA English and BA History programmes, as well as postgraduate taught programmes in the two subject areas. This post is offered on a permanent contract at Birkbeck, full time 35 hours per week, with a salary of £44,247 rising to £60,858 per year. Teaching hours will vary from 6pm - 9pm, Monday to Friday. To be successful, you will bring research expertise in the literature, history and culture of the Late Medieval period (c.1300-1500), and demonstrate a capacity to contribute to interdisciplinary research and teaching, participate actively in curriculum development, supervise doctoral students, and help shape the intellectual life of our vibrant academic community. We would also welcome applicants who would be able to contribute to collaborative teaching programmes or research in the Faculty, in areas such as identity, race/ethnicity, or gender - experience of collaboration with cultural institutions, whether through research or teaching, is also welcome. Core responsibilities will initially include programme/module administration, teaching, supervision, assessment, student support and pastoral care. You will also be equipped to supervise doctoral students. With a PhD in any area of Medieval Studies, you will contribute the Faculty’s and Schools’ research impact and culture, and to the intellectual and cultural life of the institution and the various communities and partners with whom we work and serve.
January 8, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
najabentzen.bsky.social
Are you writing about #Greenland and looking for expertise on the tense geopolitical situation? (unless you trust US AI chatbots to do the trick, of course 🙃)
The University of Southern Denmark @sdu.dk has a team of experts ready to help 🔽
sdu.dk Syddansk Universitet @sdu.dk · 8d
Savner du viden, dybde og perspektiv i den anspændte politiske situation omkring Grønland? - Så har vi samlet vores eksperter på en emneinddelt liste her: www.sdu.dk/ekspert
📞 Giv dem et kald, hvis du arbejder på en historie eller på en anden måde i dit arbejde har brug for ekspertviden på området.
January 9, 2026 at 8:01 AM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
dinahrose.bsky.social
My niece in Stonehaven, near Aberdeen, has made a snow dalek that's featured in the Aberdeen Press and Journal. #proudaunt
A magnificently detailed dalek made of snow, complete with sink plunger.
January 5, 2026 at 7:50 AM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
sebfalk.com
JOB ALERT!

3-year postdoc at @girtoncollege.bsky.social - research anything you like in History, Archaeology or Anthropology in a wonderful, welcoming scholarly community.

PLEASE SHARE! Closes 12 January

www.girton.cam.ac.uk/job-vacancie...
Here's what it looked like on my return to work this morning - beautiful red brick gabled building of Girton's Hall, with a dusting of snow on the grass in front.
January 5, 2026 at 9:00 AM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
mrcwarwick.bsky.social
We're back, rested and ready for more archive exploration in 2026!

As we balance precariously on the metaphorical penny farthing of time, here's hoping for a healthy, happy and peaceful New Year for us all - wobbling slightly but still upright and speeding onwards (fitted sportsing shorts optional)
19th century New Year's card with the caption 'A bright New Year'. It includes a picture of a man in sports gear (red fitted shorts and a stripy top) bent double on a penny farthing bicycle, speeding along a country road. A flattish green field is in the background with a town or city with smoky chimneys far in the distance. The precariously hurtling cyclist is described as 'Making the Pace'. This card is one of a series of cycling postcards and greetings cards in the archives of the Cyclists' Touring Club / Cycling UK (document reference: MSS.328/C/5/5/2).
January 2, 2026 at 11:11 AM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
royalhistsoc.org
The Society invites applications for the following three funding programmes, with deadlines 23 to 31 January 2026 bit.ly/3LbxDQb

> RHS Workshop Grants
> Applied History Fellowships, in association with @ihr.bsky.social
> Fellowships, for completion of a History PhD, also with the IHR

#Skystorians
Calls for research funding from the Royal Historical Society: current programmes - RHS
The Society currently invites applications for the following six schemes — open to historians across a range of career stages and backgrounds — with closing dates from 23 January to 6 March 2026. For ...
bit.ly
January 5, 2026 at 9:47 AM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
royalhistsoc.org
Applications are also invited for a new RHS programme for 2026, co-hosted with @ihr.bsky.social and @chalkefestival.bsky.social.

'Pitch my Project' is for early career historians to present their research at the Chalke History Festival in June bit.ly/44kfUMM. Closing date: 6 February. #Skystorians
Pitch my Project: an opportunity for early career historians to present their work at the Chalke History Festival 2026 - RHS
Have you ever wanted to share your research with a wide audience? Would you like to gain experience in public speaking, and be supported to develop imaginative ways to communicate your research to the...
bit.ly
January 5, 2026 at 9:53 AM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
drnwillburger.bsky.social
The Sphinx and the Pyramids of #Giza, photographed by Maxime du Camp in 1849. The chest area of the Sphinx had only recently been uncovered, previously the statue was covered with sand up to the shoulders.
The black and white photo shows the Sphinx covered up to the chest with sand. The pyramids of Giza can be seen in the background
January 5, 2026 at 7:47 AM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
kparkerhistorian.bsky.social
If Mexico City is on your travel card for early 2026, this exhibition looks great!

#Pacifichistory #museums #exhibition 🗃️
Somos Pacífico
EL GALEÓN DE ACAPULCO-MANILA SOMOS PACÍFICO EL MUNDO QUE EMERGIÓ DEL TRÓPICO La exhibición recupera la profunda he...
www.mexicoescultura.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
gbbranstetter.bsky.social
Love this from Guillermo del Toro
“Be kind, be involved, believe in your art,” he said. “At a time when people tell you art is not important, that is always the prelude to fascism. When they tell you it doesn’t matter, when they tell you a fucking app can do art you say, if it’s that important, why the fuck do they want it so bad? The answer is because they think they can debase everything that makes us a little better, a little more human. And that, in my book, and in my life, includes monsters.”
January 5, 2026 at 2:16 AM
drianfriel.bsky.social
A brief and light flurry of overnight snow in Chichester (West Sussex, UK), which hasn't seen much very much snow in recent decades.
The photo shows an upturned blue and white bowl on a wooden bench, with grass and plants behind - all with a light dusting of snow. The bowl and bench are picked out by the morning sunlight.
January 5, 2026 at 10:40 AM
drianfriel.bsky.social
Wishing everyone a happy and hopeful New Year!
Lights inside a blue glass jug, next to a Chinese-style pot, both sitting on a window sill with a closed Venetian blind behind.
December 31, 2025 at 4:53 PM
drianfriel.bsky.social
Major #shipwreck discovery in Denmark- largest medieval cog (merchant ship) ever found. Built c1410, with 300-ton cargo capacity. Biggest contemporary English vessel was Henry IV's royal ship 'Trinity', also of 300 tons #maritimehistory #maritimearchaeology
www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/about-us/...
Archaeologists reveal a medieval super ship: "It's the World’s largest cog"
For 600 years, the waters off Copenhagen have hidden an exceptional secret. Now, maritime archaeologists from the Viking Ship Museum in Denmark reveal the discovery of the world’s largest cog – a medi...
www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk
December 29, 2025 at 5:19 PM
drianfriel.bsky.social
Must be cargo from a wreck that is eroding off the South Wales coast - #maritimehistory #maritimearchaeology #shipwreck
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Mystery as hundreds of Victorian shoes wash up on Ogmore beach
More than 400 leather hobnailed boots, thought to date back to the 19th Century, have been found.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 24, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
drrjwarren.bsky.social
#ArtDD2025
Yawning or laughing?

My final painting (from my archive) for #ArtAdventCalendar Day 24

Happy Christmas friends, followers & passers-by🎄

@saocousins.bsky.social @holnicotenh.bsky.social @stevecobbin.bsky.social @andykaitken.bsky.social @mayfieldbirder.bsky.social @indikon.bsky.social
Fox looking to left with mouth open, tongue curled and eyes shut.
December 24, 2025 at 6:12 PM
drianfriel.bsky.social
A Happy Christmas and a great New Year to everyone! (appropriately #maritime Christmas 'tree' composed of lobster pots, on the quay in the fishing port of Emsworth, Hampshire, UK, 24 December 2025).
A Christmas tree shape decorated with streamers and baubles, on the quay at Emsworth, 2025. It has been built from black lobster pots and is topped with the outline of a star. A swan and a ?coot can be seen in the water below, and small boats are visible in the background.
December 24, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
marcmorris.bsky.social
The complete Bayeux Tapestry has finally been released and proves that Bishop Odo had absolutely nothing to do with the illegal Norman invasion of England.
December 20, 2025 at 12:38 PM