VCH Central Office, staff and contact details
Since 1933 the Victoria County History's central office has been housed in the University of London's Institute of Historical Research. The central office team managed the nationwide VCH project, provide editorial guidance and quality control and see the red volumes through the publication process. The VCH central office currently comprises three full-time and one part-time members of staff, employed by the University of London, and an editor who works as a consultant. Profiles of the central office staff and their contact details can be found below, while general enquires can be sent to:
Victoria County History
Institute of Historical Research
University of London
Senate House
Malet Street
London
WC1E 7HU
Staff Profiles
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Elizabeth Williamson, Executive Editor Elizabeth Williamson is a Reader in Architectural History and Executive Editor of the Victoria County History, one of the Research Centres of the Institute of Historical Research. She was previously Deputy Editor of The Buildings of England, Ireland, Scotland & Wales. Through her research for that series and her work with VCH county editors since 1997, she has developed a wide understanding from physical and documentary evidence of the development of the British built environment in a wide range of localities. She has a particular interest in 20th-century architecture and planning and in the ideas that have shaped successive generations of English New Towns. Elizabeth can be contacted by email at Elizabeth.Williamson@sas.ac.uk and on 020 7862 8777 |
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Matthew Bristow, Research Manager Matthew is the Research Manager for the Victoria County History and is one of the organisation’s central office editorial staff based at the Institute of Historical Research. Prior to this Matthew held the position of Historic Environment Research Manager, the sole academic adviser for the central support team of the England’s Past for Everyone Project, a national, Heritage Lottery funded local history project, run through the Victoria County History. A graduate of Leicester University with an MA in Landscape Studies and a BA in History and Archaeology, Matthew is an Affiliate member of the Royal Institute of British Architects and in 2009 was elected MIfA of the Institute for Archaeologists. A qualified project manager, Matthew specialises in landscape and buildings archaeology with research interests that include church architecture, village and town morphology, the buildings of the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions and non-traditional housing types of the 20th century. Matthew can be contacted by email at Matthew.Bristow@sas.ac.uk and on 02076644899 |
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Jessica Davies, Publications Manager Jessica Davies is the Publications Manager for the Victoria County History at the IHR. Jessica is responsible for the delivery of all VCH red volume, paperback and online publications. This involves managing the editorial process (the workflow and schedules), compiling and editing content and monitoring the appearance and quality of all published outputs. Prior to joining the University of London, she has worked in various project administration roles within both the public and private sector. A Classics graduate, Jessica holds a BA (Hons) from the University of Leeds and a PGCE from the Institute of Education (University of London). Jessica can be contacted by email at Jessica.Davies@sas.ac.uk or on 0207 8628779 |
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Alan Thacker, Consultant Editor Dr Alan Thacker is a consultant editor to the Victoria County History at the IHR, having been the Executive Editor up until 2009. His research interests include intellectual and cultural life in early medieval western Europe, and especially the early medieval church. He also has interests in local and regional history, and especially in towns in the earlier middle ages. He has published on hagiography, saints' cults, and pastoral care in the early middle ages, on Bede as historian, exegete and reformer, and on medieval Chester, and offers supervision on any related topic. He can be contacted by email at Alan.Thacker@sas.ac.uk |
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Rebecca Read, Finance and Administration Officer Rebecca Read is the Administrator for the Victoria County History at the IHR and is responsible for finance, events and general administration. Rebecca has worked as an administrator in the academic and heritage sectors for several years with time at the Science Museum picture library and Imperial College School of Medicine. Prior to that she worked on documentation projects for Buckinghamshire County Museum, including digitising the county photo archive. Rebecca has a BA (Hons) from the University of Nottingham in American Studies. Rebecca can be contacted by email at Rebecca.Read@sas.ac.uk or on 020 7862 8776 |
