The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the

School of Advanced Study The School of Advanced Study (SAS), a postgraduate institution of the University of London, is the UK's national centre for the promotion and facilitation of research in the humanities and social sciences. It was established in 1994 and is ba ...

in the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

and is located at

Senate House Senate House may refer to: * The building housing a legislative senate ** List of legislative buildings **Senate House State Historic Site, in Kingston, New York, where the state's first Constitution was ratified in 1777. * The building (formerly) h ...

. The institute was founded in 1921 by

A. F. Pollard Albert Frederick Pollard, FBA (16 December 1869 – 3 August 1948) was a British historian who specialized in the Tudor period. He was one of the founders of the Historical Association in 1906. Life and career Pollard was born in Ryde o ...

History

Foundation

The IHR was founded in 1921 by British historian

Albert Pollard Albert Frederick Pollard, FBA (16 December 1869 – 3 August 1948) was a British historian who specialized in the Tudor period. He was one of the founders of the Historical Association in 1906. Life and career Pollard was born in Ryde o ...

. Appointed Professor of Constitutional History at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

in 1903, his inaugural address, a year later, argued for the need for a postgraduate school of historical research. With a generous and anonymous donation of £20,000 from Sir John Cecil Power in 1920 towards the founding of the institute, Pollard's dream was realised. The institute was formally opened by

H. A. L. Fisher Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher H.A.L. Fisher: ''A History of Europe, Volume II: From the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century to 1935'', Glasgow: Fontana/Collins, 1984, p. i. (21 March 1865 – 18 April 1940) was an English historian, educator, a ...

on 8 July 1921. The IHR was directly administered by the Senate of the University of London, rather than being part of one of the federal colleges. It was the first organisation to be administered under such an arrangement, and as such provided the model for other institutes, many of which later joined the IHR in the University of London's

The IHR's first premises were in "temporary" huts on

Malet Street Malet Street is a street in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, Central London, England. It runs between Torrington Place and the British Museum, parallel to Gower Street and Tottenham Court Road. History The street is named after S ...

, on a site now occupied by

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public university, public research university, located in Bloomsbury, London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the federal Universit ...

. Despite the supposedly temporary nature of this accommodation, the IHR was not to move until 1947, when it took up residence in the north block of

. The new location was built by architect

Charles Holden Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, along with the rest of the university, at a projected cost of £3,000,000 and duration of 30 years for the whole project. Still occupying this position, many rooms in the IHR overlook the grass lawn in between Senate House and

SOAS SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

, which is where Senate House's unbuilt fourth court would have been. With the start of World War II in September 1939 the institute's work and construction of its permanent building were disrupted, with the Ministry of Information occupying Senate House, and closing the institute in May 1940. The IHR was struck by a bomb on the night of 22–23 September 1940. The impact resulted in "the destruction of six books and almost the entire collection of London maps, as well as of furniture".

Directors

* 1921–39: Prof.

Albert Frederick Pollard Albert Frederick Pollard, FBA (16 December 1869 – 3 August 1948) was a British historian who specialized in the Tudor period. He was one of the founders of the Historical Association in 1906. Life and career Pollard was born in Ryde o ...

* 1939–44: Sir Cyril Thomas Flower (acting director) * 1944–48: Prof.

V. H. Galbraith Vivian Hunter Galbraith (15 December 1889 – 25 November 1976) was an English historian, fellow of the British Academy and Oxford Regius Professor of Modern History. Early career Galbraith was born in Sheffield, son of David Galbraith, ...

, FBA * 1948–60: Prof. Sir

John Goronwy Edwards Sir John Goronwy Edwards (14 May 1891 – 20 June 1976) was a Welsh historian. Early life Edwards, who was proficient in Welsh before he could read English, was educated at Holywell Grammar School before matriculating at Jesus College, Oxfo ...

, FBA, FSA * 1960–67: Prof.

Francis Wormald Francis Wormald (1904 - 11 January 1972), was a British educator who served as director of the Institute of Historical Research The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training ...

, CBE, FBA, FSA * 1967–77: Prof.

Arthur Geoffrey Dickens Arthur Geoffrey Dickens (6 July 1910 – 31 July 2001)
was an

, CMG, FBA * 1977–90: Prof.

Francis Michael Longstreth Thompson Francis Michael Longstreth Thompson (13 August 1925 – 23 August 2017) was an English economic and social historian. He wrote several books. Early life The son of Francis Longstreth Thompson, he was educated at Bootham School, York; The Qu ...

, FBA * 1990–98: Prof. Patrick Karl O'Brien, FBA * 1998–2003: Prof. David Nicholas Cannadine, FSA, FRSA, FRSL, FRHistS * 2003–08: Prof. David Richard Bates, FSA, FRHistS * 2008–14: Prof. Miles Taylor, FRHistS * 2014–17: Prof. Lawrence Neil Goldman, FRHistS *2018–20: Prof.

Jo Fox Joanne Clare Fox is a British historian specialising in the history of film and propaganda in twentieth-century Europe. From 2018 to 2020 she was director of the Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London ...

, FRHistS, FRSA *2021– : Prof.

Claire Langhamer Claire Louise Langhamer, FRHistS, is a social and cultural historian of modern Britain. Since 2021, she has been the director of the Institute of Historical Research. Career After growing up in North Humberside, she attended the University of ...

, FRHistS

Role

The IHR's role comprises the following:

To promote the study of history and an appreciation of the importance of the past among academics and the general public, in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, in Britain and internationally, and to provide institutional support and individual leadership for this broad historical community To offer a wide range of services which promote and facilitate excellence in historical research, teaching and scholarship in the UK, by means of its library, seminars, conferences, fellowships, training and publications (both print and digital) To further high quality research into particular aspects of the past by its research centres – the Centre for Metropolitan History and the Victoria County History of England To provide a welcoming environment where historians at all stages in their careers and from all parts of the world can meet formally and informally to exchange ideas and information, and to bring themselves up to date with current developments in historical scholarship

Image:IHR Library.JPG, A room in the IHR Library Image:IHR sign.jpg, Sign in

Image:IHR seminar 3.jpg, An MA seminar in progress Image:Institute of Historical Research common room 02.jpg, IHR common room

Activities

In order to fulfill its role as defined above, the IHR maintains different academic institutions, such as a library, the seminar programme as well as several integrated bodies and programmes. It also publishes the results of historical research.

Wohl Library

From its inception, the founders of the Institute of Historical Research envisaged a combination of scholarship and library. This tradition is continued in that many seminars still take place in the rooms of the library. The library itself collects sources for the History of Western Europe and areas affected by the European expansion. It now contains over 190,000 volumes. There are sizable holdings for the British Isles, as well as for Germany, Austria, France, the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America, the US and colonial history, ecclesiastical, Byzantine and crusader history as well as small holdings for Eastern Europe, Switzerland and Scandinavia. The library is particularly good for sources on local history both of the British Isles and Europe. It contains the largest collection of Low Countries material outside of the region (due to gifts from the Netherlands and research interests of scholars working there), the most complete collection of French cartularies outside France as well as collections of poll books for the United Kingdom and a complete run of the Victoria County History books. The collections have been supplemented by donations and bequests from many different scholars, such as the Wright collection. In its early years the IHR library was built up by actively seeking donations, and much of the collection was formed from bequests and gifts by individuals and organisations. By 1926, three-quarters of the collection had been acquired through private benefactions and presentations by governments from Europe and other parts of the World. Among the IHR's extensive collection of books on European history are a set of volumes of the and other works donated to the University of London by the Nazi government of Germany in 1937. The presentation was made by

Joachim von Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. Ribbentrop first came to Adolf Hitler's not ...

, Germany's ambassador to Britain. The accessions records highlight the collaborative nature of library collection development; many donations were shared between the IHR and other libraries to build on existing collection strengths or through an agreed division of collection policy. As an example, the sizeable portion of the IHR's colonial and early national holdings in the United States collection was donated to the library by the widow of

George Louis Beer George Louis Beer (July 26, 1872 – March 15, 1920) was a renowned American historian of the "Imperial school". Early life and education Born in Staten Island, New York, to an affluent family that was prominent in New York's German-Jewish ...

between 1921 and 1925.

Seminar programme

The IHR supports and promotes a wide variety of seminars. They are accessible to all interested in the topic under discussion. Seminar topics range from the Early Middle Ages to Modern Britain, from the history of gardening to the philosophy of history.

Conferences

The IHR is also involved with organising and running a number of conferences and workshops, including its annual conference on a historical theme.

''British History Online''

The IHR co-manages ''

British History Online ''British History Online'' is a digital library of primary and secondary sources on medieval and modern history of Great Britain and Ireland. It was created and is managed as a cooperative venture by the Institute of Historical Research, Universi ...

'', a digital library of key printed primary and secondary sources for the history of Britain and Ireland, with a primary focus on the period between 1300 and 1800.

''Historical Research''

The IHR publishes ''Historical Research'', a scholarly historical journal. The journal first appeared in 1923 under the title ''Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research''; and the present title was adopted in 1987 (beginning with volume 60, no. 141).

''Reviews in History''

The IHR publishes the online journal ''Reviews in History''. The journal was launched in 1996, and publishes reviews and reappraisals of significant work in all fields of historical interest.

Layers of London

The Layers of London project brings together digitised historic maps, photos and other information provided by key partners across London including: the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

London Metropolitan Archives The London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) is the principal local government archive repository for the Greater London area, including the City of London: it is the largest county record office in the United Kingdom. It was established under its pr ...

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

The National Archives National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives. Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...

, MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology). These will be linked on a website which will allow visitors to create and interact with many different "layers" of London's history from the Romans to the present day. It runs on the Humap platform and contains over 11,500 records, most of which are sourced through user-generated content.

Marc Fitch Lectures

The institute hosts the

Marc Fitch Lectures Marcus Felix Brudenell Fitch , (5 January 1908 – 2 April 1994) was an English historian and philanthropist. Fitch was born in Kensington, London in 1908, the only child of provision merchant Hugh Bernard Fitch (1873–1962) and his wife Bert ...

with funding provided by the Marc Fitch Fund. The lecture was held at the institute until 2012, when it started touring the counties with a planned three lectures a year. Previous lectures have been presented by

Linda Colley Dame Linda Jane Colley, (born 13 September 1949 in Chester, England) is an expert on British, imperial and global history from 1700. She is Shelby M. C. Davis 1958 Professor of History at Princeton University and a long-term fellow in history a ...

Roy Strong Sir Roy Colin Strong, (born 23 August 1935) is an English art historian, museum curator, writer, broadcaster and landscape designer. He has served as director of both the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. ...

, Michael Wood,

Simon Thurley Simon John Thurley, (born 29 August 1962) is an English academic and architectural historian. He served as Chief Executive of English Heritage from April 2002 to May 2015. Early life and education Thurley was born in Huntingdon and grew up in G ...

and

David Starkey David Robert Starkey (born 3 January 1945) is an English historian and radio and television presenter, with views that he describes as conservative. The only child of Quaker parents, he attended Kendal Grammar School before studying at Cambr ...

Humanities Digital Library

In IHR leads an inter-institutional initiative within the School of Advanced Study to explore and deliver open access research publications. This has culminated in the launch of th
Humanities Digital Library
a catalogue of open access books published across the School, as well as a
open access book series
focusing upon early career authors and published in partnership with the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

Integrated bodies

Besides the core activities, two research centres are integrated into the institute. These are: * the

Victoria County History The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of En ...

, * the

Centre for Metropolitan History The Centre for Metropolitan History (or CMH) is an educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the Institute of Historical Research in the School of Advanced Study of the University of Londo ...

The IHR formerly housed a third research centre, the Centre for Contemporary British History. In August 2010, however, this transferred to

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, where it is now known as the Institute of Contemporary British History.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Institute Of Historical Research 1921 establishments in England Education in the United Kingdom Educational institutions established in 1921 Renaissance and early modern research centres Research in the United Kingdom

Historical Research The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate Hous ...