History begins with evidence.
Sophie works with archives, archaeology, objects, buildings and landscapes to investigate the past at first hand.
In the Archives
Medieval history survives in thousands of documents: charters, legal records, letters and chronicles. From Magna Carta to glimpses of ordinary life, Sophie works hands on with these sources to explore what they can tell us about the people who created them, the world they inhabited and the events they witnessed.
In the Field
Archaeology adds to the written record and sometimes challenges it. Sophie works with archaeologists on sites ranging from medieval castles and villages to battlefields, bringing together excavation, landscape and documentary evdience to understand how people lived, fought, died and experienced the past.
Objects
Objects carry traces of history. Coins show how kingly power was proclaimed; arrowheads reveal the technology of war; seals offer clues to identity, status and belief. For a historian, the most interesting question is not simply what an object is, but what it was doing in the world: who used it, where, and why.
Buildings and Landscapes
From castles to churches, roads and battlefields, places are another type of archive. They reveal the realities of power, war, belief and everyday life. They preserve history's layers: what was built, destroyed, abandoned, reused and reconstructed reveals how people responded to the events that shaped their lives.