Tim Jerrome

As far as I know, farm archives have never really been used to track queer histories before. Given they mostly record the financial ongoings on a given farm, you can understand why. However, my year of research at The MERL has proved their potential. Find out more in this blog:

Could not support this initiative more - the archives of Warner and her partner Valentine Ackland are immensely valuable for the study of queer rural histories. Not to be missed is the story of how Warner ended up in Dorset because of a visitation from her great-aunt's ghost!

The British Newspaper Archive is such a brilliant resource for finding queer histories, even if the word recognition software sometimes leads you down the wrong path...

Are you a PhD student & interested in using museum collections in your teaching or research? We're running a *free* doctoral training programme for students at any institution to learn about working with collections. Find out more: collections.reading.ac.uk/whats-on/

Thank you to the eternally wonderful Joe and Ollie for guiding me through my first time on a podcast - if intense ramblings about finding queer snippets in rural archives is your thing, give it a listen! @themerl.bsky.social

I'm giving a talk on queer histories of rural England in July! If you're in the Berwick area and want to find out more about how I'm using archives to explore this under-researched topic, please do sign up and/or share with anyone else who may be interested www.maltingsberwick.co.uk/whats-on/ced...

Four years ago today, I somehow got away with uploading this utter nonsense to the @themerl.bsky.social website:

Can highly recommend this as something to listen to whilst sat in a reading room, going through countless ledgers on mine administration, seeing the word "boring" on every page

My first time being threatened by the author of a 19th century farm diary... I hope Aylesbury Gaol has good Wifi! (Found at @themerl.bsky.social under archive reference FR BER 40/1/1)

If you have any interest in queer histories of the English countryside, be sure to check out the first publication of my PhD - an article for the amazing folks over at The MERL:

The first published finding of my PhD, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with queer history

I'm starting to think that 19th century farm diarists didn't have queer research in mind when they were writing... why is it always "a heron flew over the corn field today" and never "the new farmhand has the dreamiest eyes" Haven't found a single name with hearts around it either!

The new Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund is now open for applications 🥳 We're supporting projects using museum collections to improve inclusion and equitable working with community partners, and the new name better represents our dual focus on collections and inclusion.

Things that farmer George Cannell wrote about in his 1882 diary: Carting muck Carting mould Carting manure Things that farmer George Cannell did not write about in his 1882 diary: Anything gay

Anyone have advice on how to stay sane while ploughing through page after page of squirrelly 19th century handwriting?

Looking for radical histories on Bluesky? We've made a Starter Pack of people & organisations who stretch our idea of what history is, who it is made by & what it is for. Please share and let us know if you'd like to be added. 🗃️ & ✊🗃️ go.bsky.app/Bb57VmV

Over the past year we've had a great team of researchers investigating our Victorian records for traces of Buckinghamshire's LGBTQ+ past, and now we're looking to create some art to bring their stories to life! Interested in volunteering? Apply at the link below. forms.gle/YgsRqKarCLMe...

@themerl.bsky.social Any plans for a Christmas blog this year? I keep finding straw goats around my flat and I hold you accountable