Adam Chapman
@adamchapman.bsky.social
Medieval historian interested in Wales, Somerset exile, inept cricketer, General Editor of the longest-running and largest local history project yet devised, the Victoria County History of England. Probably drinking tea.
Pinned
Adam Chapman
@adamchapman.bsky.social
· Nov 11
Good morning (UK time), to new followers.
I’m a medieval historian working on Wales 🏴 (personally), and using the lens of place, working on the histories of England from way back to right now, editing the amazing @vchlondon.bsky.social.
Also, place, landscapes, cricket (sorry), fuelled by tea.
I’m a medieval historian working on Wales 🏴 (personally), and using the lens of place, working on the histories of England from way back to right now, editing the amazing @vchlondon.bsky.social.
Also, place, landscapes, cricket (sorry), fuelled by tea.
Reposted by Adam Chapman
😱 UK ownership of US-style pick-up trucks is up 92% , say @cleancitiescampaign.org
😡 What's the problem? Longer than a WWII tank, larger than the average parking space, incredibly heavy and so high that children cannot be seen by their drivers, they aren't nicknamed "battering rams" by chance.
😡 What's the problem? Longer than a WWII tank, larger than the average parking space, incredibly heavy and so high that children cannot be seen by their drivers, they aren't nicknamed "battering rams" by chance.
January 27, 2026 at 12:20 PM
😱 UK ownership of US-style pick-up trucks is up 92% , say @cleancitiescampaign.org
😡 What's the problem? Longer than a WWII tank, larger than the average parking space, incredibly heavy and so high that children cannot be seen by their drivers, they aren't nicknamed "battering rams" by chance.
😡 What's the problem? Longer than a WWII tank, larger than the average parking space, incredibly heavy and so high that children cannot be seen by their drivers, they aren't nicknamed "battering rams" by chance.
Reposted by Adam Chapman
I understand Labour faces a largely hostile media environment, but its inability to make a big splash with genuinely positive news remains unfathomable. Like the Warm Homes Plan last week, this will make a big difference to the finances and lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
Good news but slightly odd manner and timing of announcement? - in a video on tik tok, not made overnight to maximise press coverage, no supportive quotes
www.gov.uk/government/n...
www.gov.uk/government/n...
PM: “We're capping ground rents at £250”
PM caps ground rents at £250 a year in game-changing shake up of leasehold system and to support families with the cost of living.
www.gov.uk
January 27, 2026 at 9:51 AM
I understand Labour faces a largely hostile media environment, but its inability to make a big splash with genuinely positive news remains unfathomable. Like the Warm Homes Plan last week, this will make a big difference to the finances and lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
Reposted by Adam Chapman
Reminder that British journalists have a weird fetish for Harry Potter because it's a fantasy world where nobody mentions how fucking weird it is that everybody was privately educated in just five schools
January 27, 2026 at 9:36 AM
Reminder that British journalists have a weird fetish for Harry Potter because it's a fantasy world where nobody mentions how fucking weird it is that everybody was privately educated in just five schools
Reposted by Adam Chapman
Still zero cycleways in #Havering.
With the expansion of @london.gov.uk's network of cycleways expanding to over 430km, celebrities arriving at events on two wheels and cycling trips surging to 1,500,000 every day - London is fast becoming a cycling city.
🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲
Read all about it:
www.thetimes.com/uk/london/ar...
🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲
Read all about it:
www.thetimes.com/uk/london/ar...
Was 2025 the year London became a cycling city?
With e-bikes becoming more widely available and consistent investment, cycling in the capital has surged alongside the expansion of its cycleways.
www.thetimes.com
January 27, 2026 at 9:47 AM
Still zero cycleways in #Havering.
Reposted by Adam Chapman
Very bad news for all other road users in the UK, especially those on foot and on bikes.
Number of US-style pickup trucks on UK roads up 92% in a decade, data shows
Exclusive: Campaigners say ‘menacing vehicles’ are putting children at risk owing to their large front blind zones
www.theguardian.com
January 27, 2026 at 6:58 AM
Very bad news for all other road users in the UK, especially those on foot and on bikes.
Reposted by Adam Chapman
Subscription towards the Tre Madoc Embankment
Resolutions passed in 1812 under the presidency of Viscount Bulkeley of Anglesey on the best way to help W.A. Maddocks when damage was done to the Cob by the sea tide during a storm. The poet Shelley’s name is among the subscribers
Date:1812 BMSS/2382
Resolutions passed in 1812 under the presidency of Viscount Bulkeley of Anglesey on the best way to help W.A. Maddocks when damage was done to the Cob by the sea tide during a storm. The poet Shelley’s name is among the subscribers
Date:1812 BMSS/2382
January 27, 2026 at 9:10 AM
Subscription towards the Tre Madoc Embankment
Resolutions passed in 1812 under the presidency of Viscount Bulkeley of Anglesey on the best way to help W.A. Maddocks when damage was done to the Cob by the sea tide during a storm. The poet Shelley’s name is among the subscribers
Date:1812 BMSS/2382
Resolutions passed in 1812 under the presidency of Viscount Bulkeley of Anglesey on the best way to help W.A. Maddocks when damage was done to the Cob by the sea tide during a storm. The poet Shelley’s name is among the subscribers
Date:1812 BMSS/2382
Reposted by Adam Chapman
Discworld QOTD, from Carpe Jugulum
January 25, 2026 at 7:27 PM
Discworld QOTD, from Carpe Jugulum
Reposted by Adam Chapman
Reposted by Adam Chapman
Just a reminder of one of Suella Braverman's greatest ethnonationalist hits:
"I will never be truly English: here is why", Telegraph, 26 February 2025
(Source: www.suellabraverman.co.uk/news/i-will-...)
"I will never be truly English: here is why", Telegraph, 26 February 2025
(Source: www.suellabraverman.co.uk/news/i-will-...)
January 26, 2026 at 5:31 PM
Just a reminder of one of Suella Braverman's greatest ethnonationalist hits:
"I will never be truly English: here is why", Telegraph, 26 February 2025
(Source: www.suellabraverman.co.uk/news/i-will-...)
"I will never be truly English: here is why", Telegraph, 26 February 2025
(Source: www.suellabraverman.co.uk/news/i-will-...)
Reposted by Adam Chapman
If you are a habitual Conservative voter who went Reform for this first time last May, being told that Reform are just like the Conservatives will reassure you, not scare you.
Fortunately, there are no Tories on Bluesky (except John Oxley).
Fortunately, there are no Tories on Bluesky (except John Oxley).
Reform: The Conservatives broke the country
Also Reform: Welcome to another failed Conservative minister who broke the country
Also Reform: Welcome to another failed Conservative minister who broke the country
January 26, 2026 at 5:20 PM
If you are a habitual Conservative voter who went Reform for this first time last May, being told that Reform are just like the Conservatives will reassure you, not scare you.
Fortunately, there are no Tories on Bluesky (except John Oxley).
Fortunately, there are no Tories on Bluesky (except John Oxley).
Reposted by Adam Chapman
Celf Werin Anghofiedig Pont Porth Penrhyn
Nid fandaliaeth yw graffiti bob amser fel y mae John Rowlands yn ei ddatgelu yn ein blog diweddaraf am gerfiadau Pont Porth Penrhyn — cipolwg prin ar fywyd yn un o borthladdoedd llechi prysuraf y byd: zurl.co/ywssK
Nid fandaliaeth yw graffiti bob amser fel y mae John Rowlands yn ei ddatgelu yn ein blog diweddaraf am gerfiadau Pont Porth Penrhyn — cipolwg prin ar fywyd yn un o borthladdoedd llechi prysuraf y byd: zurl.co/ywssK
January 26, 2026 at 3:01 PM
Celf Werin Anghofiedig Pont Porth Penrhyn
Nid fandaliaeth yw graffiti bob amser fel y mae John Rowlands yn ei ddatgelu yn ein blog diweddaraf am gerfiadau Pont Porth Penrhyn — cipolwg prin ar fywyd yn un o borthladdoedd llechi prysuraf y byd: zurl.co/ywssK
Nid fandaliaeth yw graffiti bob amser fel y mae John Rowlands yn ei ddatgelu yn ein blog diweddaraf am gerfiadau Pont Porth Penrhyn — cipolwg prin ar fywyd yn un o borthladdoedd llechi prysuraf y byd: zurl.co/ywssK
The Forgotten Folk Art of Porth Penrhyn Bridge
Graffiti isn’t always vandalism as John Rowlands reveals in our latest blog about carvings at Porth Penrhyn Bridge — rare insights into life at one of the world’s busiest slate ports: zurl.co/go50p
Graffiti isn’t always vandalism as John Rowlands reveals in our latest blog about carvings at Porth Penrhyn Bridge — rare insights into life at one of the world’s busiest slate ports: zurl.co/go50p
January 26, 2026 at 5:21 PM
Reposted by Adam Chapman
Enjoy a day of talks celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Menai Suspension Bridge. I will be talking about the 1930s reconstruction and later works. At the Main Arts Lecture Theatre at Bangor University on 31 January: nation.cymru/culture/cele...
Celebration to mark 200th anniversary of historic Welsh bridge
A Welsh university is hosting a celebration to take place to mark the 200th anniversary of the opening of a historic Welsh bridge. The Menai Bridge, designed by the renowned civil engineer Thomas Telf...
nation.cymru
January 26, 2026 at 4:25 PM
Enjoy a day of talks celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Menai Suspension Bridge. I will be talking about the 1930s reconstruction and later works. At the Main Arts Lecture Theatre at Bangor University on 31 January: nation.cymru/culture/cele...
Reposted by Adam Chapman
‘Free parking’ is *never* free! It is paid for in 2 ways:
1) Direct financial subsidy from the taxes of everyone who doesn’t use it (eg bus passengers)
2) External costs paid by society at large - the extra pollution/casualties/spatial implications & other harms induced by the ‘incentive to drive’
1) Direct financial subsidy from the taxes of everyone who doesn’t use it (eg bus passengers)
2) External costs paid by society at large - the extra pollution/casualties/spatial implications & other harms induced by the ‘incentive to drive’
£1.5 million for a trial of "free" parking.
The irony is strong with this one.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The irony is strong with this one.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Cambridgeshire free car parking scheme allocated £1.5m
The mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough believes it could be a lifeline for struggling shops.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 26, 2026 at 1:04 PM
‘Free parking’ is *never* free! It is paid for in 2 ways:
1) Direct financial subsidy from the taxes of everyone who doesn’t use it (eg bus passengers)
2) External costs paid by society at large - the extra pollution/casualties/spatial implications & other harms induced by the ‘incentive to drive’
1) Direct financial subsidy from the taxes of everyone who doesn’t use it (eg bus passengers)
2) External costs paid by society at large - the extra pollution/casualties/spatial implications & other harms induced by the ‘incentive to drive’
Reposted by Adam Chapman
Or maybe this one …
January 26, 2026 at 2:50 PM
Or maybe this one …
Reposted by Adam Chapman
And over the next few months we've got four more sessions coming up: 'Written Worlds' with me et al; 'Material Culture of Wills' with @lsangha.bsky.social; and the postmortem caesarian section in early modern Italy with Erin Maglaque @erinmaglaque.bsky.social : www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...
January 26, 2026 at 2:30 PM
And over the next few months we've got four more sessions coming up: 'Written Worlds' with me et al; 'Material Culture of Wills' with @lsangha.bsky.social; and the postmortem caesarian section in early modern Italy with Erin Maglaque @erinmaglaque.bsky.social : www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...
Reposted by Adam Chapman
Folks who are involved in running BA History programmes in the UK: have you reintroduced invigilated exams recently? Did you never get rid of them? are you keeping them gone? Am trying to get a sense of how colleagues in other unis are addressing the issue of AI and assessments.
January 26, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Folks who are involved in running BA History programmes in the UK: have you reintroduced invigilated exams recently? Did you never get rid of them? are you keeping them gone? Am trying to get a sense of how colleagues in other unis are addressing the issue of AI and assessments.
Reposted by Adam Chapman
Reposted by Adam Chapman
One should never miss an opportunity to use the plural form of attorney general, and so today we mark that the worst of all attorneys general has defected from one illiberal party to another.
January 26, 2026 at 1:42 PM
One should never miss an opportunity to use the plural form of attorney general, and so today we mark that the worst of all attorneys general has defected from one illiberal party to another.
Reposted by Adam Chapman
The Warwick Network for Parish Research announces a call for Papers for the PARISH DATA Symposium - We now invite proposals for 15-minute papers:
24th Warwick Symposium on Parish Research
Saturday 16 May 2026 - University of Warwick, Central Campus, Coventry (hybrid).
1/2
24th Warwick Symposium on Parish Research
Saturday 16 May 2026 - University of Warwick, Central Campus, Coventry (hybrid).
1/2
2026 - Parish Data
The Twenty-Fourth Warwick Symposium on Parish Research takes place on Saturday 16 May 2026 at the University of Warwick (in hybrid format). It is co-organized by My-Parish with the Institute for the H...
go.warwick.ac.uk
January 26, 2026 at 12:43 PM
The Warwick Network for Parish Research announces a call for Papers for the PARISH DATA Symposium - We now invite proposals for 15-minute papers:
24th Warwick Symposium on Parish Research
Saturday 16 May 2026 - University of Warwick, Central Campus, Coventry (hybrid).
1/2
24th Warwick Symposium on Parish Research
Saturday 16 May 2026 - University of Warwick, Central Campus, Coventry (hybrid).
1/2
Reposted by Adam Chapman
More members of Liz Truss's cabinet are in Reform than in Badenoch's shadow cabinet...
January 26, 2026 at 1:12 PM
More members of Liz Truss's cabinet are in Reform than in Badenoch's shadow cabinet...
Reposted by Adam Chapman
This piece is great. For all I’m pleased that castle studies has broadened its field of operation to beyond art history and architectural history, there is something to be said for dwelling a lot more on the building site.
"[Barn] raisings are a model for examining the entirety of building as a relational practice, and the ways architectural work is embedded in, dependent on, and facilitated by structures of the economy, family, labor, and risk."
January 26, 2026 at 8:03 AM
This piece is great. For all I’m pleased that castle studies has broadened its field of operation to beyond art history and architectural history, there is something to be said for dwelling a lot more on the building site.
Reposted by Adam Chapman
The glorious, remote Nant Pasgan Fawr farmhouse in the hills above Talsarnau, Eryri/Snowdonia, approached by a slate slab bridge across a stream
The house has been dated by dendrochronology to the late C16th 😮
👉 coflein.gov.uk/en/site/405144
📷 My own, yesterday
The house has been dated by dendrochronology to the late C16th 😮
👉 coflein.gov.uk/en/site/405144
📷 My own, yesterday
January 26, 2026 at 7:42 AM
The glorious, remote Nant Pasgan Fawr farmhouse in the hills above Talsarnau, Eryri/Snowdonia, approached by a slate slab bridge across a stream
The house has been dated by dendrochronology to the late C16th 😮
👉 coflein.gov.uk/en/site/405144
📷 My own, yesterday
The house has been dated by dendrochronology to the late C16th 😮
👉 coflein.gov.uk/en/site/405144
📷 My own, yesterday
This is the second best juxtaposition in light entertainment history.
The best? Muhammad Ali and Portishead's finest, The Wurzels.
The best? Muhammad Ali and Portishead's finest, The Wurzels.
January 26, 2026 at 12:23 PM
This is the second best juxtaposition in light entertainment history.
The best? Muhammad Ali and Portishead's finest, The Wurzels.
The best? Muhammad Ali and Portishead's finest, The Wurzels.