Oliver Betts
@drolibetts.bsky.social
National Railway Museum Research Lead. Historian of industrial working-class worlds 1850-1950. Passionate about connecting museums and universities.
Reposted by Oliver Betts
Great news! 🙌
Art UK will be relaunching our crowdsourcing platform Art Detective, thanks to a grant from @wolfsonfdn.bsky.social
Find out more 👉 artuk.org/discover/sto...
🧑🎨 Mary Winifrid Smith (1904–1992) © the artist's estate. 📷 @nationaltrust.org.uk
Art UK will be relaunching our crowdsourcing platform Art Detective, thanks to a grant from @wolfsonfdn.bsky.social
Find out more 👉 artuk.org/discover/sto...
🧑🎨 Mary Winifrid Smith (1904–1992) © the artist's estate. 📷 @nationaltrust.org.uk
Art UK to relaunch crowdsourcing platform Art Detective with funding from the Wolfson Foundation
Art UK is preparing to relaunch its innovative artwork knowledge crowdsourcing platform Art Detective. The rebuild is being made possible thanks to a £65,370 grant from the Wolfson Foundation, with ad...
artuk.org
January 30, 2026 at 11:51 AM
Great news! 🙌
Art UK will be relaunching our crowdsourcing platform Art Detective, thanks to a grant from @wolfsonfdn.bsky.social
Find out more 👉 artuk.org/discover/sto...
🧑🎨 Mary Winifrid Smith (1904–1992) © the artist's estate. 📷 @nationaltrust.org.uk
Art UK will be relaunching our crowdsourcing platform Art Detective, thanks to a grant from @wolfsonfdn.bsky.social
Find out more 👉 artuk.org/discover/sto...
🧑🎨 Mary Winifrid Smith (1904–1992) © the artist's estate. 📷 @nationaltrust.org.uk
This massive programme of training which might largely de-value current worker skills and the never-ending intrusion of AI into computer systems for office and home workers means that there's going to be an amazingly relevant thesis on the Luddites to write in the near future!
January 28, 2026 at 9:42 AM
This massive programme of training which might largely de-value current worker skills and the never-ending intrusion of AI into computer systems for office and home workers means that there's going to be an amazingly relevant thesis on the Luddites to write in the near future!
Thinking Andy Burnham is the solution to Labour OR the country's woes is like thinking swapping to decaf tea in the evening is going to be THE thing to fix your health...
January 23, 2026 at 9:47 AM
Thinking Andy Burnham is the solution to Labour OR the country's woes is like thinking swapping to decaf tea in the evening is going to be THE thing to fix your health...
Would you like to hear some c1920s railway jokes I found tucked into a book this morning?
"The last train tonight does not start until the first thing tomorrow morning"
"A description of a petrol loco on the Castlederg and Victoria Bridge Tramway which 'never derailed when running normally'"
"The last train tonight does not start until the first thing tomorrow morning"
"A description of a petrol loco on the Castlederg and Victoria Bridge Tramway which 'never derailed when running normally'"
January 21, 2026 at 11:31 AM
Would you like to hear some c1920s railway jokes I found tucked into a book this morning?
"The last train tonight does not start until the first thing tomorrow morning"
"A description of a petrol loco on the Castlederg and Victoria Bridge Tramway which 'never derailed when running normally'"
"The last train tonight does not start until the first thing tomorrow morning"
"A description of a petrol loco on the Castlederg and Victoria Bridge Tramway which 'never derailed when running normally'"
Nice little piece of Luddite history on display at Nottingham Castle Museum - the sword of a Luddite leader captured in 1817.
December 22, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Nice little piece of Luddite history on display at Nottingham Castle Museum - the sword of a Luddite leader captured in 1817.
Reposted by Oliver Betts
Our Special Issue @genderandhistory.bsky.social is now out!! Many congrats and thanks to stellar co-editors @writinghelena.bsky.social, Lisa Hellman & Rachel Jean-Baptiste, and to all our fabulous authors. Fab seeing all 140,000 words brought together! 🌟 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14680424...
Special Issue: Gender and Segregation: Gender & History: Vol 37, No 3
Gender & History is a global gender studies journal publishing research on femininity, masculinity and gender across eras and territories.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 18, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Our Special Issue @genderandhistory.bsky.social is now out!! Many congrats and thanks to stellar co-editors @writinghelena.bsky.social, Lisa Hellman & Rachel Jean-Baptiste, and to all our fabulous authors. Fab seeing all 140,000 words brought together! 🌟 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14680424...
A little Christmas treat to you from us at the Railway Museum - watch us make (and judge) early c19th mince pies from George Stephenson's own recipe book:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQMz...
Caution: may contain curators...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQMz...
Caution: may contain curators...
How to Bake George Stephenson’s 200-year-old Mince Pies | National Railway Museum’s Bakeoff Showdown
YouTube video by National Railway Museum
www.youtube.com
December 17, 2025 at 9:21 AM
A little Christmas treat to you from us at the Railway Museum - watch us make (and judge) early c19th mince pies from George Stephenson's own recipe book:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQMz...
Caution: may contain curators...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQMz...
Caution: may contain curators...
Good to see the BBC leading with a story on essay writing mills at University level, but its also depressingly predictable in its details.
*of course* the guy they interview is now based in Dubai.
*of course* he's absolutely unrepentant about the work.
and *OF COURSE* he's now using AI.
*of course* the guy they interview is now based in Dubai.
*of course* he's absolutely unrepentant about the work.
and *OF COURSE* he's now using AI.
December 17, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Good to see the BBC leading with a story on essay writing mills at University level, but its also depressingly predictable in its details.
*of course* the guy they interview is now based in Dubai.
*of course* he's absolutely unrepentant about the work.
and *OF COURSE* he's now using AI.
*of course* the guy they interview is now based in Dubai.
*of course* he's absolutely unrepentant about the work.
and *OF COURSE* he's now using AI.
I enjoyed working with Gemini to transcribe documents in our collection for publication on the Arts&Culture platform.
I also did A LOT of proof-reading, but it was nice to be able to share transcripts with the public, who generally haven't spent years learning to tell an c18th F from a S or a TH!
I also did A LOT of proof-reading, but it was nice to be able to share transcripts with the public, who generally haven't spent years learning to tell an c18th F from a S or a TH!
Gemini’s ability to read handwritten archival documents has importance beyond the humanities. It opens new frontiers for scientific research and collaboration with the humanities.
foundhistory.org/seeing-old-s...
#ClimateScience #DataScience #Agriculture #Archives #Research #LandGrant #AI
foundhistory.org/seeing-old-s...
#ClimateScience #DataScience #Agriculture #Archives #Research #LandGrant #AI
Seeing Old Science
Gemini’s ability to read handwritten archival documents has importance beyond the humanities
foundhistory.org
December 11, 2025 at 4:17 PM
I enjoyed working with Gemini to transcribe documents in our collection for publication on the Arts&Culture platform.
I also did A LOT of proof-reading, but it was nice to be able to share transcripts with the public, who generally haven't spent years learning to tell an c18th F from a S or a TH!
I also did A LOT of proof-reading, but it was nice to be able to share transcripts with the public, who generally haven't spent years learning to tell an c18th F from a S or a TH!
Nothing more fun than a ceremonial Victorian trowel 😍
Our #1832AtoZ continues with T for Trowel and Tower. This trowel was used to lay the first stone of the Clock Tower for the new Houses of Parliament. Find out more about who performed this task in September 1843 in our article: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2020/06/11/f...
From Rochdale to Westminster: Emily Kelsall and the new Houses of Parliament
This post from our assistant editor Dr Kathryn Rix was first published on the Parliamentary Archives: Inside the Act Room blog, which has many more articles to read on parliamentary history, from t…
victoriancommons.wordpress.com
December 9, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Nothing more fun than a ceremonial Victorian trowel 😍
I think one of the fascinating (if depressing) things about watching Farage squirm under these racism allegations is that he really isn't very used to direct press criticism of himself.
December 5, 2025 at 9:59 AM
I think one of the fascinating (if depressing) things about watching Farage squirm under these racism allegations is that he really isn't very used to direct press criticism of himself.
Would anyone be interested in being part of a roundtable on Working-Class Victorians in heritage/fiction/public imagination today at next year's BAVS conference?
Let me know if you're keen 😁
Let me know if you're keen 😁
November 27, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Would anyone be interested in being part of a roundtable on Working-Class Victorians in heritage/fiction/public imagination today at next year's BAVS conference?
Let me know if you're keen 😁
Let me know if you're keen 😁
Please enjoy this project we've been working on with the lovely team at Google Arts and Culture:
artsandculture.google.com/project/nati...
Its so exciting to make so much of our collection accessible this anniversary year for the railways from models and artwork to tools and vehicles!
artsandculture.google.com/project/nati...
Its so exciting to make so much of our collection accessible this anniversary year for the railways from models and artwork to tools and vehicles!
National Railway Museum - Google Arts & Culture
Journey through the untold story of the railways
artsandculture.google.com
November 27, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Please enjoy this project we've been working on with the lovely team at Google Arts and Culture:
artsandculture.google.com/project/nati...
Its so exciting to make so much of our collection accessible this anniversary year for the railways from models and artwork to tools and vehicles!
artsandculture.google.com/project/nati...
Its so exciting to make so much of our collection accessible this anniversary year for the railways from models and artwork to tools and vehicles!
Does anyone have any recent reading recommendations on how people (particularly working-class people) adjusted to technological change in the long c19th?
By reading list feels a little dated...
Thanks!
By reading list feels a little dated...
Thanks!
November 14, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Does anyone have any recent reading recommendations on how people (particularly working-class people) adjusted to technological change in the long c19th?
By reading list feels a little dated...
Thanks!
By reading list feels a little dated...
Thanks!
I really enjoyed Death by Lightning on Netflix - a really interesting interweaving of the tragedy of James Garfield and Charles Guiteau with some amazing acting.
I thought quite a good portrayal of late c19th society too...
I thought quite a good portrayal of late c19th society too...
November 14, 2025 at 9:27 AM
I really enjoyed Death by Lightning on Netflix - a really interesting interweaving of the tragedy of James Garfield and Charles Guiteau with some amazing acting.
I thought quite a good portrayal of late c19th society too...
I thought quite a good portrayal of late c19th society too...
Reposted by Oliver Betts
Day 9: Map. For my book project I’m mapping museums in the UK which have ancient Cypriot collections. There are more than you might think! #Museum30
November 9, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Day 9: Map. For my book project I’m mapping museums in the UK which have ancient Cypriot collections. There are more than you might think! #Museum30
I thought I'd seen competitive sports parents aplenty having taken my eldest to football for years, but I'm here watching him at a interschool chess tournament and oh boy! 😬
November 9, 2025 at 12:19 PM
I thought I'd seen competitive sports parents aplenty having taken my eldest to football for years, but I'm here watching him at a interschool chess tournament and oh boy! 😬
Hello, if you've got a spare fifteen minutes we've put together a video on the emergence of the railway poster as a visual medium from the 1840s-1930s that you might enjoy!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5is...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5is...
The Lost Art of Railway Posters: A Journey Through Time | Off the Rails
YouTube video by National Railway Museum
www.youtube.com
October 31, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Hello, if you've got a spare fifteen minutes we've put together a video on the emergence of the railway poster as a visual medium from the 1840s-1930s that you might enjoy!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5is...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5is...
Reposted by Oliver Betts
CfP: Tourism, Memory and Heritage Conference (2026),
Amsterdam and Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Full details: lnkd.in/ebPHRqgM
Amsterdam and Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Full details: lnkd.in/ebPHRqgM
October 26, 2025 at 10:22 AM
CfP: Tourism, Memory and Heritage Conference (2026),
Amsterdam and Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Full details: lnkd.in/ebPHRqgM
Amsterdam and Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Full details: lnkd.in/ebPHRqgM
In one of those "quite how did I end up in this line of work" I'm sitting in the banquet hall of an c18th mayoral mansion, waiting to judge a cooking competition of c19th mince pies, listening to someone outside sing Edelweiss....
October 20, 2025 at 10:38 AM
In one of those "quite how did I end up in this line of work" I'm sitting in the banquet hall of an c18th mayoral mansion, waiting to judge a cooking competition of c19th mince pies, listening to someone outside sing Edelweiss....
Reposted by Oliver Betts
CfP: The British General Strike of 1926: New Directions of Research, 7-8 May 2026 @newcastleuni.bsky.social
Deadline: 6 February 2026
More details:
@sslh.bsky.social
sslh.org.uk/2025/10/13/c...
sslh.org.uk/wp-content/u...
Kindly supported by @leverhulme.ac.uk
#GeneralStrike1926 #GeneralStrike100
Deadline: 6 February 2026
More details:
@sslh.bsky.social
sslh.org.uk/2025/10/13/c...
sslh.org.uk/wp-content/u...
Kindly supported by @leverhulme.ac.uk
#GeneralStrike1926 #GeneralStrike100
CfP: The British General Strike of 1926: New Directions of Research
To commemorate the centenary of the British General Strike and miners’ lock-out, Newcastle University’s Labour & Society Research Group (LSRG) is organising a conference that revisits the…
sslh.org.uk
October 14, 2025 at 11:57 AM
CfP: The British General Strike of 1926: New Directions of Research, 7-8 May 2026 @newcastleuni.bsky.social
Deadline: 6 February 2026
More details:
@sslh.bsky.social
sslh.org.uk/2025/10/13/c...
sslh.org.uk/wp-content/u...
Kindly supported by @leverhulme.ac.uk
#GeneralStrike1926 #GeneralStrike100
Deadline: 6 February 2026
More details:
@sslh.bsky.social
sslh.org.uk/2025/10/13/c...
sslh.org.uk/wp-content/u...
Kindly supported by @leverhulme.ac.uk
#GeneralStrike1926 #GeneralStrike100
Reposted by Oliver Betts
If #Railway200 has sparked or rekindled your interest in #RailwayHistory, and you fancy study at Masters or PhD level - then come & study with Dr Mike Esbester at the University of Portsmouth!
An expert in railway, transport & mobility history:
www.port.ac.uk/about-us/str...
An expert in railway, transport & mobility history:
www.port.ac.uk/about-us/str...
Mike Esbester
www.port.ac.uk
September 27, 2025 at 8:29 AM
If #Railway200 has sparked or rekindled your interest in #RailwayHistory, and you fancy study at Masters or PhD level - then come & study with Dr Mike Esbester at the University of Portsmouth!
An expert in railway, transport & mobility history:
www.port.ac.uk/about-us/str...
An expert in railway, transport & mobility history:
www.port.ac.uk/about-us/str...
Reposted by Oliver Betts
🚨What's that?🚨
You want FREE access to 17 brilliant #RailwayHistory articles from the @jtransporthist.bsky.social?
All yours!
For #Railway200 the JTH has put together a virtual collection of articles, & until 15 October they're free!
Download & read now: journals.sagepub.com/topic/collec...
You want FREE access to 17 brilliant #RailwayHistory articles from the @jtransporthist.bsky.social?
All yours!
For #Railway200 the JTH has put together a virtual collection of articles, & until 15 October they're free!
Download & read now: journals.sagepub.com/topic/collec...
September 26, 2025 at 11:30 AM
🚨What's that?🚨
You want FREE access to 17 brilliant #RailwayHistory articles from the @jtransporthist.bsky.social?
All yours!
For #Railway200 the JTH has put together a virtual collection of articles, & until 15 October they're free!
Download & read now: journals.sagepub.com/topic/collec...
You want FREE access to 17 brilliant #RailwayHistory articles from the @jtransporthist.bsky.social?
All yours!
For #Railway200 the JTH has put together a virtual collection of articles, & until 15 October they're free!
Download & read now: journals.sagepub.com/topic/collec...