Stuart Henderson

My academic background is primarily concerned with agrarian history, with an emphasis on developing post-medieval livestock stockbreeding techniques and livestock management practices, as well as how these changes shaped our agricultural histories, geographical variation and connected industries. I hold a First Class Honours in Archaeology from the University of York, however my research to date has often crossed several academic disciplines, combining economic history, archaeology, legal history and geography. The journey leading me to my current area of study started with my undergraduate dissertation (awarded the Charles Wellbeloved Prize in 2016), which reviewed the changes in sheep farming and management techniques, with an emphasis on livestock improvement. Upon completion, I undertook a fully-funded Masters (by research) at the University of York continuing my investigations into livestock improvement and changing management techniques, with an emphasis on the effects on the post-medieval parchment industry. This project supported the work of several colleagues within the Palaeome and Beasts2Craft organisations working on hDNA studies of historic parchment samples. The combination of these projects has brought me to the University of Cambridge, after being awarded the Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC DTP-funded Collaborative Doctoral Award, in partnership with the National Leather Collection, to study the English leather industry during the long nineteenth century.