Contributing Editor to the Victoria County History of Gloucestershire

Details: The Gloucestershire County History Trust (a charitable incorporated organisation) is responsible for funding and commissioning the research and writing of the Victoria County History series for the historic county of Gloucestershire. The series, which is edited and published by the Institute of Historical Research of the University of London, is recognised for its scholarly standards and is widely consulted by students, academics, archivists, local historians, and many others.   

The work for which a contractor is now sought is to research and write the history of the adjacent parishes of Acton Turville and Tormarton for inclusion in the planned volume on Chipping Sodbury and district (volume 14 of VCH Gloucestershire). A parallel contract for the research and writing of Dodington and Wapley & Codrington is also being advertised. The trust welcomes applications for one or both pieces of work.

Acton Turville is a small rural parish adjoining Great Badminton and now partly owned by the Badminton estate. Tormarton is a much larger parish but with an almost equally simple settlement pattern. The two parishes have a good deal in common with West Littleton, the draft history of which can be found at: https://www.history.ac.uk/sites/default/files/file-uploads/2022-06/West%20Littleton%20final%20draft%20May%202022.pdf

The Acton Turville and Tormarton project is estimated as a ten-month task (if worked full time) for which the Trust offers a contract fee of £27,350, to start as soon as possible in 2025. The results are to be presented within the standard VCH template, with an extent of c.20,000 words for the two parishes. Subject to satisfactory performance, similar follow-on work may be available.   

The successful appointee will  

• have a relevant record of postgraduate research and publication in English history.  
• be willing and able to work with knowledgeable local volunteers 
• be based within easy travelling distance of Chipping Sodbury
• preferably possess a driving licence and have access to a suitably insured vehicle  
• be competent in early modern and later palaeography

The Trust seeks a well-organised self-starter, sufficiently resourceful to deal with the scattered location of relevant sources, which will be found in archives across south-west England and in London and Oxford. Experience of working on the VCH or allied projects is highly desirable. Latin while highly desirable is not essential, as some support with the analysis of medieval material may be available from the County Editor or other project team members.  

Work will be carried out to the established standards of the VCH, and on publication (initially online) the work will be credited to the author. The appointee will act as an independent contractor and not as the employee of the Trust, and will bear exclusive responsibility for the payment of national insurance contributions and income tax as a self-employed person. The fee quoted is inclusive of any VAT charged by the author and any expenses involved in visiting archives or obtaining copies of documents for study at home. 

How to apply: Email via the 'Apply' button, attaching a CV, 1-page covering letter, and contact details of two academic referees. Please include ‘Acton Turville & Tormarton’ in the subject line. Shortlisting will take place within two weeks of the closing date, with online interviews as soon as possible thereafter. 

Further info: for background on the Trust, and on the Victoria County History in Gloucestershire, see https://www.history.ac.uk/research/victoria-county-history/county-histories-progress/gloucestershire. For informal discussion of the post contact Simon Draper, County Editor.

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