The PhD student info pack has arrived...

Well now its getting real.

A set of paperwork to read through, and a huge pile of huge books to read.

I've had a meeting with my supervisor, Dr Roberta Anderson (known as Bobby) and talked through how to really begin research in earnest. It was a good meeting, not least because chatting with members of the history department at BSU is always an inspiration. Its a great team, with great people, and I look forward to working with them even more.

My extra reading has also turned up a fascinating snippet of information, that the last family owner of Newton Park, Algernon Temple Gore Langton, was a member of the British Fascist Party in the 1930s. (according to David Cannadine) This adds a terrific extra layer to the background story of the property. One of my students on the BSU Archive is also interested in this as a potential dissertation topic, so I look forward to finding out more along with her.

My second supervisor is Dr Alison Hems, who was my tutor for the MA in Heritage Management last year. It was Alison who pointed me in the direction of the Cannadine book (Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy) as a good background text on this topic.

So, between all the experts in history and heritage at Bath Spa, I've been set in the right direction.

Time to read the PhD handbook...