Project team

Led by Georgina Endfield, we are a group of 8 researchers working within the discipline of geography at the Universities of Nottingham, Aberystwyth, Glasgow and Liverpool. Working alongside a number of non-academic partner organisations, the project brings together a wide range of expertise relating to climate history, environmental reconstruction, and historical and geographical research methods.

Georgina Endfield

I have long been a fan of snow, love a good storm (assuming I am not in it) and have strong memories of the drought and ladybird 'plague' of 1976.

I am a historical geographer with interests in climate and environmental history, documentary based constructions of regional climate history, the study of the impacts of and responses to extreme weather events and conceptualisation of climatic variability in historical perspective. Much of my work has focused on colonial Mexico and nineteenth century Africa but my most recent projects with Lucy Veale 'Weather walks, weather talks' and 'Snow scenes' have explored popular engagement with British weather and climate history. I am curious to explore reasons behind the apparent British 'obsession' with the weather.

Email: Georgina.Endfield@liverpool.ac.uk

Lucy Veale

I love cold, clear, sunny days - perfect for running, whilst in dark, wet and stormy conditions I am more likely to be found in the kitchen baking!

I am a historical geographer with interests in climate, environmental and landscape history. I am based in the School of Geography at the University of Nottingham where my previous projects include; 'Weather walks, weather talks' (a study of the work of climatologist Gordon Manley's work in the North Pennines which includes a narrated walk for Discovering Britain); 'Bringing landscape to life' (a celebration of the 200th anniversary of the design of Sheringham Park by the landscape gardener Humphry Repton including a public exhibition and web resources); and the AHRC Landscape and Environment programme.

Email: lucy.veale@nottingham.ac.uk

Sarah Davies

I'm excited to be working on a project which connects with the community in which I live. In West Wales the weather is a major talking point!

I am a senior lecturer in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University, where I have been based since 2002. Much of my research has focused on reconstructing past environmental change using lake sediments, particularly in tropical regions such as Mexico and East Africa. My work has often involved working as part of a multi-disciplinary team, which I find particularly rewarding – the differing perspectives offered by researchers from science and social science backgrounds is refreshing and fun. I was introduced to the incredible potential of documentary sources as a tool for investigating past weather and climate through my research in Mexico. In recent years, I have been developing research interests closer to home and began working with Neil Macdonald and Cerys Jones to explore the rich archival resource here in Wales.

Having worked further afield for a number of years, I’m excited to be working on a project which connects with the community in which I live. Being married to a farmer, I know only too well how much of an impact a dry summer or a particularly cold spring can have on grass growth!

Email: sjd@aber.ac.uk

Cerys Jones

I think the best part about researching the weather is that everyone - no matter what their age or background - takes an interest and can contribute.

I have been a lecturer in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University since February 2013, having contributed to the department’s Welsh-medium provision since 2008 whilst undertaking my PhD. My research to date focuses on climatic and environmental history and human responses to unusual or extreme weather, mostly in Wales since the nineteenth century.

Snow has always been my favourite type of weather. It didn’t occur very often when I was a child, but I always welcomed the chance to dust off the sledge, gather my cousins and go in search of the steepest hill. However, my childhood favourite has become a real menace since I moved to live on my husband’s farm; in addition to isolating me from the rest of the world, it means time-consuming work to keep the water flowing and sheep well-fed. I now much prefer the warmth and sunshine of a glorious (but seemingly increasingly rare) British summer, which leads to a good, easy harvest and more leisurely times on the farm.

Email: eyj@aber.ac.uk

Marie-Jeanne Royer

The climate was pleasantly cooperative to kick off the project and I experienced my first UK storms and floods shortly after my arrival from Canada.

I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate on the project and am based at Aberystwyth University. To take part in this project, I moved from Montreal (Canada) to Aberystwyth (Wales) sight unseen, having never been in the UK before. I hold a PhD in geography from the Universite de Montreal where I studied the interactions between climate change and traditional ecological knowledge in northern Quebec. As a researcher, I’m interested in the impacts and adaptations to climatic and environmental change. These include (but are definitely not limited to): the nature-culture relation and how it is influenced by climate and environmental change; health and environment (especially pertaining to change); and traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK).

I speak a few languages (English, French, German, and Armenian) that I’ve picked up along the way. And although I am working on learning Welsh, I unfortunately can’t say that I have mastered its intricacies yet.

Email: mar71@aber.ac.uk

Simon Naylor

I am a historical geographer with research interests and expertise in the histories of science, technology and exploration

Over the last few years I have developed research interests in histories of weather and climate. Funded by the British Academy (2012-14) I am researching the historical geographies of meteorology in the nineteenth century, with a particular focus on meteorological observatories. This work is complemented by research I have conducted into more recent appreciations of the weather and climate. Funded by the AHRC (and working with Prof Georgina Endfield and Dr Lucy Veale at University of Nottingham) I have conducted research into how people remember the weather in relation to their own life stories, and how they make sense of climate changes.

Email: simon.naylor@glasgow.ac.uk

Neil Macdonald

My expertise is in historical climatology and I have worked extensively on flood events, both contemporary and historical.

I am a researcher with expertise in: historical climatology, particularly the reconstruction of long hydrological and meteorological series from multiple source materials; (ii) flood and drought frequency, response and management; (iii) examining the impacts of past extreme events upon society; and, (iv) environmental reconstruction through proxy series. My previous research funding has been provided by AHRC; EPSRC; NERC; RGS-IBG; EPSRC and Carnegie Trust. I have worked extensively on flood events, both contemporary and historical; with previous work incorporated into the Environment Agency reports following flooding at York in 2000. I currently sit on the main committee of the British Institute at Ankara (British Academy) and am the UK representative on the EU eCOST Floodfreq programme, having previously spent 6 years on the British Hydrological Soceity main committee.

Email: neil.macdonald@liverpool.ac.uk

James Bowen

I will be using my experience of archival and library research to investigate the timing, frequency and impacts of extreme weather events.

My research interests include economic and social history, specifically the rural agrarian history of the British Isles, aspects of environmental history, landscape studies, and local and regional history, ranging chronologically between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. I completed a BA in History at Lancaster University including an Erasmus exchange at the University of Copenhagen, before pursuing an MA in English Local History at the University of Leicester. Returning to Lancaster, my doctoral thesis, supervised by Professor A.J.L. Winchester, examined the governance and management of common land in Shropshire from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. I was the Economic History Society’s R.H. Tawney Junior Research Fellow (2012-13), at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London. I have experience of archival and library based research and will be using my historical skills in conducting research in local, regional and national collections along with oral history interviews in order to investigate the timing, frequency and impacts of historical and contemporary extreme weather events in various case study regions across the United Kingdom.

Email: j.p.bowen@liverpool.ac.uk