Current Research Topics

Tea and women, c.1650-1914

Even by the end of the C17th tea was strongly gendered. I am interested to explore the ways in which women used the materiality of tea to combat negative views of femininity and how the association developed in the C19th.

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Engendered spaces of dining

The dining room is often seen as masculine space, while the (with) drawing room is linked to women. Yet both rooms are situated within the domestic realm, supposedly a feminised environment, and this within a deeply patriarchal society.

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Current Research Topics

Cooks and kitchens in the English Country House

Traditional readings of dining change promote a narrative of top down emulation. Yet a strong argument can be made for the newly wealthy upper and middle classes as driving stylistic change, while the old, landed elites, retained older forms well into the C19th. In-depth work on cooking in aristocratic houses is lacking, and is one of my central research interests.

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Discipline and control at the dining table

Both self discipline and the control of others were important themes in late C18th and C19th England. The placement of dishes and other material accoutrements were vital tools in achieving this.

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Current Research Topics

Sensory perception in archaeology

Increasing recognition is being given to the multi-sensory nature of material culture. Work on smell, sound and taste has shown the approach to be a valuable one. Inevitably, given my work in costume, I’m a supporter of this approach.

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Experimental Research

I’m a firm believer in trying out the recipes and techniques I encounter. Both through working to create a dish and, later, eating it, an immense amount of value may be learnt.

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