Justine Pick

Photograph of a large factory interior, an expansive shop floor. Large groupings of long metal poles laying on industrial trolleys. Two tall metal wheels in the top right of the photo. Large piles of equipment in the top mid centre of the photo.

For this week’s blog, to mark the centenary of ICI and as it’s British Science Week, we look at the history of its IMI metals division at the Kynoch Works, Witton: theironroom.wordpress.com/2026/03/02/i... Ref - MS1422/28/7/4/4 @ScienceWeekUK #LibraryofBham

If you’re not already, do watch Dirty Business - Channel 4’s new docudrama and take a look at the Fountain of Filth 👇

Publication day! My book Keeping Hold: A Cultural and Social History of Possession in Eighteenth-Century Britain is out now. 20% discount code KEHO2026. www.cambridge.org/core/books/k...

Join the Midland History team at the National Civil War Museum, Newark on Sat 6 June 2026 for a one-day conference: New Voices in Midlands History.
Deadline for CFPs 31 March

Lecturer in Ancient History and Classics at Birkbeck, University of London An opportunity for an academic position as a Lecturer in Ancient History and Classics is available, as advertised on jobs.ac.uk. Apply now and explore other academic job openings.

Lecturer in Ancient History and Classics position
Full time and permanent 👇
#skystorians

They were Brum’s answer to The Beatles — until Harold Wilson sued them The Move were destined for stardom but a smutty postcard brought them down

www.birminghamdispatch.co.uk/they-were-br...

I keep meaning to sort a research trip to explore this collection (and sanitary inspection) to expand research (included in my thesis) on Birmingham's health visitors & inspectors. This is obviously a sign to nudge me to get on with it! Thank you @erinacean.bsky.social and @dohertyta.bsky.social

Midland History Midland History publishes on the history of the English Midlands region and historical comparisons with other areas.

From Roman forts in Rutland to brutalism in Bedfordshire, nobility in Nottinghamshire to workers in Warwickshire

Whatever your interests in the English Midlands we want to hear from you

Submit an article to Midland History and bring your research to the world 👇

tandfonline.com/journals/ymdh20

Free rainy day activity ☔️🌧️ Join the #UnlockingtheVaults team today (Sat 7 Feb) at The Exchange #Birmingham for Heritage Unlocked
11am-3pm
Wander round the building and learn about its history with tours, talks, children’s trails, performances from The Rep and meet the archive volunteer team!

Just one week left to apply for this fascinating PhD project combining botany, heritage, and technology 🪴

More details about Heritage Unlocked Showcase event
this Sat 7 Feb 11am - 3pm at The Exchange
Lots to see and do with building tours, trails, performance based oral histories, and meet the #UnlockingtheVaults team and volunteer research group
(2/2)

A new walking route from @joshpallen.bsky.social
One for the @blackcountrysoc.bsky.social to share 👣 🥾

Photograph of the exterior of a building in the neo -classical style - grand scale, symmetry, simple geometric forms and dramatic columns at the entrance. Facia above the columns reads - Birmingham Municipal Bank. A female figure with a pram stands on the pavement outside of the entrance. A male figure in the far right of the photo walks on by. The photograph is taken from the side of the building.

#BirminghamHistory for today’s blog, Dr Justine Pick - Research Lead for Unlocking the Vaults, looks back at how the project has unearthed the history of the Birmingham Municipal Bank (1919-1976): theironroom.wordpress.com/2026/02/02/h... Ref: WK/B11/5129 #LibraryofBham @justinepick.bsky.social

More details about Heritage Unlocked Showcase event
this Sat 7 Feb 11am - 3pm at The Exchange
Lots to see and do with building tours, trails, performance based oral histories, and meet the #UnlockingtheVaults team and volunteer research group
(2/2)

Heritage Unlocked: Birmingham’s Unique Municipal Bank Birmingham Municipal Bank (1919-1976) was unique as the first and only local authority savings bank in England. Unlike other savings banks (such as the Trustee Savings Banks), customers could borro…

The latest blog from @theironroom.bsky.social about #UnlockingtheVaults project and #Birmingham Municipal Bank.
Ties in with the Heritage Unlocked Showcase Event this week
📆Sat 7 February at
🏛️The Exchange @unibirmingham.bsky.social
All welcome (drop in) between 11am-3pm
(1/2)

Title and abstract for the linked article

📣 New #OpenAccess article on #FirstView

🚾 @justinepick.bsky.social, 'Perilous privies and public health: the nature and impact of ‘dry’ municipal conservancy systems in urban England, 1870s–1920s'

🔗 doi.org/10.1017/S096... #UrbanHistory

Wellcome-funded Conference Series Thanks to the generous funding of the Wellcome Trust, through the Society for the Social History of Medicine, in 2025-26 the MWHN will run a three-part series of events. Two fo these will be in-per…

Please join the friends and members of the Military Welfare History Network @milwelfhist.bsky.social
#online
Monday 2 February 11:00 to 17:30 (Dublin time)
The 3rd event supported by Wellcome-SSHM Network Grants
For programme see 👇 & for Zoom link contact militarywelfarehistory@gmail.com
#histmed

🎉My first peer reviewed article just published in Urban History as FirstView!
Following on from my thesis, it covers privy pails & ashpits, the fly problem, public health, mortality & sanitation investment

A smooth & stress free publishing experience @urbanhistory.bsky.social
#OpenAccess #histmed

One week left to enter @sshmedicine.bsky.social Roy Porter Essay Prize 2025/6
Deadline: Sunday 1 February
#histmed #histSTM #medhumanities

Following up with the first 2 adverts for our new @wellcometrust.bsky.social funded project on the history of smallpox and measles. The ads are linked below along with a write-up on the project. Both are effectively a fully funded PhD position, for those so inclined. 1/4 bsky.app/profile/fanc...

hrp.tal.net/vx/mobile-0/...

Cool job for any historians with podcast experience

The English Print Revolution: Caxton and Beyond — CPHC The Printer in Residence Scheme

In February, Senate House Library will launch an exhibition The English Print Revolution: Caxton and Beyond. They are also looking to appoint a Printer in Residence to produce a contemporary response to the exhibition. Sounds fun. www.cphc.org.uk/updates/2026...

A book on a table, front cover facing on. Title of the book is Guess Who Came to Dinner? Photograph on the front cover shows a group of adults and children gathered for a family portrait. The adults are in the back row and the children in the front. A large window behind the table on which the books rests.

This week’s blog looks at the increasing quantities of our digital collections now available on Universal Access - birmingham.access.preservica.com the public front of our Preservica digital preservation system - theironroom.wordpress.com/2026/01/19/d... #LibraryofBham

This week sees the release of @netflix.com's new adaptation of Agatha Christie's 'The Seven Dials Mystery'. 🔍

Interested in the context of one of Agatha Christie's first espionage thrillers?

Also set in 1920s London, historian @tricksterprince.bsky.social's book is a great companion read. #booksky

CfP - New Voices in Midland Hisotry. For research covering Bedfordshire, Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Email 100 word abstract and title to Andrew Hopper (andrew.hopper@conted.ox.ac.uk), Imogen Peck (i.f.m.peck@bham.ac.uk), Justine Pick (j.pick@bham.ac.uk). Travel expenses for speakers up to £50. Lunch and refreshments provided. Attendees only, email Justine Pick to register with your name, institution/affiliation (if relevant), and email address, with subject ‘Attend New Voices in Midlands History Conference 2026.’

✨ Call for Papers ✨

Are you a postgrad, ECR, independent scholar, or heritage professional researching any aspect of Midlands history?

We'd love to hear about your work at our New Voices in Midland History Conference on Saturday 6 June at Newark Museum.

CfP details below 👇 deadline 31 March.

Deadline to submit your proposals is 11 January!
#SSHM2026 Histories of health and medicine will explore what ‘in’ & ‘out’ can reveal about the impact of different gateways, routes, breaks, and barriers on people’s experiences of health, disability, illness, and healthcare in the past.
#histmed

📣CfP📣 for @mbsbirmingham.bsky.social 2026 Conference. Closes 31 January.

Procuring a new CMS and data migration for Higher Education archives Join us to hear from speakers about their experiences of procuring new collections management systems and migrating data.

A National Archives event for Higher Education archives to learn more about procuring collections management systems and data migration. Archives from other organisations are welcome to attend.
23 Feb 11:00-12:00 GMT [Online]
#archives #ArchivesWM @uknatarcsector.bsky.social @araukie.bsky.social

Impact seminar - Heritage in action: Digital and community engagement Join us to discover creative and innovate ways of sharing collections with new and existing audiences.

First #ArchivesWM trustee meeting of 2026 making plans for training and a chance to connect with our observers from @araukie.bsky.social and @uknatarcsector.bsky.social who shared
forthcoming events: (1/2)
Heritage in Action: Digital & community engagement
2 Feb 1pm to 2:30pm GMT [Online]
#archives