News
May 2025
Two research posts in the history of 17th-century London
The Historic Towns Trust and Professor Vanessa Harding are seeking to recruit two part-time freelance researchers, at doctoral or postdoctoral level, to contribute to their project to create a map and atlas of London on the Eve of the Great Fire of 1666. This ambitious project seeks to reconstruct the plan, layout, street-names and features of metropolitan London in 1666, creating a cartographically-accurate map at 1:2500 supported by a gazetteer or directory of the places named on the map. ‘London on the Eve of the Great Fire’ will be published in the Trust’s new bound atlas format, with introduction, illustrations, and subsidiary maps. Though somewhat different in appearance, the atlas will be a successor to the Trust’s two historical maps of Medieval London c. 1270-1300, and Tudor London c. 1520,published in its Town and City Historical Maps Series in 2019 and 2018 respectively.Both RAs will need an interest in and enthusiasm for maps and historical mapping. RA1 will work principally on the gazetteer, using contemporary documentary sources, printed primary and secondary works, and some visual and cartographic sources; they will need to be familiar with and expert and accurate at working with 17th-century sources. RA2 will compile and collate the archaeological and other evidence for 17th-century London’s built environment, using printed works, archaeological reports, and ‘grey’ literature in archaeological archives where possible; familiarity with this kind of source is important. Both will work closely with Vanessa Harding and with the Trust’s Cartographic Editor, Giles Darkes. As well as collecting data, both RAs will need to be able to organise information, using Excel or other appropriate software, to summarise and communicate it, and where appropriate to check its representation in the atlas. The project as a whole is being funded by donations from private individuals and organisations, including a major grant from the London Topographical Society, but the two research posts are funded respectively by grants from the British Academy and the City of London Archaeological Trust. The funding will cover up to 280 hours (RA1) and up to 400 hours (RA2) of work at £28/hour, and some associated expenses, including necessary travel outside central London. Both RAs will work freelance, as contractors to the Historic Towns Trust. They will ideally be based in or near London, for ease of access to meetings and to archives and repositories. Individual work patterns can be flexible, but the majority of the work must be completed within the calendar year to December 2025.
If you are interested in either post (or in both), please contact Vanessa Harding: v.harding@bbk.ac.uk, for further particulars. To apply for the posts, please submit a. a letter outlining your qualifications and interest, and b. a short cv including the names of two possible referees.Please send these as two separate pdf attachments (including your name in each filename) to an email to v.harding @bbk.ac.uk, by 1 June 2025. Individual candidates may be invited for an informal interview (in person or online) after that date, and it is hoped the appointed candidates will be able to start work by July.
Royal Mint site: Chinese Embassy archaeology
Part of a wall and a doorway in the ruins of St Mary Graces Abbey, in the present basement at the Mint
The proposed Chinese Embassy at the Royal Mint, East Smithfield
The Chinese government proposes to relocate its embassy in the buildings of the Royal Mint, currently empty, north-east of the Tower of London. The design of the new complex, which includes several Listed Buildings and structures, is by architect David Chipperfield. A first proposal was refused planning permission by the local authority, Tower Hamlets, in 2022. Chipperfield has now submitted a second application which is exactly the same as the first. This has been called in by the Secretary of State Angela Rayner. There will now be a Public Enquiry about the project in 2025.
CoLAT has concerns about the future display and public access in the present basement of fragments of walls from St Mary Graces Abbey, extensively found on the site during excavations of the 1980s. Here is a note describing the site and the setting of the fragments:
| Title | File Type | File Size |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese Embassy note by CoLAT 0 |
481 KB | |
| 0 |
Welcome to the CoLAT website
The City of London Archaeological Trust (CoLAT) is a charity whose purpose is to support and initiate archaeological work in the City of London and its environs.
The Trust supports all kinds of archaeological work and the exhibition of archaeological sites. We prefer to concentrate on education and research, especially publication, within or in addition to existing research frameworks; but assistance with survey and excavation projects may be requested.
Many of the projects supported by CoLAT are large multi-stage research and publication projects which require additional funding for completion. We welcome donations from individuals and organisations who want to contribute to the archaeological and historical study of London.
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