Dr Ian Friel
@drianfriel.bsky.social
Independent historian, FSA and FRHistS, specialising in maritime, local and house history, based in UK. Author of five books on maritime history, multiple research papers and house histories. www.ianfriel.co.uk Rep: @donaldwin.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
I have been WAITING for a journalist to write this story.
I specialize in manuscripts produced in England between 1300 and 1500. If this had occurred in the midst of writing my dissertation or first book, it would have exploded my career.
I specialize in manuscripts produced in England between 1300 and 1500. If this had occurred in the midst of writing my dissertation or first book, it would have exploded my career.
I’ve written a piece on the curious lack of media and political interest in the issues faced by our national @britishlibrary.bsky.social. This is strange given we live in a world where ideas, knowledge and research are a long-term source of innovation and insight
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
The British library is in crisis: why does nobody care?
The widespread indifference to the British Library's crippling cyberattack demonstrates a perilous failure to value the knowledge infrastructure vital for national prosperity
www.cityam.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:48 PM
I have been WAITING for a journalist to write this story.
I specialize in manuscripts produced in England between 1300 and 1500. If this had occurred in the midst of writing my dissertation or first book, it would have exploded my career.
I specialize in manuscripts produced in England between 1300 and 1500. If this had occurred in the midst of writing my dissertation or first book, it would have exploded my career.
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
A Hunger-Games-style proposal for solving the Royal Navy's manning problems in 1813:
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/a-plan-for...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/a-plan-for...
A Plan for Manning the Royal Navy, 1813
From the cutting-room floor
evanmwilson.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:34 PM
A Hunger-Games-style proposal for solving the Royal Navy's manning problems in 1813:
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/a-plan-for...
evanmwilson.substack.com/p/a-plan-for...
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
One photo, two worlds — the Día de los Muertos parade at the gates of St. Roch Cemetery, New Orleans.
November 4, 2025 at 12:42 AM
One photo, two worlds — the Día de los Muertos parade at the gates of St. Roch Cemetery, New Orleans.
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
We 🧡 Autumn
📷 Katarzyna Kedziora
📍 Halnaker
📷 Katarzyna Kedziora
📍 Halnaker
November 17, 2025 at 5:00 AM
We 🧡 Autumn
📷 Katarzyna Kedziora
📍 Halnaker
📷 Katarzyna Kedziora
📍 Halnaker
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Shifting sands at Maroubra Beach have revealed the wreck of the HEREWARD once again — a 19th-century iron clipper driven ashore during a fierce storm in May 1898. Though the crew survived, the ship never sailed again, slowly pulled apart by waves and weather.
Object number 00002278
Object number 00002278
November 17, 2025 at 6:36 AM
Shifting sands at Maroubra Beach have revealed the wreck of the HEREWARD once again — a 19th-century iron clipper driven ashore during a fierce storm in May 1898. Though the crew survived, the ship never sailed again, slowly pulled apart by waves and weather.
Object number 00002278
Object number 00002278
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
📢📢📢New book forthcoming in the 'Maritime Humanities, 1400-1800: Cultures of the Sea' book series! Material Culture in the Swedish Navy, c. 1450-1850, edited By Simon Ekström, Niklas Eriksson, Anna Maria Forssberg, Leos Müller will be published 28/4/26 ⚓️⚓️⚓️
routledge.com/Material-Cul...
routledge.com/Material-Cul...
November 17, 2025 at 7:33 AM
📢📢📢New book forthcoming in the 'Maritime Humanities, 1400-1800: Cultures of the Sea' book series! Material Culture in the Swedish Navy, c. 1450-1850, edited By Simon Ekström, Niklas Eriksson, Anna Maria Forssberg, Leos Müller will be published 28/4/26 ⚓️⚓️⚓️
routledge.com/Material-Cul...
routledge.com/Material-Cul...
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Memorial to young musician Matthew Godwin in Exeter Cathedral. Only 17y and 5m old when he died in 1586.
The main keys on the small organ are black, the reverse of modern keyboards, as was usual in the 16th century.
#MonumentsMonday
The main keys on the small organ are black, the reverse of modern keyboards, as was usual in the 16th century.
#MonumentsMonday
November 17, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Memorial to young musician Matthew Godwin in Exeter Cathedral. Only 17y and 5m old when he died in 1586.
The main keys on the small organ are black, the reverse of modern keyboards, as was usual in the 16th century.
#MonumentsMonday
The main keys on the small organ are black, the reverse of modern keyboards, as was usual in the 16th century.
#MonumentsMonday
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
St Mary’s Haddington 🏴 has some remarkable medieval oak timbers in the nave roof. My #dendrochronology work there dated them to the early 1400s and revealed them as Baltic baulks from the Gdansk region.
#MedievalMonday
#MedievalMonday
November 17, 2025 at 8:20 AM
St Mary’s Haddington 🏴 has some remarkable medieval oak timbers in the nave roof. My #dendrochronology work there dated them to the early 1400s and revealed them as Baltic baulks from the Gdansk region.
#MedievalMonday
#MedievalMonday
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
#ArtDD2025
St Mary's, Tal-y-Llyn, Anglesey
Tal-y-Llyn has disappeared, but its church was saved by @friendlesschurches.bsky.social in 1999 & is open to all.
Yes, I've done this one before😀
@saocousins.bsky.social @holnicotenh.bsky.social @stevecobbin.bsky.social @andykaitken.bsky.social
St Mary's, Tal-y-Llyn, Anglesey
Tal-y-Llyn has disappeared, but its church was saved by @friendlesschurches.bsky.social in 1999 & is open to all.
Yes, I've done this one before😀
@saocousins.bsky.social @holnicotenh.bsky.social @stevecobbin.bsky.social @andykaitken.bsky.social
November 16, 2025 at 7:48 PM
#ArtDD2025
St Mary's, Tal-y-Llyn, Anglesey
Tal-y-Llyn has disappeared, but its church was saved by @friendlesschurches.bsky.social in 1999 & is open to all.
Yes, I've done this one before😀
@saocousins.bsky.social @holnicotenh.bsky.social @stevecobbin.bsky.social @andykaitken.bsky.social
St Mary's, Tal-y-Llyn, Anglesey
Tal-y-Llyn has disappeared, but its church was saved by @friendlesschurches.bsky.social in 1999 & is open to all.
Yes, I've done this one before😀
@saocousins.bsky.social @holnicotenh.bsky.social @stevecobbin.bsky.social @andykaitken.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
The MS of the Week is on display in the Reading Room of the Library this week from 10.00-13.00 and 14.00-16.30 Monday - Friday. No appointment or reader’s ticket is required to view the MS of the Week.
November 17, 2025 at 9:34 AM
The MS of the Week is on display in the Reading Room of the Library this week from 10.00-13.00 and 14.00-16.30 Monday - Friday. No appointment or reader’s ticket is required to view the MS of the Week.
Well preserved wooden shipwreck found 100m down in Lake Ontario - even the masts are standing. It is thought it may date the c 1800-1850 period:
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
A 19th-century shipwreck near Toronto emerges almost untouched by time | CBC News
An exploration dive team seeking the century-old wreck of the Rapid City has instead found a much rarer prize: a virtually undisturbed vessel, potentially dating back to the first half of the 19th cen...
www.cbc.ca
November 16, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Well preserved wooden shipwreck found 100m down in Lake Ontario - even the masts are standing. It is thought it may date the c 1800-1850 period:
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
🚨Our BBC is under attack 🚨 We can't let those that want to see it torn up & replaced by the likes of GBNews or Fox win. Sign the open letter now to demand the new BBC boss is someone that will protect the BBC, not let its enemies tear it down: 38d.gs/2sa8
Sign the petition: save our BBC: don't let the likes of Trump and his UK cronies meddle with our public broadcaster
🚨Our BBC is under attack 🚨 We can't let those that want to see it torn up & replaced by the likes of GBNews or Fox win. Sign the open letter now to demand the new BBC boss is someone that will protect...
38d.gs
November 15, 2025 at 3:26 PM
🚨Our BBC is under attack 🚨 We can't let those that want to see it torn up & replaced by the likes of GBNews or Fox win. Sign the open letter now to demand the new BBC boss is someone that will protect the BBC, not let its enemies tear it down: 38d.gs/2sa8
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Assistance requested: came across reference to 'English East Indian ship' brought 'a peice [sic] of Lywaet, which is very good' to Cormontine, 23 October 1658 (n.s.). 'Lywaet' (translator's spelling) is unknown to me. Many thanks in advance for any and all advice #earlymodern #maritimehistory
November 13, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Assistance requested: came across reference to 'English East Indian ship' brought 'a peice [sic] of Lywaet, which is very good' to Cormontine, 23 October 1658 (n.s.). 'Lywaet' (translator's spelling) is unknown to me. Many thanks in advance for any and all advice #earlymodern #maritimehistory
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
November 14, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Lead ingot stamped with the name and titles of #Roman emperor Domitian, found in 1735 on Heyshaw Moor #NorthYorkshire and now in the excellent Craven Museum #Skipton
Made in AD 81, *BRIG* on the side records it was mined and taken from the land of the #Brigantes
📷 Aug 2022
#FindsFriday
Made in AD 81, *BRIG* on the side records it was mined and taken from the land of the #Brigantes
📷 Aug 2022
#FindsFriday
November 14, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Lead ingot stamped with the name and titles of #Roman emperor Domitian, found in 1735 on Heyshaw Moor #NorthYorkshire and now in the excellent Craven Museum #Skipton
Made in AD 81, *BRIG* on the side records it was mined and taken from the land of the #Brigantes
📷 Aug 2022
#FindsFriday
Made in AD 81, *BRIG* on the side records it was mined and taken from the land of the #Brigantes
📷 Aug 2022
#FindsFriday
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
It looks like an ancient dance floor, aching for lights and .music, the swish of silk and perfume and flirting again
November 12, 2025 at 7:30 PM
It looks like an ancient dance floor, aching for lights and .music, the swish of silk and perfume and flirting again
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Today is #RLSDay which marks the birthday of the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson who would have been 175 today.
It's also a good day to remember that it is NOT actually his birthday because in 1891 he gave it away to a young girl because she didn't like her birthday. 🧵
It's also a good day to remember that it is NOT actually his birthday because in 1891 he gave it away to a young girl because she didn't like her birthday. 🧵
November 13, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Today is #RLSDay which marks the birthday of the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson who would have been 175 today.
It's also a good day to remember that it is NOT actually his birthday because in 1891 he gave it away to a young girl because she didn't like her birthday. 🧵
It's also a good day to remember that it is NOT actually his birthday because in 1891 he gave it away to a young girl because she didn't like her birthday. 🧵
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
During a recent russian-caused blackout in #Kyiv, Flamenco dancers kept on dancing
Even amidst war and energy terror life goes on.
📹 United24
Even amidst war and energy terror life goes on.
📹 United24
November 12, 2025 at 7:48 PM
During a recent russian-caused blackout in #Kyiv, Flamenco dancers kept on dancing
Even amidst war and energy terror life goes on.
📹 United24
Even amidst war and energy terror life goes on.
📹 United24
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Keen to explore maritime environments and histories without going to sea? The Royal Museums Greenwich Caird Fellowship deadline is 18 January 2026.
Fellowships at Royal Museums Greenwich
Apply for funding to support research at Royal Museums Greenwich through our Caird Research Fellowships
www.rmg.co.uk
November 12, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Keen to explore maritime environments and histories without going to sea? The Royal Museums Greenwich Caird Fellowship deadline is 18 January 2026.
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Nautical types! How big would an 18-20 ton ship have been in the late 16th century? It was to carry 16 cannons so I imagine big-ish?
November 12, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Nautical types! How big would an 18-20 ton ship have been in the late 16th century? It was to carry 16 cannons so I imagine big-ish?
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Nautical types! How big would an 18-20 ton ship have been in the late 16th century? It was to carry 16 cannons so I imagine big-ish?
November 12, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
There is still time to apply for one of our 50+ Visiting Fellowships @bodleian.ox.ac.uk for the 2026-27 academic year! A vibrant interdisciplinary research centre in the heart of one of the world’s great libraries!
VISITING FELLOWSHIPS: Applications are now open for 2026-27!
The deadline for applications is Friday 28 November 2025.
For more information on how to apply: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowships/bodleian-visiting-fellowships
The deadline for applications is Friday 28 November 2025.
For more information on how to apply: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowships/bodleian-visiting-fellowships
November 12, 2025 at 4:22 PM
There is still time to apply for one of our 50+ Visiting Fellowships @bodleian.ox.ac.uk for the 2026-27 academic year! A vibrant interdisciplinary research centre in the heart of one of the world’s great libraries!
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
When the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, tumbled to the seafloor, it was lost for some 500 years.
https://archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/collection/lighthouse-of-alexandria/secrets-of-the-seven-wonders/
https://archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/collection/lighthouse-of-alexandria/secrets-of-the-seven-wonders/
November 12, 2025 at 4:12 PM
When the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, tumbled to the seafloor, it was lost for some 500 years.
https://archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/collection/lighthouse-of-alexandria/secrets-of-the-seven-wonders/
https://archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/collection/lighthouse-of-alexandria/secrets-of-the-seven-wonders/
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
Honestly, I think I could do a better job running Downing St communications and the BBC as a job share. Am available.
November 12, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Honestly, I think I could do a better job running Downing St communications and the BBC as a job share. Am available.