Placement Opportunities Available

Below you can find all the recent placement opportunities currently available to LAHP students.

To apply, please follow the application guidelines noted in each opportunity.

If you apply directly to a placement host and are successful, please notify lahp@ucl.ac.uk

  • Placement Opportunity with the National Trust

    Organisation name: The National Trust

    Organisation’s website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk

    Location of placement: Remote, plus site visits to Barras Nose, Tintagel Old Post Office and relevant institutional archives by mutual agreement.

    Timeframe: 3 months’ duration, commencing 7 December 2026, completing 12 March 2027.

    To apply: To apply, please send a CV and 300-word statement of interest explaining how and why you feel you can deliver on this placement to lahp@ucl.ac.uk copying in North.Cornwall@nationaltrust.org.uk, by 5pm on 19 October 2026. We may conduct informal online interviews on the morning of 20 October 2026 to help us with the selection process.

    One full-time placement opportunity is available. Unfortunately, due to the timescales involved, it is not possible to undertake this placement on a part-time basis.

    Everyone is welcome at the National Trust. If you have access needs and would like to discuss them confidentially with us before applying, please email North.Cornwall@nationaltrust.org.uk 

     

    Placement Description

    ‘Awakened to their preservation as a national duty’[1]; heritage conservation, activism and community in Tintagel 1890 – 1925

    Below we have provided an overview of the aims and outputs of this placement, and our selection process. This overview should be read in conjunction with the attached research brief which contains the full details of the placement requirements.

    Background

    The Cornish coast around Tintagel is the site of two of the National Trust’s earliest acquisitions (Barras Nose and Tintagel Old Post Office ‘TOPO’). This full-time, three-month research placement is designed to support the scoping, development and delivery of forthcoming anniversary programming by supplying the necessary research to underpin public benefit for local communities and visitors.

    For the first time, this project will identify, analyse and synthesise into one fully referenced discussion the surviving evidence for the acquisition of Barras Nose and TOPO. It will unravel these acquisitions and situate them into local, regional and national contexts. In so doing, it will enable the NT to accurately and holistically share the story of the sites’ acquisition and their place in the national story of conservation and community.

    The NT’s new People and Nature Thriving strategy calls for a return to our origins as an organisation that we can ‘inspire millions’ to care for nature and beauty. To do this, we need to better understand and advocate for our own history of natural and cultural heritage activism. This project seeks to build that understanding.

    Research placement

    In the late 19th century, a combination of the coming of the railways and an explosion of interest in the legend of King Arthur, almost swept away Tintagel Old Post Office, which has stood for 700 years on the village’s main road. As the infrastructure of hotels, boarding houses, inns and shops grew to accommodate a rising tide of visitors, so too did pressure on the existing vernacular buildings in the village and its surrounding land.

    In 1895, coastal headland known as ‘Barras Nose’ overlooking Tintagel Castle went up for sale and was purchased at auction by a local landowner, determined to protect it from development. That same autumn, the TOPO was auctioned and likewise ‘saved’ by a single woman, new to the village. Both sites were subsequently sold to the newly minted National Trust.

    This placement seeks to broaden and deepen the NT’s contextual understanding of these early acquisitions of Barras Nose and TOPO into its care. In so doing, it will provide the basis from which public programming can be created.

    Application of this research

    This placement will provide the research foundation from which the NT team will develop interpretive content for the acquisition anniversaries of Barras Nose (2027) and TOPO (2028) respectively. The format of these public celebrations is to be confirmed, but is likely to include interpretation at the sites, and some public events/talk/tours as part of our strategic aim to ‘inspire millions’ to care for nature and beauty.

    Aims

    This placement will identify, analyse and synthesise into one fully referenced discussion the surviving evidence for the acquisition of Barras Nose and TOPO.

    It will consider the individuals involved in these acquisitions, including their biographies, motivations and networks, such that a solid context for each acquisition event can be understood.

    It will also unravel the acquisitions and situate them into local, regional and national contexts. In so doing, it will enable the NT to accurately and holistically share the story of the sites’ acquisition and their place in the national story of conservation and community.

    Outputs

    It is envisaged that the outputs of this placement will take the form of:

    • Written report with full references and bibliography, to include an appended timeline of key events.
    • List of key assets that could help the NT share these stories in future eg: objects, images, archives, quotations.
    • Suggestions for follow up research questions and potential further sources of information.
    • Download Sessions (1 hour, online, x 2 minimum) to ensure NT staff and volunteers can understand and use the research content in their work.

    There is also potential to:

    • Share your findings with our staff, volunteers and visitors by giving talks
    • Share your findings with our curatorial team through our internal webinar series

    Supervision

    The student will be supported by a team of National Trust staff comprised of colleagues from the Property Team and Regional Strategic Delivery Team.

    Selection criteria for placements

    Essential:

    • Demonstrable interest in the heritage sector.
    • Demonstrable understanding of and experience in the topics and methodologies required.
    • Ability and willingness to travel to North Cornwall and/or relevant archives. You will be required to apply for travel and accommodation expenses from your DTP.
    • Ability to author a fully referenced, comprehensive research report in English with minimal supervision.
    • Strong teamwork and collaboration skills.
    • Ability and willingness to respond positively to feedback on work and make appropriate changes.
    • Ability to self-organise, work at pace and meet deadlines consistently.
    • Willingness to try something new, adapt quickly to a new organisation and new ways of working, and learn from industry professionals.

    Desirable:

    • Familiarity with and understanding of the National Trust, its work and organisational aims.
    • Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team to enable effective work with curators and other heritage professionals.
    • Experience of creating interpretation in heritage settings.
    • Experience of working alongside communities in the exploration of cultural or natural heritage

    Contact

    If you have questions about this opportunity please contact Emma Philip, Cultural Heritage Curator: emma.philip@nationaltrust.org.uk

    [1] Mr James Bryce MP, as quoted in ‘The National Trust. Barras Point Saved.’ London Daily Chronicle, 10 July 1897, p.8.

     

     

  • Traces of Resilience at West Horsley Place

    Project: Traces of Resilience

    Organisation: West Horsley Place

    Website: Home | West Horsley Place

     

    Duration: 3 months full time or an extended duration part time

    Timing: Timeline to be agreed in consultation with the project team.

    Location: Hybrid (remote working with occasional on-site/archive research, subject to access requirements).

    To Apply: To apply please send a CV and a 500-word statement outlining relevant skills and research interests to jo.ellison@westhorsleyplace.org. by the closing date of Friday 30 October 2026.

     

    Project Description:

    An exciting opportunity has arisen for an AHRC-funded doctoral researcher to undertake a placement exploring historical representation and disability history at West Horsley Place, a Grade I listed medieval manor house and small, dynamic heritage site.

    As the placement holder, you will contribute to Traces of Resilience, a live heritage research and engagement project led by the West Horsley Place Access Panel. The project seeks to identify, contextualise, and critically interpret the lives of disabled individuals connected to West Horsley Place and its surrounding locality. It responds to long-standing gaps in historical representation and aims to embed disability history within the public interpretation of the site through a co-produced exhibition and associated creative engagement.

    The project is underpinned by current scholarship in disability history and critical heritage studies, particularly approaches that interrogate archival absence, historic terminology, and the ethics of representation.

     

    Placement holder:

    Responding to a research brief, you will conduct targeted archival and contextual research to inform the intellectual framework of the project and provide a rigorous evidential basis for subsequent community co-production.

    This placement is intended to support high-quality, critical research rather than exhaustive archival completion, and explicitly recognises the interpretive significance of silences and absences within the historical record. You will gain the opportunity to see how research informs heritage practice in real time.

     

    What you will do:

    • Undertake desk-based and archival research relating to disabled individuals connected to West Horsley Place and its locality
    • Analyse historic sources with attention to changing language, attitudes, and frameworks of disability
    • Identify key case studies, themes, and interpretive questions emerging from the research
    • Critically document gaps, silences, and ambiguities within the archive where relevant
    • Produce a written research report and annotated bibliography suitable for use by heritage professionals and community partners
    • Contribute to the early interpretive framing of a public exhibition and engagement programme
    • Engage in regular project meetings (online and in person) with the project team to ensure research findings fulfil the needs of the on-site team.
    • Participate in and share findings through an end-of-project workshop with academics and sector professionals.
    • Participate in a knowledge exchange workshop with Access panel members and representatives from disability charities with the purpose of translating academic findings into accessible, community related themes.

     

    What you will gain:

    • Bespoke experience of conducting research to meet heritage sector need.
    • First-hand understanding of how academic research informs heritage interpretation and practice.
    • An opportunity to grow your networks across the academic and heritage sectors.
    • A direct role in shaping interpretation, programming and practice at a dynamic and forward-thinking heritage site.
    • On the ground experience of co-producing research-led outputs with input from diverse stakeholders.

     

    Person Specification

    Essential

    • Have experience of conducting research to a high standard.
    • Strong communication skills and experience
    • An understanding of the use of research in historical sites for diverse audiences.

    Desirable

    • Research interest or publications relating to disability history
    • Experience working with heritage organisations, museums, or public history projects
    • Lived experience of disability
    • Have an interest in working with or in the heritage sector.

    We particularly welcome applications from disabled academics and researchers from underrepresented backgrounds, in line with the project’s values and aims.

     

    Access and Working Arrangements

    The commissioning body is committed to inclusive research practice and is open to discussing reasonable adjustments, flexible working patterns, and alternative approaches to research and reporting.

     

    Application Process

    Please direct any questions about the role to Jo Ellison, Arts, Heritage and Learning Coordinator at West Horsley Place Trust jo.ellison@westhorsleyplace.org

    To apply please send a CV and a 500-word statement outlining relevant skills and research interests to jo.ellison@westhorsleyplace.org.

     

    Closing date: Friday 30 October 2026

    Interviews: Online interviews will take place during the week commencing 9 November 2026.

     

    Please note that if successful in your application, you will need to complete the LAHP Placement Scheme application and approval process.

     

  • Placements at The National Archives

    Call for applications

    Applications for The National Archives’ student placements are currently open, with six projects available within various departments at The National Archives.

    All student placements at The National Archives enable students to:

    1. Gain industry-specific knowledge and skills for working in a variety of roles across the research, government, cultural and heritage sectors.
    2. Build professional connections across the organisation and an understanding of the variety of roles at The National Archives.
    3. Create an output which showcases the work undertaken as part of their placement at The National Archives and which demonstrates the knowledge and skills the student has developed and applied during their time on the placement.

    Placements are offered on a full- or part-time basis. Placements are between one and three months in length, but will all be a maximum of 20 working days (e.g. one month full-time or two-to-three months part-time).

    Eligibility

    Currently, our student placements are only open to master’s and doctoral students with the right to work in the UK, and those who are fully funded and whose funding includes a specific allowance for placements.

    Some of our student placements projects are open to both master’s and doctoral students, whilst others are open to only master’s students or only doctoral students. Please refer to the information provided for specific projects to check your eligibility.

    Find out more about the student placement projects available and application process here

    Application deadlines for each project will be listed on The National Archives webpage.

  • Royal College of Physicians – Recording the 20th century library

    The project intends to make the provenance information in an early-20th century accessions register accessible today. It can be completed remotely, and would fall into three parts, which can run concurrently:

    1. Transcribing the handwritten ledger entries in summary. They record the author, title and date of the book, and details of who donated it or where we bought it, and when we acquired it. Most of this data hasn’t previously been included in our main library catalogue.
    2. Matching the entries to books in the library catalogue today, and updating the catalogue entry with the provenance info.
    3. Researching interesting or major donations – who gave the books, what books were given – and writing that up for library website and social media channels.

    Start & end date of placement: Ad hoc placements to be agreed with the student.

    Hours of work: Negotiable, part-time preferred

    Essential criteria: Ability to read or to learn to read early 20th century handwriting.

    Deadline: No specific deadline, placements are available throughout the academic year.

    To apply, please complete the expression of interest and return it to lahp@ucl.ac.uk 

    For further details, please contact Katie Birkwood (Rare books and special collections Librarian) katie.birkwood@rcp.ac.uk

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