Where are you from? I’m from Congleton (an old mill and farming town), and I’m based there still.
What is the subject of your doctoral research project? My working title is "Hidden Pillars of Power: Women, Property, Influence, and Legacy in the Country Estates of Cheshire and North-East Wales, 1600–1800".
What are your main research interests? Gender and historiography; country house historiography; women's roles in country house estates; heritage interpretation and public history; Cheshire and north Wales; and the period of 1600–1800.
Tell us about your career so far and what led you to ISWE and your doctoral research project? I studied History, Archaeology, and Heritage for my BA & History for my MA. In terms of professional experience, I spent 10 years with The National Trust; 3 years of consultancy with Macclesfield Council on public history events; and 3 years (and currently) as a collections worker and tour guide at Macclesfield Silk Museum and Paradise Mill. I joined ISWE in September 2024.
What is your favourite thing about ISWE and being a doctoral researcher? My favourite thing about ISWE is being a part of such an awesome team, and that team having such an awesome mission of recovering lost Welsh voices and stories.
What is your proudest achievement since joining ISWE? Recovering and sharing the names, stories, and achievements of women who have been lost or previously under-represented women – especially as some of these achievements falsely attributed to others or had been forgotten.
What is your favourite historical period and why? The period 1600–1800 is especially fascinating to study because it marks a transformative era in British history, when political upheavals (like the Civil War and Glorious Revolution), social change, and evolving ideologies about gender, family, and property reshaped the structures of power and domestic life—especially within the country house. It saw the rise of estate culture, growing emphasis on improvement and refinement, and the increasing visibility (and sometimes invisibility) of women’s roles in managing wealth, kinship, and influence.
Your favourite place in Wales? I’m going to be greedy and say the Llŷn Peninsula, so many happy days there from childhood holidays to my first ever archaeological dig.
Can you recommend any books, TV shows, podcasts, blogs that you have enjoyed recently? Podcasts: Betwixt the Sheets, Bridgewater, The Curious History of Your Home, English Heritage, and Podlediad Penrhyn. Books: I’ve recently re-read The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, Nightwatch by Terry Pratchett, and The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. I’ve recently discovered Red by Jacky Colliss Harvey, and A Culture of Curiosity: Scientific Enquiry in the Eighteenth-Century Home by Leonie Hannan.
What are your hobbies or favourite extracurricular activities? Have you got any other interesting projects on the go? I love gardening, reading, and spending time in nature. I’m currently working with my museum to highlight the women who made Macclesfield (aka Women’s Town), and bring their stories to life.
Contact Daisy:
dsh22ssz@bangor.ac.uk
