Public engagement
The INS and EPNS have a long tradition of public engagement and knowledge exchange, and members of the INS frequently share their research at public outreach events across the country, giving talks to local societies, conducting public lectures and organising study days.
Engaging with volunteers
Over the years, the contributions of volunteers has been fundamental to the work of the Survey of English Place-Names.
The editors of the survey of Cumberland expressly thanked the staff and pupils of ten local schools who had helped to collect place-name material during the 1940s; and the survey of Shropshire might never have started at all had it not been for the insistence of residents inspired by Margaret Gelling’s public lectures in the late 1950s and early 1960s. This collaborative work continues across the country, including Stafford and Lichfield where, since 2017, volunteers have been collecting minor and field-name forms to help restart the survey of Staffordshire.
Two of our current postgraduate students, Joshua Neal and Jessica Treacher, have participated in the volunteering activities at Staffordshire Record Office through generous University support and an M4C placement.
Media engagement
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Paul Cavill - interview on place-names: Talk Radio, 23.11.2018.
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Paul Cavill - interview on place-names: BBC Three Counties Radio, 27.2.19.
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John Baker and Jayne Carroll - interview for Eric Smith and Clare Ashford morning show on BBC Radio Shropshire, 22 July 2019.
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Paul Cavill - material on place-names provided for Nottingham Post online.
Exhibitions and schools
In 2016, we organised a travelling exhibition at Oswestry, Ludlow and Shrewsbury. We also teach children about place-names at the Vikings / Anglo-Saxons for Schools events organised by the Centre for the Study of the Viking Age, and are currently working with schoolteachers and other educators in Shropshire, using our place-name research to develop a range of learning resources for children at Key Stage 2.
For more information:
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