Dr Claire Kennan is a Medieval Historian, Public Engagement and Research Impact Specialist working in Higher Education.

Claire specialises in the history of Britain between 1300 and 1500, with a particular focus on the social and cultural impact of the Black Death, the pre-Reformation parish, popular piety and medieval guilds. Claire completed her PhD entitled ‘Guilds and Society in Louth, Lincolnshire c. 1450-1550’, under the supervision of Professor Nigel Saul at Royal Holloway, University of London in 2018. She is currently working on her first book and is the series co-editor for Reinterpreting the Middle Ages: From Medieval to Neo (published by Brepols).  Claire’s research has been used for collaborative work with The National Archives (London), the Historical Association, the British Association for Local History and the Prince’s Teaching Institute. Her work has also been featured on the BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, BBC Radio 4 and History Hit.

Claire has taught Medieval History at King’s College London, Royal Holloway, University of London and Bader College, Queen’s University (Canada). In 2019 she was one of the AHRC’s Creative Economy Engagement Fellows at The National Archives (London) and between 2017 and 2020 she was the Medieval Specialist on the £1 million National Lottery Heritage funded Citizens Project. Claire is currently an Associate Research Fellow with the School of Humanities at Royal Holloway, University of London, Project Co-Lead for the £1.5 million AHRC-funded Inclusive Histories project and a Collaborator on the SSHRC-funded Environments of Change project.

Claire’s CV including a full list of her publications is available on request.