Staff profile

My research explores the world and works of the twelfth century Anglo-Latin author, Lawrence of Durham (d.1154), a monk, Cantor, and eventual Prior of Durham Cathedral. Though he is now little known, Lawrence produced a varied and substantial body of work comprising biblical epic, prosimetrum, and verse dialogue – works which are extant in over twenty manuscripts today. I am primarily interested in situating Lawrence's writings within traditions of classical reception and intellectual history. I am also interested in the early architectural history of Durham Castle. My project is funded by a Durham Doctoral Studentship from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

Read more about my research and Lawrence's writing on friendship here: International Day of Friendship 2024

I am a Teaching Assistant on the undergraduate module 'Ancient Worlds and English Literature', and the Medieval and Early Modern Student Association (MEMSA) Co-Chair for 2024/5. I am a part of the AHRC funded research network 'Hidden Heritage, Multi-Disciplinary and Multi-Sector Perspectives on the Norman Chapel in Durham Castle'. I am a tour guide at Durham Castle.

Prior to my PhD, I studied at Durham for both the BA in English Studies (2016-19) and the MA in Medieval and Renaissance Literary Studies (2020-21). My postgraduate research explored the political use of the Christus Victor motif in literature of the later Roman and Carolingian empires, focusing particularly on the depiction of Constantine and Charlemagne, and the depiction of Christ in the Gospel of Nicodemus and Psalm 91. In between my respective degrees I worked as a Junior Common Room President for Josephine Butler College (2019-20) and within the Department of English and Related Literature at the University of York as a Postgraduate Administrator (2021-22). I am originally from Guernsey in the Channel Islands.

Conference Papers / Public Engagement

• ‘A Tale of Two Castles: Architectural Ekphrasis in Lawrence of Durham’s Dialogi’, Leeds International Medieval Congress, Leeds University, July 2025.
• ‘Hidden History of Durham Castle’, specialist tours co-led with Eric Cambridge. Guided by the poetry of Lawrence of Durham (d. 1154) explore the early history of Durham Castle and its surviving Romanesque features. January, March, April 2025.
• 'Remembering and Commemorating Landscape: Lawrence of Durham’s Urban Eulogy', Memory in the Medieval and Early Modern Worlds, MEMSA Community Course, University of Durham, May 2025.
• Inaugural Academic Scholars’ Dinner Address, Barnard Castle School, April 2025.
• 'Lawrence of Durham’s Dialogi and the Architectural History of the Peninsula (c. 1143)', University of the Third Age (U3A), Sacriston Group, February 2025, and Meadowfield Group, July 2025.
• 'Lawrence of Durham and the Dialogi', Hidden Heritage, Multi-Disciplinary and Multi-Sector Perspectives on the Norman Chapel in Durham Castle, University College, November 2024.
• 'The Cumin Crisis in Lawrence of Durham’s Dialogi: The Political Pastoral', Leeds International Medieval Congress, Leeds University, July 2024.
• 'Medieval Durham or a New Rome?: The Durham Peninsula and the Classical World', The Northeast and the World: Recentring Peripheries in the Medieval and Early Modern, MEMSA Community Course, University of Durham, May 2024.
• 'Lawrence of Durham's Dialogi: Durham Castle 1141–43', Freshers Lecture, University College, University of Durham, September 2023.
• 'Lawrence of Durham: The Boundaries Between Court and Cloister', Status, Rank, or Office?: Social Boundaries in England c. 900 – 1200, St John's College, University of Durham, July 2023.