My academic background is primarily concerned with agrarian history, with an emphasis on developing post-medieval livestock stockbreeding techniques and livestock management practices, as well as how these changes shaped our agricultural histories, geographical variation and various connected industries. I hold a First-Class Honours in Archaeology from the University of York, however my research to-date has often crossed several academic disciplines, combining economic history, archaeology, legal history and geography. Upon completion, I undertook a fully funded Masters (by research) at the University of York continuing previous research though with an emphasis on the effects on the post-medieval parchment industry. This project supported the work of several colleagues within the Palaeome group working on hDNA studies of historic parchment samples. The combination of these projects has brought me to the University of Cambridge, after being awarded the Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC DTP-funded Collaborative Doctoral Award, in partnership with the Museum of Leathercraft, to study the English leather industry during the long nineteenth century.