Dr Hugh Willmott
BA Hons., MA, PhD (Dunelm), FSA, MCIfA
School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities
Senior Lecturer in European Historical Archaeology
Archaeological Advisor to the Diocese of Sheffield
+44114 222 2940
Full contact details
School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities
C09
Minalloy House
10-16 Regent Street
Sheffield
S1 3NJ
- Profile
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I studied medieval and early modern archaeology at the University of Durham, completing my PhD in 1999. After a brief period working in commercial archaeology, I was appointed a lecturer in archaeology at Sheffield in 2004 and promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2010.
My research interests lie in the medieval and early modern periods and the archaeology of monasticism. Fieldwork is at the core of my work and I have directed a number of notable research and student training excavations: West Halton (2003-9), Monk Bretton Priory (2010), Thornton Abbey (2011-16), Little Carlton (2016-17), Scremby (2017-19), Crowland (2022-23) and Cerne Abbey (2023-present).
- Qualifications
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PhD
MA (by research) Archaeology
BA (Hons) Archaeology
- Research interests
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A key focus of my recent work has been the archaeology of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Between 2011-16 I undertook a major survey and excavation project centred on the well-preserved monastic enclosure at Thornton Abbey, Lincolnshire, a site converted into an early modern estate by several successive families of wealthy landowners. I recently published a book on the The Dissolution of the Monasteries in England and Wales which was the first-ever comprehensive archaeological treatment of the topic. This work was shortlisted for Book of the Year in the 2022 Current Archaeology Awards.
I have also undertaken extensive excavation on early Christian settlements in England. I led the survey and excavation of the Anglo-Saxon marshland settlement at Little Carlton, Lincolnshire. This research identified Little Carlton as a nationally important, high-status, early Christian site occupied between c. AD 650-780 and the project was shortlisted as Research Project of the Year in the 2017 Current Archaeology Awards. I also co-directed excavations with Dr Duncan Wright (Newcastle University) at Crowland, Lincolnshire, the location of the hermitage founded by St Guthlac in AD 699. With Prof. Kate Welham (Bournemouth University), I have also published the Saxon glass working evidence from Raleigh Radford's 1950s excavations at Glastonbury Abbey.
My fieldwork has sometimes also resulted in some expected discoveries. My excavations at Thornton Abbey revealed the remains of a Black Death mass grave, which was the first to have been found in a rural setting and one of less than half a dozen known nationally. In 2018, I undertook a rescue excavation, on behalf of Historic England, of an early Bronze Age log coffin burial at Tetney, Lincolnshire, and subsequently led the research and publication of this exceptional burial.My current fieldwork, in collaboration with Dr Helen Gittos (University of Oxford) is a multidisciplinary landscape and excavation project focusing on the Anglo-Saxon and later medieval monastery at Cerne Abbas, Dorset.
- Publications
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Books
- The Dissolution of the Monasteries in England and Wales. Sheffield: Equinox Publishing Ltd..
Journal articles
- Raman spectroscopy detects bone mineral changes with aging in archaeological human lumbar vertebrae from Thornton Abbey. Applied Spectroscopy. View this article in WRRO
- From Roman table to Anglo-Saxon grave: an archaeological biography of the Scremby cup. European Journal of Archaeology. View this article in WRRO
- Sacred landscapes and deep time: mobility, memory and monasticism on Crowland. Journal of Field Archaeology. View this article in WRRO
- Anglo-Saxon ivory: exploring exotic artefacts from Scremby’s early medieval cemetery. Current Archaeology, 399.
- Ivory from early Anglo-Saxon burials in Lincolnshire – A biomolecular study. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 49. View this article in WRRO
- Re-evaluating the landscape of early ecclesiastical foundation in the Kingdom of Lindsey. Church Archaeology, 21, 33-52.
- Buried in the Bronze Age: unearthing a rare log coffin in Lincolnshire. Current Archaeology, 380.
- ‘Among his fellows cast’ : a histotaphonomic investigation into the impact of the Black Death in England. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 39. View this article in WRRO
- Rethinking early medieval 'productive sites' : wealth, trade and tradition at Little Carlton, East Lindsey. Antiquaries Journal, 101, 181-212. View this article in WRRO
- Conference Abstracts: Winter Meeting of the Anatomical Society, Lancaster 2019. Journal of Anatomy, 238(1), 185-212.
- A Black Death mass grave at Thornton Abbey: the discovery and examination of a 14th-century rural catastrophe. Antiquity, 94(373), 179-196. View this article in WRRO
- Glaziers and the removal, recycling, and replacement of windows during the Reformation in England. Church Archaeology, 19, 45-52. View this article in WRRO
- Of saints, sows or smiths? Copper-brazed iron handbells in Early Medieval England. Archaeological Journal, 177(1), 336-355. View this article in WRRO
- Excavations at the Priory of St. Mary Magdalene of Lund, Monk Bretton. Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, 88(1), 121-150. View this article in WRRO
- Glastonbury Abbey: Archaeological Investigations 1904–79.
Chapters
- The other finds, A Vanishing Landscape: Archaeological Investigations at Blakeney Eye, Norfolk (pp. 206-207).
- Cooking, Dining and Drinking In Gerrard C & Gutierrez A (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Later Medieval Archaeology OUP View this article in WRRO
- 13 Table Glass in the West Country Home, c. 1500–1700, West Country Households, 1500-1700 (pp. 321-338). Boydell and Brewer
- Saxon Glass Furnaces In Gilchrist R & Greene C (Ed.), Glastonbury Abbey: archaeological investigations 1904-79 (pp. 218-238). London: Society of Antiquaries of London. View this article in WRRO
- Table glass in the West Country home, c. 1500-1700 In Allan J, Alcock N & Dawson D (Ed.), West Country Households, 1500-1700 (pp. 321-338). Woodbridge: Boydell Press. View this article in WRRO
Conference proceedings papers
- The Neolithic Reorganization: A Preliminary Synthesis of Paleodemography from Neolithic Age to Iron Age in Northern China. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Vol. 183 (pp 167-167)
- Using lasers to investigate the chemistry of archaeological human bones. JOURNAL OF ANATOMY, Vol. 238(1) (pp 208-208)
- The Dissolution of the Monasteries in England and Wales. Sheffield: Equinox Publishing Ltd..
- Research group
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Hugh is interested in supervising research students who have an interest in historical archaeology and/or material culture studies.
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Current Research Students
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Primary or co-supervisor
- Samuel Bromage (Co-supervised with Dr Kate Giles, University of York)- An Archaeology of the Dissolution of Urban Religious Houses in Yorkshire and its Impact on the Early Post-Medieval Townscape (WRoCAH)
- Emma Hook- An archaeological and osteological investigation of the medieval hospital cemetery in England and Wales (WRCoAH)
- Kathryn Libby- Metalworking and identity in Early Medieval Lindsey
- Cait Scott- The Evolution of Audley End (AHRC CDP)
Second Supervisor
- Angela Maccarinelli - The social and economic role of freshwater fish in medieval England (WRCoAH)
- David Montgomery - Glass Imports to China on the Silk Road during the Han and Six Dynasties (WRCoAH)
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Completed PhD Students
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Primary Supervisor
- Rachel Askew - The social role of material culture in Civil War period castles (2013)
- Francesca Breeden - An archaeological study of the medieval Charterhouses of the English Province (2018)
- Alex Cassels - Dress accessories in England AD 1200-1500, an archaeological study of consumption (2014)
- Courtenay-Elle Crichton-Turley - The application of structure-from-motion 3D modeling in material culture studies (2018)
- Claire Finn - The material culture of drinking in the 17th-century Dutch Republic (2014)
- Samantha Garwood - Cross cultural exchange in the post-medieval Adriatic: An examination of glass artefacts from the 15th through mid 18th centuries (2017)
- Charlotte Howsam - Book fittings and fixtures: an archaeology of medieval literacy (2016)
- Martin Huggon- The Archaeology of the Medieval Hospitals of England and Wales, 1066-1546 (2018)
- Freya Massey - Ritual practices and special deposits in vernacular housing of the post-medieval period (2014)
- Greig Parker - The material environment and the formulation of social identity amongst Huguenot communities in London (2011)
- Peter Townend - An Archaeological Study of the Monastic Order of the Gilbertines (2017)
- Verónica Velasquez Sánchez-Hidalgo - Maiolica and the construction of ideologies in New Spain (2015)
Second Supervisor
- Tamsyn Fraser - Investigating animal husbandry practices through the analysis of animal remains from medieval to modern times (2020)
- Lenny Salvagno - The neglected goat: a methodological approach to the understanding of the role of this species in English medieval husbandry (2016)
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- Teaching activities
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Undergraduate
- HST2115 - Archaeology of the Later Medieval Church
Postgraduate
- HST420 - Culture in Society in Later Middle Ages
- HST411 - Funerary Archaeology
- HST413 - Heritage Museum and Field: Archaeology in Practice
- Professional activities and memberships
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Professional Roles
- Society of Antiquaries of London – Fellow (FSA)
- Chartered Institute for Archaeologists – Member (MCIfA)
- Qatar National Research Fund – Peer reviewer
- Society for Church Archaeology - Chair
Recent Conferences & Invited Lectures
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Keynote Speaker
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- Keynote speaker- 'A Black Death Mass Grave at Thornton Abbey', Society for Church Archaeology Conference (September 2019)
- Keynote Speaker- ‘A Century of Excavation: Challenging Some of the Myths of Monastic Archaeology in the 21st century’, Leeds Monasticism Conference (May 2014)
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Invited Talks & Lectures
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- Guest lecturer- 'Excavations at the migration period cemetery at Scremby', British Museum Medieval Seminar Series (February 2020)
- Guest Lecturer- 'Excavations at the Migration Period Cemetery at Scremby', Historical Association (December 2019)
- Invited speaker- 'Women of the Wolds, Excavation of the Early Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Scremby', Current Archaeology Awards (February 2018)
- Guest lecturer-'Famine and Plague at Thornton Abbey', The 2018 Maurice Barley Lecture, University of Nottingham (December 2018)
- Invited speaker- 'Monastic windows at the Dissolution', Society for Church Archaeology Conference (September 2017)
- Invited speaker- 'The Early Christian Settlement at Little Carlton', Current Archaeology Awards (February 2017)
- Invited speaker- 'Recent research and excavation at the Middle Saxon settlement at Little Carlton', Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology (September 2016)
- Invited speaker- 'Glassmaking and the Saxon Monastery, Glastonbury, Barking and Beyond', Society for Church Archaeology Conference (September 2016)
- Invited Speaker- ‘Recent excavations at Monk Bretton Priory’, Yorkshire Archaeological Society (April 2014)
- Invited Speaker- ‘The role of glaziers in the repair and recycling of medieval monastic windows in England’ 6th International Colloquium Abbey Museum Ten Duinen 1138, Koksijde (October 2013)
- Public engagement
Public engagement:
I frequently give talks on my research and archaeology more generally to schools, local societies and other public bodies. Several of my public lectures are available to view on YouTube:
Churches Conservation Trust Public Lecture (24/9/20)
The Dissolution of the Monasteries
Current Archaeology Live Conference (5/3/21)
Dealing with the dead: excavations at the hospital of St James, Thornton Abbey
Society of Antiquaries of London Evening Lecture (25/3/21)
Early Medieval Glassmaking at Glastonbury and Barking Abbeys; craft working and the early church in the 7th to 8th centuries AD Lecture
I am also a regular a contributor to the popular publications including Current Archaeology and BBC History Magazine.In the media:
I am always conscious of the importance of communicating my research to as wide an audience as possible, and I have shared the results of my work through a variety of broadcast, print and online media. I am a regular contributor to documentaries and factual programming (Sky History, Digging for Britain, Time Team,
National Geographic) as well as mainstream news outlets (BBC, The Guardian, Times, Express, Daily Mail).The following is a sample of my output:
Broadcast media
Time Team 04/05/24
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctpRkJvZUvo
Time Team 02/09/23
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo5n1Tkp1mY&t=118s
SKY History Curse of the Ancients 05/04/22
https://www.history.co.uk/shows/curse-of-the-ancients-with-alice-robertsPrint/Online
Thornton Abbey
National Geographic 18/02/20
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/black-death-discovery-rare-look-plague
BBC 30/11/16
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-38146468
Little Carlton
The Guardian 01/03/16
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/mar/01/anglo-saxon-island-remains-discovered-lincolnshire-little-carlton-sheffield-universityThe Daily Mail 01/03/16
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3471968/A-marvel-marshes-Anglo-Saxon-trade-citadel-teeming-treasures-Fens.html
BBC News 02/03/16
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35707690
Express 04/03/16
http://www.express.co.uk/news/science/649904/BRITAIN-S-ATLANTIS-Lost-Anglo-Saxon-island-FOUND-in-Lincolnshire