AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Award - Spaces of Health: Connecting Past and Present Experiences of Health and Wellbeing in Heritage

The School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science at the University of Leeds and Historic England are pleased to announce a fully funded Collaborative doctoral studentship, from October 2026.

Session 2026/27 - Closing Date 17:00 (UK time) 1st May 2026

Award provides full fees and maintenance at the UKRI rate (£21,805 in Session 2026/27), a £600 enhancement per annum plus a research training support grant and other allowances (pro rata for part-time study).

From historic hospital buildings to medical museums, England’s health heritage has a powerful role to play in supporting wellbeing — but we don’t yet know how. This PhD project will uncover how these unique sites can draw on their own histories and collections to benefit communities now and in the future.

Project overview

This PhD explores how England’s rich medical and healthcare heritage can be used to support public health and community wellbeing today. While heritage engagement is widely recognised as beneficial, we know surprisingly little about how sites with historic ties to medicine – from former hospital buildings and clinics to medical museums – might offer unique opportunities for promoting wellbeing. These health-related heritage institutions (HRHIs) have distinctive histories that shape how people experience them, yet their potential as public health assets remains underexplored.

The research project will investigate this potential through a national study of HRHIs in England, complemented by two in-depth case studies of St Bartholomew’s Hospital and the Thackray Museum of Medicine. This combination of breadth and depth will allow the researcher to map the landscape of England’s health heritage while also examining, up close, how specific institutions engage visitors, interpret their histories, and design wellbeing-focused programmes.

Working with archives, collections, heritage professionals, and community participants, the project will develop new insights into how HRHIs can use their unique legacies to benefit local communities. It will also explore whether shared methods or models can be created to support the wider heritage and healthcare sectors. Ultimately, the research aims to help these institutions harness their histories in ways that meaningfully enhance visitor wellbeing and strengthen community health.

You will have the opportunity to shape the project based on your interests, background and experience. Indicative research questions might include:

• How can HRHIs work most effectively to promote community and audience health and wellbeing?
• How and why do historic and contemporary associations of places with healthcare impact on audience and community experience?
• What are the most effective approaches that HRHIs can take to promote health through their collections?
• What can we extrapolate from the experience of HRHIs to inform practice across the wider heritage sector?

For further project information contact Professor James Stark