About the role
This project explores the role of migrant craftspeople in shaping British design and manufacturing during the long eighteenth century. While some communities such as Huguenot silk weavers or German engravers are well documented, many others remain obscured in the archives. This project seeks to recover those lives and illuminate the social fabric of Britain’s creative labour.
Working with the V&A’s catalogues, objects, and extensive departmental card indexes (including furniture, textiles, metalwork/horology, and ceramics), the student will identify named individuals involved in design and production. These sources will be combined with external archival materials such as apprenticeship rolls, guild registers, business records, and court documents. Collections may include those at the National Art Library, and the V&A Archive of Art and Design, as well as the Prints and Drawings Collection.
Depending on the project direction, the student may apply digital humanities methods including:
1. name-based (onomastic) analysis
2. geospatial mapping
3. network visualisation
4. prosopography and composite biography
Research questions may include:
5. How can migrant lives be identified in archival sources relating to the V&A’s collections?
6. What patterns of mobility, collaboration, and labour hierarchy emerge across different craft sectors?
7. How visible are migrant contributions in museum catalogues, and how might digital methods help recover them?
8. How can this research support the V&A’s commitment to surfacing underrepresented narratives and enriching catalogue metadata?
The project is intentionally broad, allowing the student to shape their focus—whether on particular trades, communities, regions, or methodological approaches.
How to Apply
CLOSING DATE: Wednesday 15th April, 23:59
INTERVIEW DATE: 15 May (online); shortlisted applicants will be asked to provide a short video presentation.
Please DO NOT click the 'Apply Now' button next to the advert.
To apply for this studentship, you must submit a PhD application to UCL by Wednesday 15th April, via the Applicants should submit:
9. CV (maximum 2 pages)
10. Research statement (maximum 1 page)
11. Cover letter (maximum 2 pages)
12. Optional writing sample
Your application must include the title CDP project – Invisible Hands: Migrant Labour and British Craft in the Long Eighteenth Century (UCL & V&A), and please also indicate the supervisors - Dr Adam Crymble (UCL), Dr Spike Sweeting (V&A), Dr Jin Gao (UCL) and Dr Jenny Saunt (V&A)
For further details contact - Dr Adam Crymble () or Dr Spike Sweeting ()
Should you require any reasonable adjustments or support throughout the application process, contact - Terrie Fiawoo, Department Manager, UCL () or Dr Oliver Cox, Head of Academic Partnerships, V&A ().
About you
This studentship is open to both Home and International applicants. To be classed as a home student, candidates must meet the following criteria:
13. Be a UK or Irish National (meeting residency requirements), or
14. Have settled status, or
15. Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or
16. Have indefinite leave to remain or enter
Further guidance can be found here based on revisions to Training Grant Terms and Conditions for projects starting in October - What we offer
CDP doctoral training grants fund full-time studentships for 48 months (4 years) or part-time equivalent up to 7 years.
The award pays tuition fees up to the value of the full-time home fee. Research Councils UK Indicative Fee Level is £5,. Students with an ‘overseas’ fee status are welcome to apply and UCL has agreed to waive the difference between the UK and overseas fees rate. International candidates will be required to reside in the UK until completion of the PhD.
The award pays an annual stipend for all students, both home and international students. This stipend is tax free, and is the equivalent of an annual salary, enabling the student to pay living costs. The UKRI Minimum Doctoral Stipend is £21, plus London Weighting of £2,/year. There is also a CDP maintenance payment of £ per year.
Further details can be found on the