Professor Emeritus Tom James

Biography

I have worked at the University of Winchester for over 30 years, first in the Department of History before contributing to the founding of the Department of Archaeology in 1979, since when I have worked in both departments. I have also been coordinator for the training of doctoral supervisors in the University. I am currently Emeritus Professor in Archaeology and History.

Prior to coming to Winchester I undertook my undergraduate MA and won a university scholarship to study for my doctorate at St Andrews University in Scotland. After that I was a Social Science Research Council Research Fellow in the Department of History at Southampton before becoming Deputy Director of excavations in the medieval burgh of Perth, where we recorded a wide range of post-medieval structures before excavating the remains of a parliament house used for the Scottish parliament of 1606, and also rich medieval remains (including lace and well-preserved environmental material).

My original area of research was medieval history and archaeology and I continue to work on medieval palaces and also on the catastrophic Black Death of 1348-50. Work at Perth inspired me to take a longer view and in recent years I have looked at the archaeology and history of a piece of historic royal landscape (Clarendon Park, Wiltshire with Christopher Gerrard), a royal city (Winchester) and latterly at the archaeology and history of Britain. I have worked with a broad range of MPhil and doctoral research students in Winchester and elsewhere.

Areas of expertise

• Medieval buildings archaeology
• The archaeology and history of medieval and post-medieval towns
• The archaeology and history of disease

Publications

Key books

Authored

James, T. B. (1983) Southampton sources: 1086-1900, Southampton, Southampton University Press.

James, T. B. & Robinson, A. M. (1988) Clarendon Palace : the history and archaeology of a medieval palace and hunting lodge near Salisbury, Wiltshire, London, Society of Antiquaries of London.

James, T. B. (1990) The palaces of medieval England c. 1050-1550: royalty, nobility, the episcopate and their residences from Edward the Confessor to Henry VIII, London, Seaby.

James, T.B. (1996) This Sceptered Isle (BBC Worldwide)

James, T. B. (1997) English Heritage book of Winchester, London, Batsford. (Second enlarged edition 2007)

James, T.B. (ed.) (1998) The Black Death in Wessex Hatcher review; 5, no.46 Salisbury : Hatcher Review Trust

James, T. B. (1999) The Black Death in Hampshire, Hampshire County Council.

James, T. B. (2003) The story of England. Stroud: Tempus

James, T.B. and Allen M (2006) The 1871 Census for Winchester. Wessex Historical databases.

James, T.B. (2006) Winchester from prehistory to the present. The History Press

James, T.B. & Gerrard, C. M.(2007) Clarendon: landscape of kings. Macclesfield: Windgather

James. T.B. (2015) Winchester University: 175 Years of Higher Education. Third Millennium Press

Edited

James, T.B. (edited, with Jen Best) (2018) Debt of Honour. Winchester City’s First World War Dead. Hobnob press Find out more about the WWI dead buried in Winchester

Edited works: recent contributions

James, T.B. (2002) 'John of Eltham, History and Story: abusive international discourse in England, France and Scotland', in Fourteenth Century Studies (ed. Chris Given-Wilson, Boydell)

Recent journal papers: academic

James, T. B. (2006) Migration and the Southampton Melting Pot in the Fifteenth Century. Southern History (28)

James, T.B. (2001) 'Years of Pestilence: archaeology and the Black Death'. British Archaeology (61)

James, T.B. and Roberts, E. (2000) 'From palace to Pentice: Winchester and late-medieval urban development.' Medieval Archaeology (44)