The Victorian Travellers Project, funded by the University of Hertfordshire’s AHRC Impact Accelerator Account, is a partnership between Senior Lecturer Dr Bainbridge and North Hertfordshire Museum.

Inspired by Dr Bainbridge’s research into nineteenth-century cultural memory, travel and art, the project brings renewed attention to two remarkable Victorian artists, Henrietta Pilkington and Margaret Thomas. Their paintings and travel writings, held in the museum’s collections, record journeys to Jerusalem and the wider Middle East, before they moved to North Herts. By exploring these materials, the project seeks to challenge traditional narratives and broaden public understanding of Victorian women’s mobility, artistic practice and experiences of travel.

Research for the project is being undertaken by Dr Helen Esfandiary.

The project will culminate in a public exhibition at North Hertfordshire Museum and an accompanying publication.