Dr Helen Fenwick
| Biography | Helen was born and grew up in Hull. After being subjected to many a family holiday visiting local antiquities, monasteries and castles, she studied archaeology at the University of York. She worked on projects in York and Hull before joining the University of Hull in 1994 as part of the Humber Wetlands Project Team. She completed her Part-time PhD in 2007 focusing on settlement development in the Lincolnshire Marsh, an offshoot of the Humber Wetlands Project. Helen joined the Department of History in 2004 as a lecturer in Archaeology, and she was the School Academic Manager for Histories, Languages and Cultures between 2016-2019. She returned to her role as Senior Lecturer in Archaeology in 2019. From August 2021 she took on the role of Associate Dean for Education within the Faculty of Arts, Cultures and Education. Her current research concentrates on the study of ancient and medieval landscapes. She is currently Membership Secretary for the Medieval Settlement Research Group and is working on ensuring the accessibility of the Medieval Village Research Group Archive, and is Honorary Treasurer for the Society for Medieval Archaeology. |
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| Research Interests | Helen's main research interests focus on Medieval landscapes, their development and exploitation. She completed her PhD research on landscape development and settlement evolution of the Lincolnshire Marsh in 2007. Within this theme her current research is compiling a web-based database of Deserted Medieval Settlements. She is also interested in the development of techniques to record and analyse landscapes using GPS and GIS. She is currently writing up the large-scale landscape survey of the Ancient Egyptian city of tell el-Amarna, Middle Egypt. Helen was the co-director of the Brodsworth Community Archaeology Project which offered training opportunities to students and the wider public at the same time as researching the landscape development of an area of eight parishes of South Yorkshire (2004-2015). Between 2011 and 2019 she also lead the investigation of the Templar Perceptorary at Faxfleet, East Yorkshire. |
| Teaching and Learning | Helen is currently the Associate Dean for Education in the Faculty of Arts, Cultures and Education. Helen continues to teach on a number of modules across the History Curriculum including: Human Worlds (Level 4) Shamans, Priests and Witches (Level 5) Global Britain (Level 5) Group Project (Level 5) The Vikings and their World (Level 6) She supervises a wide range of undergraduate dissertation topics. As part of her teaching practice she includes a range of techniques including using Minecraft to recreate the deserted medieval village of Wharram Percy and using LEGO to model the castles of Edward I. She is keen to develop digital literacy in her students. Helen also developed the History Competency Framework as part of the newly transformed BA History programme and is interested in curriculum design and the development of new ways of working. |
| Scopus Author ID | 6506059686 |
| PhD Supervision Availability | Yes |
| PhD Topics | Helen's primary interest is in landscape archaeology, including marginal landscapes, wetland landscapes, military landscapes, seigniorial landscapes, and landscape archaeological techniques. She would also be interested in supervising postgraduate research on teaching and learning in archaeology and history, including the provision of field schools, employability, and using technology as a teaching aid. Completed PhDs - Maybury, T. 2011. A century of change on the Lindsey marshland : Marshchapel 1540-1640. University of Hull - Hiscott, R. 2015. The permissibility of the practice of inscribing graffiti in Beverley Minster, with specific reference to the eastern side of the reredos. - Prescott, R. 2023. Reframing ‘the Anarchy’: Castles, Landscapes and Society in Twelfth-Century Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. |