David Morgan, a University of Gloucestershire post graduate historian, has been appointed by Cheltenham Civic Society as project coordinator for the new historical map.
Morgan is a public historian, whose previous work focused on the ordinary lives of people in the first half of the twentieth century. He has also worked as the Interim Operations Manager for the Holst Victorian House and is currently researching Gloucester in the Second World War, funded by Voices Gloucester.
The board is chaired by Sarah Staniforth – an internationally-renowned expert in heritage conservation – and supported by Adrian Phillips, Chair of the CCS Planning Forum. It oversees and coordinates the preparation of the new historical map of Cheltenham project being produced in partnership with The Historic Towns Trust (HTT).
Sarah Staniforth said: “We had a strong field of candidates, but David stood out amongst the applicants.” Adrian Phillips said: “We were impressed by David’s enthusiasm for the post, his grasp of what the job would involve and his knowledge of Cheltenham’s history.”
Morgan has already started work alongside the historians and geographers on the project board. He will assemble the researched other historical information that will be needed by HTT’s cartographer to prepare both the map itself and the comprehensive gazetteer on the reverse of the map.
David Morgan said: “It’s an honour to be able to work on such an important project for the town, shining a light on the hidden aspects of Cheltenham’s extensive history.”
For the full story on the progress of this new map, visit our Historical Cheltenham Map page.