The Rosalys Coope Essay Prize

Rosalys Coope was an architectural historian, long-standing member of the Thoroton Society, and Director of Bromley House Library (1988-2005). She served as the Society’s first female Chair of Council between 1984 and 1992, and became the Society’s first female President, holding the position from 2006 to 2014. Her studies of Newstead Abbey, published in a series of articles in the Transactions of the Thoroton Society, and a Record Series volume, Newstead Abbey: a Nottinghamshire Country House, its Owners and Architectural History 1540-1931 (2014), represent a major contribution to the history and architectural history of Nottinghamshire.

The Prize

The Rosalys Coope Essay Prize is awarded annually for the best essay on a topic directly related to the history, archaeology, and architectural history of Nottinghamshire, submitted for publication in the Transactions of the Thoroton Society.

The prize is open to current and recently graduated students, early career scholars (10 years post-PhD), and local historians (broadly defined). The aim is to encourage entries from those who have not previously been published in Transactions, and from authors who have not published longer pieces of original research.

Essays should be prepared in accordance with the Guide to Contributors, using the stylistic and referencing conventions stated therein. Essays should aim to be c. 8,000 words in length, and no more than 10,000 words, including endnotes. They may contain illustrative material, but copyright permissions must be obtained before submission.

Essays should be submitted using the normal protocols for ordinary submissions to the Transactions. Prize entrants should indicate that they wish their submission to be considered, and provide evidence of their eligibility, in an accompanying email.

Essays must be submitted by 30 September for consideration for publication in the next volume of Transactions. Late submissions will be held over for consideration in the next annual round.

Essays will be judged by a small panel of members of the Society’s Research and Publications Committee.

The value of the prize is £100 to be paid on publication of the essay.

For submissions and information on eligibility, please email the General Editor, Dr Richard Jones (richard.jones@leicester.ac.uk).