Teaches: London: Biography of a City; Understanding the Urban; Contemporary Britain; London in a Global Context
Cultural historian and historical consultant Katy Layton-Jones grew up in South Manchester. Originally an art historian, she received her B.A. in fine art and art history from Goldsmiths, University of London. As a postgraduate, she changed both subject and institution and completed an M.Phil. in eighteenth-century history at the University of Cambridge. She remained at Cambridge for her Ph.D., which focused on popular images of British towns in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Since 2006, Katy has been engaged on research into public parks and green spaces. Her first book, Places of Health and Amusement was published by English Heritage in 2008. Her monograph, Beyond the Metropolis: the image of urban Britain 1780 – 1880 was published by Manchester University Press in 2016. Katy also provides consultancy services for national agencies, such as Historic England, and authored the National Review of Research Priorities for Urban Parks, Designed Landscapes and Open Spaces. In 2016 she gave evidence before the Parliamentary Select Committee on Public Parks.
Katy has taught for a range of American colleges for over a decade, including: Berkeley, Colgate, Grinnell, Oberlin, Rhodes, and Syracuse.
Her radio appearances include BBC Radio 4’s Making History and The Matter of the North, and BBC Radio 3’s The Verb. Her television appearances include the BBC television series, People’s Palaces: The Golden Age of Civic Architecture and Channel 4’s Prince Albert: A Victorian Hero Revealed. Her BBC short film Ghost Towns can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7G2DRrxbtE