Dr Harriet Lyon was an undergraduate at Christ’s, she studied for a PhD here and is now a Fellow, Tutor, and Director of Studies for History (Part I).
1. She looks after the College cats
Her room in the beautiful 17th-century Fellows’ Building has a cat flap with a short ladder. It means that the window often catches the attention of visitors to the Fellows’ Garden who peer in trying to spot the College cats, Finch and Baines.
She says the same thing happens in the summer when vegetables are grown outside the windows looking onto Second Court.
‘It’s a beautiful room and I love being near the Fellows’ Garden, but it does attract a lot of attention.’
2. She’s a local
She took four A levels including Biology, Chemistry and Maths at Hills Road Sixth Form College, but decided to study for a History degree. She says that, despite growing up in Lode just outside Cambridge, until she arrived at Christ’s she had never really been in any university buildings.
She was the A. H. Lloyd Junior Research Fellow and is now the J. H. Plumb College Lecturer.
“I matriculated in 2010 and have been here ever since in in one form or another, which has been wonderful and also quite unexpected. My undergraduate self would never have imagined I’d still be here! I am hugely grateful for all the opportunities I have enjoyed at Christ’s.”
3. Her book was shortlisted for a major prize
The Whitfield Prize is awarded by the Royal Historical Society for a first book in British or Irish History. Harriet’s book - Memory and the Dissolution of the Monasteries in Early Modern England - is based on her PhD.
The nomination was a surprise and, although she didn’t win, she says ‘It felt really good because at various points during the writing of both the PhD and the book, I went through phases during which I didn't feel very confident about it.’
And she is proud that it was produced at Christ’s, with support from friends, colleagues, and students. She hasn’t read it from cover to cover, though, for fear of spotting too many typos!
4. She can stand on her head
At school Harriet was a back-flipping gymnast, high jumper and trampolinist. Nowadays she practises yoga.
‘It’s a cliché, but if something is going badly, then taking some time out makes a big difference.’
In College, she’s also an advocate of ‘organised fun,’ which she says is a mix of building social relationships and getting to know students better, as well as thinking more widely about ways to study history.
In May Week, Harriet and colleagues will host a party for the birthday of the College founder, Lady Margaret Beaufort which, Harriet says, is really just a way of celebrating the end of exams!
5. She likes detective novels
Harriet says that you always know that famous fictional detective Inspector Morse will solve the puzzle, but as a historian you are always in the process of answering a question without knowing that you will find what you are looking for.
School groups often ask her if she likes historical novels and the answer is ‘Yes, but some are better than others!’ Hilary Mantel’s books are firm favourites. The last novel she read was Piranesi by Susanna Clarke.
“A lot of people were talking about it. It won the 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction. It's very short and I loved that it had a kind of mystery to it, which appeals to me as a historian.”