My research focuses on the interactions between ecclesiastical institutions and the laity, mainly in late medieval England. Since 2014 I have been studying the use of shrines in England's major cathedrals, and particularly how these sites were curated and apportioned to suit the needs and expectations of visitors, pilgrims, and resident communities. My work is based on extensive archival research and is strongly interdisciplinary, working with sociologists, ethnographers, digital archaeologists, and cathedral and heritage practitioners to recreate past experiences and shed light on current practice. I am currently editing the 1428 'Customary of the Shrine of St Thomas of Canterbury' for publication, and working on a monograph investigating the presence of the laity in medieval English cathedrals.

I am part of a project looking at avenues of commemoration for the 850th anniversary of Thomas Becket's death in 2020, and in this regard am researching the often-overlooked role of Becket as medieval London's patron saint.

My doctorate analysed the relationship between rural monasteries and their localities in medieval Devon, and I continue to write and publish on Devonian and monastic history. I also have an interest in twentieth-century English Catholicism and Westminster Cathedral in particular.

Prior to joining York, I taught at St Edmund's Hall and Wycliffe College, Oxford, and was a postdoctoral researcher on the Leverhulme-funded 'South Oxfordshire Project'. I have also worked in the heritage sector as a historical consultant to Torre Abbey Historic House's '800 Years of Faith' exhibition.