Arkadiusz (Arek) visited London for the second time with the support of the Trust in August 2025.

At Stourhead

Thanks to the support of The Robert Anderson Trust and Mr Howard Davies, I was able to conduct my second research stay in the United Kingdom. My stay in London in August 2025 was very productive, and it allowed me to collect a great deal of valuable data that I can now use in my doctoral thesis. My doctoral dissertation is entitled: “The beginnings of archaeology and the influence of the ancient world on the formation of landscape residences in Warsaw in the second half of the 18th century”.

Once again, I had the opportunity to stay in the beautiful, historic house on Highgate Hill, which is an excellent location for anyone wishing to travel quickly and conveniently to various institutions in and around London.

During my second stay in London, I carried out further archival research in the most important British research institutions, such as the British Museum and the British Library. As a result, I gathered data on the Polish aristocracy and their contacts with Great Britain in the second half of the 18th century. I also conducted on-site research and comparative analyses of English landscape residences. Among the places I visited were Kew Gardens, Blenheim Palace, Stourhead, and Prior Park. There, I found numerous references to Warsaw residences, which I am currently studying.

Above all, I would like to express my gratitude for the support and care of Mr Howard Davies, without whose help the organization of many initiatives would have been impossible. I would also like to thank one of the Trustees, Ms Elizabeth Gray, whose assistance in organizing the trip to Bath was invaluable.

Finally, I would once again like to thank The Robert Anderson Trust for the opportunities it has given me. Thanks to its mission, I and many other young researchers have had the chance to significantly enrich our studies and establish contacts and friendships in the United Kingdom, which I hope will last for many years.

For more information about the other students in the 2025 cohort please see here.