Apply to be the 2026-2027
Stately
Community Intern
About the Position
Living History Films is offering two annual internship placements with Stately, our new online membership community.
This internship is exclusively for MEMS students on the University of Kent, and it is designed to run alongside your studies. It is ideal for anyone interested in history communication, popular history, and the alternative career paths open to historians beyond traditional academia.
Interns play a hands-on role in launching and running the platform—contributing research, writing and community support—and gain practical experience in digital publishing, audience building, and heritage communications.
About Living History Films
Living History Films (LHF) is an independent production company founded by Luke and Julie Montagu, the Earl and Countess of Sandwich, and based at their family seat, Mapperton House in Dorset. The company makes documentary and lifestyle content that brings British heritage, historic houses, and the lives of great families to a global audience, building on the success of its YouTube and online channels such as Mapperton Live and the American Countess. Its mission is to make the history, architecture, and living culture of Britain's stately homes engaging and accessible to enthusiasts everywhere.
About Stately
Stately is a publishing platform and members' community for lovers of historic houses, British history, period drama, royal history, and restoration. It brings together articles, video, live events, and discussion across themed spaces covering great houses, royal life and royal history, period dramas (such as Bridgerton, The Crown, and The Gilded Age), and culture, etiquette and social history, alongside a programme of live talks, symposia, and plenty of community interaction. Stately launches to founding members in autumn 2026, and the interns will join at this formative stage.
The Placement
You will work directly with Dr Shelly Sayer Lorts, who is a leader on the project and is herself a University of Kent graduate of the Medieval and Early Modern Studies programme (MA & PhD). Reporting to Dr Sayer Lorts and supporting the wider team, the interns help run Stately day to day and create and curate its content. The role is varied, and duties will be shaped around each intern's interests and strengths. Indicative activities include:
Content and research
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Researching and drafting short articles and posts across Stately's content pillars: royal history, royal news, period-drama news and recaps, great houses, British social and cultural history, and the restoration, preservation, and conservation of historic houses.
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Writing episode recaps and tradition explainer pieces, and helping build a backlog of content.
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Contributing to the weekly Stately Bulletin and helping seed the community feeds.
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Sourcing images, checking facts and references, and ensuring an accurate, consistent house style.
Community and engagement
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Helping moderate the community: welcoming new members, monitoring feeds and chats, answering questions, and flagging anything that needs attention.
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Encouraging conversation and participation, and supporting live events such as talks, symposia, and the monthly quizzes and challenges.
Social and content production
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Helping produce short-form and social content, including clips, captions, and simple graphics.
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Supporting scheduling and light video or content-production tasks.
Administration and platform support
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Keeping work organised in Asana (project management) and helping with scheduling and content libraries.
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General administrative support for the running of the platform.
Skills & Attributes
Essential
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A genuine interest in history and heritage, particularly British history, historic houses, the aristocracy, royal history, and social and cultural history.
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Strong written English and the ability to write clearly, accurately, and engagingly for a general audience.
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Good research skills and an eye for detail, including accurate sourcing and fact-checking.
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Confident with everyday digital tools, including the Google Workspace suite (Docs, Sheets, Drive).
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Reliable, organised, and self-motivated, able to manage time around studies and meet deadlines.
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Comfortable working with online communities and communicating in a warm, professional tone.
Desirable
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Experience with project-management tools such as Asana (training will be provided).
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Experience with the Circle membership platform.
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Familiarity with social media and content platforms, and basic content creation (short-form video, image editing, or graphics).
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A knack for tech and understanding of online connections and workflows.
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Any experience of community moderation, editorial, or publishing work.
Details
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Type: Voluntary (unpaid) internship, undertaken alongside the MA programme.
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Duration: The academic year of the MA, approximately October to July.
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Hours: Approximately 5-10 hours per week, arranged flexibly around your studies and availability.
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Location: Remote, with online collaboration. Dr Sayer Lorts is based in Canterbury, so there may be occasional opportunities to co-work, research together, or join filming days in person.
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Places: Two placements available from the incoming MA cohort.
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Support: Induction and training are provided. Dr Sayer Lorts will be your named point of contact, but you will also work with Luke and Julie Montagu as well as the wider Stately team.
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Upon completion: A reference will be given for your CV, and we do believe that you'll make valuable connections within the world of history, heritage, and media.
How to Apply
To apply, send an email that introduces yourself and serves as a short cover letter: tell us a little about yourself, what you are studying, and your particular academic interests, and mention any background in digital community moderation, administration, or social media.
Attach a CV and a writing sample—either something you have already written, such as a blog post or article, or a short piece written for this application—so we can get a sense of your style.
(Please note that we are looking for a non-academic writing sample; please send something written for a more casual platform like a blog or a magazine.)
Email your application to shelly@livinghistoryuk.com
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an in-person meeting with Dr Sayer Lorts in October, after welcome week.
Application deadline: 2 October 2026