Barry Aveyard is an independent historian, researcher and speaker specialising in late medieval England, with particular interests in Katherine Swynford, the Beaufort family and the dynastic politics of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Based in Lincoln, Barry combines rigorous historical research with an engaging and accessible presentation style that has made him a popular speaker with U3A groups, local history societies and heritage audiences across England.

A former nurse academic and qualified teacher, Barry previously authored several nursing textbooks before turning his attention fully to historical research and writing. He is currently the author of two forthcoming books with Pen & Sword Books: Joan Beaufort, Katherine Swynford’s Daughter: Matriarch of the North and Eleanor Neville: Widow of the Wars of the Roses. Together, these works explore the lives of two remarkable but often overlooked women whose families stood at the centre of the political upheavals that shaped fifteenth-century England.

Barry’s work focuses particularly on challenging myths and oversimplified narratives surrounding medieval women. His research explores figures such as Katherine Swynford, Joan Beaufort, Eleanor Neville and the Neville family, not simply as subjects of romance and legend, but as politically significant individuals who helped shape the course of English history. His talks draw upon primary sources, chronicles, monuments and surviving landscapes to bring the medieval world vividly to life.

Alongside his speaking engagements, Barry writes the historical blog Katherine Swynford: A Life Well Lived, where he shares ongoing research, reflections and explorations of medieval Lincolnshire and the wider Plantagenet world.