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Geoff’s research publications have been concerned with aspects of regional industrialisation, particularly in relation to the Lancashire textile industry. They include relate particularly the varying pace at which mechanisation in the industry occurred and the development of domestic working. Publications arising from it include Handloom Weavers’ Cottages in Central Lancashire (Lancaster University, 1977) and The Last Shift: The Decline of Handloom Weaving in Nineteenth Century Lancashire (Manchester University Press, 1993). Several articles and book chapters relating to the theme have been published subsequently.

Recent research has centred on housing history. Publications arising from it have included two book chapters concerning the development and use of middle-class housing in Preston’s Winckley Square, one dealing with its architecture and the other with the changing use of its houses, including the opening of several schools for ‘young ladies’.

With regard to learning and teaching, Geoff’s publications include a jointly-authored book dealing with key issues in planning and implementing undergraduate history courses. One aspect covered in the book, that of achieving progression as students worked through their programmes of study, was further developed as a contribution to Teaching the Discipline of History in an Age of Standards, a book published in 2018 that draws on the research of scholars in Australia, Europe and the United States. In seeking to promote local history teaching in primary and secondary schools, Geoff has prepared resources for teachers that appear on the website º£½ÇÊÓƵ British Association for Local History. In 2018, the Association published his book Exploring Local History: A Practical Guide for Teachers in Primary and Secondary Schools.