Tudors, Costume and a Chattri - Public Engagement Reaching New Heights

As a history enthusiast and doing a Public History course I’ve naturally become more aware of examples of history around me. However, since starting my MA I can’t help but notice how much more in tune people I know have become with history, especially in our local area. It may well just be coincidence but over the last few months I’ve been having more and more conversations with people about history, and interestingly, they’ve been with those who before, showed little interest. The chances are it is purely coincidence but I have become really intrigued by this emerging pattern.

Elvetham Heath
www.elvethamhotel.co.uk

The best example of this has been my Mum. Like most families, when we were younger and on holiday, castles and palaces were popular destinations, but I can’t remember mum ever being really gripped, or the one to suggest we went in the first place. In fact I don’t really recall her ever showing too much interest history, at least not in the traditional sense. However, that has recently changed. Having attended a function at Elvetham Heath Hotel she returned full of stories about the architecture, the stain glass windows and the oak tree planted by Elizabeth I. This was unusual. The next thing I know it’s gone quiet and she is completely absorbed in her laptop. I then get a well-informed history of the hotel and am told how in 1426 it became the home of the Seymour family. My favourite bit has to be how in 1591 Edward, Earl of Hertford, entertained Queen Elizabeth I at the sight in attempt to regain favour after his family fell into disrepute. I never knew of this local connection to Tudor history and I never would have, had mum not gone and her new found ‘historydar’ gone off. This is just one of a few examples. I’ve also been advised to go see the 13^th century church and the statue of the Duke of Wellington she passes on the way to work.


A similar thing happened when my former boss sent me a text advising me to get changed out of my pyjamas and head to the local branch of the Embroidery Guild, where guest speakers Catherine Flower-Bond and Joanne Briffett of Tudor Tales were doing a talk on the history of Tudor fashion. There motto is ‘History is exciting – so experience it’ and what a great motto that is. I only caught the tail end of the session but was captivated by the stories I heard. The other ladies couldn’t wait to tell me about how the children were swaddled and hung along the walls, and about all the different things they’d learnt. Again it’s that idea of ‘history in action’, professional historians using their passion to engage an unsuspecting audience. I know for a fact my boss isn’t all too interested in history but that night you’d never have known, for she was totally enthralled and fascinated by what she’d been told.

Chattri at Patcham
www.chattri.com

My final example occurred on an ordinary drive to Brighton, where near Patcham, Dad and I noticed a new brown sign for the Chattri. My Dad is originally from Brighton and so, unknowing, I asked him what it was. He had a vague notion but it was my Nan who filled us both in. Despite her ailing memory she was able to tell us about how the Chattri stands as a memorial to the Indian soldiers who had been cremated there, having lost their lives in the First World War. I’d known of Brighton’s connection with the Indian Soldiers, many having been treated in the Pavilion when it was turned into a hospital and my mind was put to rest. I didn’t think any more of it until I turned up at my Dads about a week later and was presented with a copy of The Resident (the magazine of Horsell Residents’ Association) which contained within an interesting article about the restoration of the Muslim Burial ground on Horsell Common and its association with the Chattri in Brighton. Just by passing a brown sign on a journey we’ve done many a time, and asking a simple question, Dad and I learnt a great deal about this historical landmark.

It seems that my interest in the history around me has also encouraged others to be more vigilant and inquisitive. We’re beginning to learn from each other; to exchange information and observations and I feel that has been a really positive thing to have occurred over the last few weeks. There is a growing realisation that we can all have a part in the sharing of history; it need not only be left to academics and that is something I’ve personally begun to witness and embrace.   

Meet the Victorians Exhibition at Aldershot Military Museum

http://www3.hants.gov.uk/victorians.html

The Meet the Victorians exhibition has been put together by Hampshire County Council and is currently installed at Aldershot Military Museum, but will be moving to a number of other museums across Hampshire in coming months. I’ve been meaning to write this blog post for a while and in hindsight its actually probably better that I haven’t done so before now, for I’ve warmed to it since my first encounter. I was very critical in my initial assessment, but have recently been encouraged to reconsider my original conclusions, purely for the reason that it has been extremely successful in engaging children.

On my first visit I definitely had my ‘historian’ hat on. I felt that the exhibition didn’t flow particularly well. It was not clear where to start from and so visitors could easily miss the introduction to the characters, which itself was presented in a contradictory fashion to Victorian hierarchy. I would have expected to have ‘met’ the father, grandparent, mother, child and then the servants, but that was not how the exhibition was laid out. The open nature of the exhibition space also means you have no sense of direction as to what you should be looking at and as such it is all too easy to overlook things as you dart in the direction of something that has caught your eye.

Panorama of the Exhibition

Then there were also a few silly mistakes I felt had crept in. For example, the intention of the publicity was to show the Dexter family posing for a photograph, accounting for their glum expressions. However, due to a lack of space, the smiling servants have been attached to the family sending mixed messages about life in the Victorian period. It would be very easy for a young child to look at that and conclude that life was good for servants and glum for the middle classes. It feels careless, but it is something that could be easily resolved. Similarly on the handling table, the letter box has been secured on upside down. It just feels as though they were in a rush to put it together at the end, the individual components not necessarily flowing together and that’s a shame, because it’s a really family friendly and engaging exhibit which uses the limited space that it has well.

Children are definitely the intended audience for this exhibition and there are a number of interactive elements to attract their attention. There is a dolls house that replicates the layout of a Victorian home and inside has miniature characters which the kids can play with and move about the house. There are a number of puzzles and toys that give children an idea of what there Victorian counterparts would have played with; as well as a shopping list, with old coins where they are encouraged to work out the price of items such as bread and milk.



There is also a handling table and smell boxes which conjure smells that would have been found in a Victorian home, for example coal and carbolic soap. These give children a more immersive experience. But it is the dressing up that is the most popular with young visitors, surprisingly with the boys as well as the girls. Often, the girls will get dressed up and then ‘play’ in the replica kitchen or use items from ‘Rose’s Cupboard’ which encourages them to pick the correct items to complete daily chores. The boys on the other hand will often dress up and sit in the parlour, posing for photos along the way. I hadn’t appreciated how enthusiastic children would be about this exhibition when I first viewed it, but over the last few weeks, as I’ve seen more and more families interact it and come expressly to see it (often to aid with school projects), I have been forced to review that initial judgement. They really enjoy it and the parents have trouble dragging the children away.

With an existing knowledge of Victorian Britain I can’t say that I learnt a great deal from this exhibition but it’s clear to me now, that I’m not part of the intended audience. There were a few eye catching artefacts that drew my attention but it’s the interactive activities for the kids that are the big draw. By getting them to engage the exhibition is encouraging the children to learn, and in that sense, this exhibition is a huge success and one I’ve grown increasingly fond of. 

The Geffrye Museum, Hoxton

http://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk/

So I visited the Geffrye Museum in Hoxton for the second time last week and again I was struck with how much I didn’t like it as a museum. Don’t get me wrong, the concept I really like. The whole idea that it ‘is devoted to the history of the home, showing how homes and gardens reflect changes in society, behaviour, style and taste over the past 400 years’. And ordinarily it would be somewhere I’d love and probably visit time and time again but something about the Geffrye left me feeling completely underwhelmed.

http://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk/

The museum space is an old converted alms house and is steeped in history, but in my opinion the space, or lack of it, works against it in terms of visitor experience. You progress chronologically as you move along a corridor, being immersed in different period rooms from the ‘17^th century oak furniture and panelling... to 20^th century modernity and contemporary living’. But that’s where I have issue, because the long thin corridor which you follow through the majority of the museum, I found to be claustrophobic and inhibiting. If you’re on your own fine, but if there is a group of you, you have a problem. If the stewards are around, you have a problem. And worst of all, if you have a group of school children sat sketching or handling artefacts, perform a U-turn. I’m being flippant, but I just didn’t feel comfortable or able to take my time to absorb what I was seeing.

That said I do genuinely love the concept, especially the museums emphasis on education. I can see and appreciate the opportunities it offers children to engage with history, in quite a hands-on and immersive way. On this visit, I was particularly interested to hear about Molly Harrison and ‘her pioneering work in expanding the potential of museums as centres for learning and education,’ and it wasn’t difficult to see their philosophy in action. There were a number of schools groups around and all the kids were listening attentively and engaging with the activities before them.

The online resources on the Geffrye website (the virtual tour and Kids' Zone for example) are also particularly good and extend this educational message. They would certainly make useful teaching tools. You may not be standing in the room itself but you get a good a feel for what it would have looked like and it is much easier to access the information panels by clicking around the screen. We had a moment in one of the rooms where we struggled to find any information, it was only when we went to move out of someone’s way and looked behind us, that we saw the information paddles on the window sill. I particularly like the online feature for being able to look around the authentic alms house rooms from both the 18^th and 19^th centuries. They’ve never been open when we’ve visited and given that this was the original purpose of the build it’s nice to be able to take advantage of the online resources and view these unique rooms.

I just really struggled with the cramped nature of it and feel it could benefit from having a larger space in which to exhibit the rooms, somewhat like those at the far end in the ‘new build’. I appreciate space isn’t easy to come by and the space they do have has been utilised to good effect, it’s just a bit narrow for my liking! We also visited the Museum of London on the same day (don’t worry that’s a blog for another day) and while it follows a similar chronological approach there was just more space to move around and take in what you were seeing. Perhaps I became slightly fixated on this element and it has narrowed (excuse the pun) my perception of the Geffrye, I just didn’t find it an enjoyable experience. Third time lucky perhaps?

A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley

BBC4 series aired 23^rd, 30^th September and 7^th October 2013

www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/.

It was thanks to a fellow bloggist and their enthusiastic response that I began to watch A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley. I was a tad sceptical at the beginning, for experience has taught me that historians don’t always find the transition into ‘presenter’ that easy, hence we have the likes of Jeremy Paxman fronting the BBC’s World War One centenary season. I digress – back to Worsley!

The programme picks a topic that has become a part of popular culture. As Worsley states, the ‘preoccupation with murder has a long history’ and thanks to successful literary works and television programmes, the murder mystery is a well-received genre in contemporary society. A Very British Murder taps into this fascination and through the use of primary evidence unravels the historical origin of society’s fascination with murder.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01ftzlq

However unlike a typical documentary A Very British Murder uses a number of different techniques to engage its audience. Perhaps the most notable is the incorporation of dramatized scenes to illustrate specific case studies. For example Worsley adopts the role of the servant character in the Marr murder (Ratcliffe Highway in 1811) in order to narrate the story. What I particularly liked in this segment was how the viewer was invited further into the story through the use of camera shots. The style of filming replicated the techniques used in modern crime dramas where the viewer is given a first-hand perspective; the camera becoming the characters eyes and gradually revealing to the audience details of the scene as if they were actually in that situation.

I was however, a little more uncertain of the re-enactment of The Murder in the Red Barn when Worsley donned the role of Maria Marten. I love that she was really enthusiastic and welcomed the opportunity to get that involved in the story, there is just part of me that couldn’t help feeling it lowered the tone a little. It was the only part in the whole series where I thought “oh no”. But that was just my response, I know from having spoken with others that they responded well to that fact that Worsley didn’t see herself above getting that involved and yes I commend her for that. She clearly has huge enthusiasm for what’s she’s doing and that really does come across on screen.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01ftzlq

I also enjoyed the incorporation of visual sources, material artefacts and the direct references to primary source material. As a historian watching this sort of thing I like to know where the information has come from and while the incorporation of other ‘experts’ goes some way towards this, it’s nice to see a piece of archival material once in a while. Just to pick up on the role of the experts, I would also say that this was really well done. When Worsley spoke to contributors there was equal participation. Worsley’s questions were well pitched; you know they were coming from someone with knowledge and so the conversation was able to progress naturally. You see some presenters asking questions they clearly don’t understand and receiving responses they get even less, and that wasn’t the case here and I found that really refreshing. 

I would definitely recommend this programme as one to watch if you get chance. It plays to contemporary interests, is fronted by a female historian and uses an inviting range of techniques to really engage its audience. I hope more history documentaries follow this example!

Just quickly, I also want to respond to a comment made about how Worsley didn’t maintain a continuity of dress throughout the programme. It is often the case that a presenter will wear the same clothes throughout a series, so when my fellow bloggist commented on how nice it was to see that Worsley hadn’t stuck to this ‘rule’ I was intrigued. However, when later watching the programme I found myself putting together a filming schedule in my head and enquiring about locations and their relation to one another. Now I don’t know if this was just me, but I found it very distracting – anyone else?

‘Ace cafe with quite a nice ancient monument attached?’

‘Ace cafe with quite a nice ancient monument attached?’ Original article by Alison Feeney-Hart

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24335517

We were emailed the link to this article by Alison Feeney-Hart earlier in the week, by one of our lecturers and it immediately reminded me of a discussion we once had in our a-level archaeology class. Pete was a fantastic teacher, the Mick Aston of the Archaeology department, but he voiced some strong concerns about these proposals when they were first discussed. Part of the appeal and intrigue that surrounds Stonehenge hinges on the fact that this prehistoric monument stands alone on the Salisbury Plain. As you drive along the A303 your attention is immediately grabbed by this enigmatic site that dominates the landscape. Why then would you want to put a £27 million visitor centre near the site? Surely it will detract from its ancient beauty.

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/

It’s one of those situations where you can appreciate both sides of the argument. You can hardly deny that shops and cafés are both an added bonus to the visitor but also a lucrative source of revenue for historic places. Talking from personal experience, I know family fridges that have been covered in fridge magnets from places they’ve visited – Hampton Court and Carisbrooke Castle for example. I also know people who collect silver spoons and postcards as mementos. It’s almost part of the experience now, engrained on us that we must take something away to remind us of our visit.

Cafés also add an important facility to a site and improve visitor experience – especially in the case of somewhere like Stonehenge. It’s an unwritten rule that whenever you go on an archaeology trip it’s going to rain and the chances are it will probably be torrential. This is what happened when I last went. I’ll never forget being stood on Salisbury plain and feeling totally exposed to the intensity of the monument, but also to the elements. Rather than having our umbrellas over our heads, we were using them like shields, preventing the horizontal onslaught of torrential rain. We got absolutely soaked as there was nowhere to find shelter. We got back on the coach dripping from head to toe and it wasn’t until I got home that night I was dry again. We stopped off at Avebury and West Kennet Longbarrow where I dried a bit, but my seat on the coach was so wet I was soon damp again. The point of that ramble was to say that yes, Stonehenge is a magnificent ancient monument but it isn’t very visitor friendly. Providing basic amenities, even if just toilets and a place to hide from the rain, is beneficial to the visitor experience; but combined with a visitor centre, makes for a more fulfilling day out.



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1054544/

Not long ago we were also talking about the lack of a visitor centre at Runnymede, where the 2015 Magna Carta celebrations will be centred. Without it, it is almost just a field and in that situation, how is a visitor supposed to plan their day. We all expect to learn something from information about the site but we also all need to eat, drink and take a rest stop and places that don’t provide facilities for that are hindering their attraction. At present its unlikely you’d spend more than half a day at Stonehenge, but with the new ‘immersive experience’[1] that is proposed, I can see that changing and a café and shop are likely to assist in this process.

It will be hard to integrate any construction into the surrounding landscape without disturbing the scene we all know so well and I am intrigued as to how they plan to do that. I really don’t think cafes and shops detract attention from the museum, gallery or site that you’re visiting; instead I’d argue that they add something to the experience and for the organisation, provide a welcome source of revenue.

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[1] http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/content/news/2013/stonehenge-exhibition-and-visitor-centre-opens-on-18-december

Letters from the Titanic

Titanic Letters broadcast on Radio Ulster.

First transmission 9^th April 2012, currently available on BBC Iplayer http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01fm59q/Titanic_Letters_Episode_1/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2284933

Commemorating the 100^th Anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, Radio Ulster aired a series of short programmes that paid tribute to the men and women who sailed aboard the ship in 1912. Over the course of two weeks, 42 letters written by passengers of the Titanic, were read by 42 famous voices, including the likes of Amanda Burton and Eamon Holmes, who bought to life the voices of those once aboard the ill-fated ship. Each segment was narrated by Ciarán Hinds who provided context for each letter, informing you about the individual, their life, job, family and perhaps most poignantly, their fate.

Listeners were introduced to Ida Strauss; a woman deemed a symbol of female strength and loyalty for choosing to go back to her cabin and die beside her husband, as well as the letters of Albert George Irvine an engineer, and Harry Bristow a saloon steward, who both wrote of life aboard the ship.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120338/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

I came across this series purely by accident, but immediately fell in love with the concept. The story of the Titanic is a familiar one to modern society. James Cameron’s 1997 film and Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On have immortalised it in popular culture, but I what I love about this series, is that it allowed the audience a direct channel into the past. As a listener you heard the voice of the passengers and their amazement at the ship they were aboard. Listening to the words that passengers had written offered an intimate and personal view point, which demonstrated their innocence. They didn’t know what awaited them; they were purely enjoying being part of this magnificent ship’s first journey. These letters offer an untold story that tears away the Hollywood glamour that encases most modern accounts.

Screen Shot of
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/titanic/

The anniversary didn’t really register with me at the time but coming across this series I thought I’d see what else was done to mark the centenary. A quick Google search revealed that a memorial service was held at St. Mary’s Church, Southampton and at a number of other churches across the UK, as well as in Canada and the USA. There were also various television and radio programmes, the most well remembered probably being the Downton-esque drama written by Julian Fellowes. However, it’s the website launched by the National Archives that I really want to draw attention to (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/titanic/). If offers a vast range of sources and builds on the ideas and themes raised by the Radio Ulster series. It has biographical accounts, images, videos and podcasts where people can engage with the true story of the Titanic.

Image - Titanic in Numbers from
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/titanic/

While dramatizations help to popularise history and encourage engagement with it, they can all too often pollute the truth and I think the story of the Titanic is a classic example. The resources produced in the wake of the centenary take it back to a grass-roots level and reintroduce the first-hand experience. The events of the Titanic happened to real people and this radio series and the resources on the National Archive website remind us of this. They have also left me with the desire to visit the museum in Ireland! Surely that’s an indication of successful public engagement with the past?



The Iconic Staircase from aboard HMS Titanic
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2284933

Welcome!

So here we are!

Imperial War Museum, London

Having finally overcome technical and design issues here is my first blog entry for ispyhistory. As a current Public History MA student at Royal Holloway University, it was recommended to us all to start a blog where we could discuss our views on public history and to demonstrate our enthusiasm for this vibrant subject. Having been a regular diarist in the past, the idea of keeping this going doesn’t daunt me and with a topic as broad and captivating as history, the material should never run dry.

History is so well loved in our society and its everywhere we look. A common reaction when you explain to someone that you’re studying history is for them to pull a face as if to say “how dull!” And indeed some bits are - I find economic history that way, but others find it absolutely fascinating. We’re not all cut from the same cloth and I think that is one of the great advantages of studying history; you can pursue what you personally are interested in.

Test Pit from an Arch Dig

I firmly believe that everyone can find a part of history with which they are willing to engage and the opportunities to do so are ever increasing. Whether it is visiting museums, conducting genealogical research, participating in an archaeological dig or watching a documentary on television, we all engage with history, both consciously and unconsciously. 

Where it all began - A Family Photo

The aim of this blog then is to comment and review my experiences of history over the coming months and I invite discussion. Here’s my opinion, but we all see and think about things differently and it would be great to hear yours!

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I’ll write soon, Elle.