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.