London’s Urban Jungle @ The Horniman Museum & Gardens

I am so pleased to be able to say that this past weekend London’s Urban Jungle, an exhibition I’ve curated together with the Horniman Museum & Gardens, opened.

The idea for the project began two years ago and was closely tied up with the work I did for my MA, and one thing led to another and here we are - it’s now open for you all to go and see.

My hope is that it will introduce people to a side of history we don’t often think about – the history of the exotic animal trade – where it began, who was involved and what impact it had on Victorian society. It will also, I hope, bring Charles Jamrach to a new audience. He’s a fascinating character in London’s history and there are some interesting stories to be told about his business, some of which feature in the exhibition.

It’s on until the 21^st February 2016 so please go if you can – here’s a link to the exhibits webpage and do keep an eye on it as we’re hoping to add a few bits and pieces over the coming weeks.

http://www.horniman.ac.uk/visit/current-exhibitions

And please tweet – it would be great to hear what you think about it! What questions has it prompted? What stories have you heard? It would be great to get a conversation going if we can.

I hope you find it as interesting to view as I did researching it! The Horniman Museum is a great place to spend an afternoon!

Christmas at Waddesdon Manor

Waddesdon Manor

Let’s call this the Christmas edition shall we as it is going to be Christmas themed!

A few weeks ago I paid a trip to Waddesdon Manor, together with the WI (I’m not a member, but it’s a rather long story!) in part because of its Christmas attractions but also because I hoped to learn a little about the wider Rothschild family and their home at Waddesdon Manor. However, there was a slight flaw in this plan, as Christmas was very much at the centre of everything and history seems to have been somewhat side lined.

It would appear that the draw for Waddesdon Manor at this time of year is Christmas and it becomes more of a place of entertainment than a typical National Trust property. It has a Christmas market, Christmas themed rooms with large decorated Christmas trees and a wonderful Christmas light show. But it completely takes over. It doesn’t sit alongside everything else and in some ways that was a bit of a shame. For example the Billiard room was turned into the three wise men’s camp with boxes of frankincense, myrrh and gold placed on the chaise-longue. It was cool, but at the same time gimmicky – I’d sort of expected the rooms of the Manor to be done as they would have been by the family at Christmas, rather than with this thematic spin.

Northern Lights inspired tree

Don’t get me wrong, it was great and it definitely put me in the mood for Christmas but the thing I struggled with was the lack of history on offer to read and learn from. Unless you knew that Waddesdon Manor was the home of Baron Ferdinand Rothschild you’d have been unlikely to pick that up anywhere and given that I’d hoped to find out more about them and their history this was slightly disappointing. I think I’ll have to revisit the house re-opens in the spring for a more typical visit.

However, in addition to the Christmassy bits, the Aviary was probably my favourite part. The Rothschild’s are known for being collectors and Ferdinand was fond of birds. There’s an information panel that informs visitors about the history of the Aviary - its establishment by Baron Ferdinand and the contributions of his sister, Alice, its decline during WW2 and finally it’s rejuvenation in the 1970s. It now houses several stud book managed species with a focus on preservation against extinction.

The Aviary

This includes the Rothschild’s Mynah and again an information panel explains how the bird was named after Walter Rothschild shortly after its discovery in 1910. Walter of course, having his own natural history collection not too far away at Tring. The same panel also describes how the Aviary team have been working with the Begawan Foundation and European zoos in an effort to save this critically endangered bird from extinction and I thought this was quite interesting as a reflection of how our attitudes and the priorities in managing the aviary have changed.

The Rothschild Mynah

The Rothschild’s Mynah is endemic to Bali – but because of its beauty it was illegally poached from the wild for the globe pet trade, prices peaking in 1990s at £1000 per bird!!! By 2001 the wild population was believed to be as low as 6 individuals and efforts since to reintroduce captive bred birds have had limited success. A more recent survey in 2012 counted 40 individuals and in order to promote genetic diversity Waddesdon’s Aviary have been involved in a cooperative breeding programme, with some of their birds being reintroduced to the wild and becoming parents themselves.

I have to admit I geeked out at this – the day offered history, Christmas and natural history. What more could this girl ask for? It wasn’t what I’d expected, but I think it’s definitely worth another visit when it reopens in the spring, with the hope that it will be more ‘typically’ National Trust and have some of the information I’m looking for!

Life Begins as a PhD Student

Welcome back folks. Can you believe I’m a term into my PhD already and I haven’t blogged a single word in all that time! To be honest with you, I’m not entirely sure why I haven’t put finger to key and mustered up something to say about how it’s been. I was so excited to start and had visions of sharing every step of the journey, but as you can see that hasn’t been the case. I’ve really had to hit the ground running, and while I do manage to procrastinate in less useful ways than writing a blog, doing anything other than something towards the PhD at the moment makes me feel incredibly guilty. But as it’s almost Christmas I thought I’d best get back on it.

So I guess you’re wondering how’s it been? Well, let’s just say I absolutely love the whole PhD experience and am so glad to be back in academia – in a funny way it feels like I’ve come home. Don’t get me wrong it’s definitely been an adjustment - meeting everyone, settling into a new university, getting to grips with life at a partner institution, learning a new language, a new historiography – but it is one I wouldn’t trade for the world. It is still early days and I am still finding my feet, but I remain confident that applying for a PhD was the right decision for me.

So perhaps, rather than getting bogged down in huge swathes of text, I’ll just bullet point some of the keys things I’ve learnt/taken away/must remember etc. so far:

1. Go easy on yourself – you will never feel like you’re doing enough. But remember, it’s a marathon not a sprint.
2. Be sure to build in “you” time.
3. You will have productive days, and not so productive days. And that’s ok – just go with it!
4. Go to as many inductions as possible – meet people and socialise. The relationships you build early on will be invaluable. These guys know what it’s like better than anyone else – share your experiences, anxieties and achievements with them. You’re all in the same boat and chances are they’re feeling or have felt the same way as you at some point along the way.
5. Invest time early on in getting to grips with referencing software, it will save so much time in the future. I’d never particularly got on with referencing software before, choosing to do it “manually”, but I am now happy to report I am a fully-fledged convert.
6. Read and read again until you really understand what you’ve read - even if that means having to read something three times! There’s no cutting corners on this one. 
7. Start that all important bibliography now and make notes of key points as you go.
8. Every library has a different cataloguing system – you will get lost, end up walking up and down aisles and draw the attention of experienced residents to the fact that you are a library newbie. Get over it and ask them for help.
9. Think about your end game early on – if you want a certain career once you’ve finished you have to be thinking about that now. Even when faced with information overload – make room! (I say this, but that doesn’t mean I’ve actually managed to deal with that one yet).
10. But I think most of all, continue to remember why you (and I really mean I) wanted to do a PhD in the first place and make sure to enjoy it.

The first term has been somewhat of a rollercoaster, but I’m enjoying it hugely and wouldn’t have it any other way! 

An Inside Look: Just some of the questions I continue to ask myself during the course of my research.

It’s not very often, if at all, I write directly and in detail about the research I do and you might well ask why. Given that it is something I proclaim to both love and find fascinating, and given that I would call myself a public historian, why on earth do I not blog about my work more often? And it’s a question I often ask myself, especially when it comes to thinking of the topic for next week’s blog, and so you’d certainly be right to call me up on it. The thing is I don’t find it particularly easy to offer a clear and concise view on some of the issues that arise when studying this topic, because they can be very complex and multifaceted.

As an academic working within the field of animal studies you are forced to consider, amongst other things, the legal and ethical issues which can surround the particular topic you might be working on and which in turn, can lead you into impassioned debate and even confrontation – and sometimes I just don’t feel in a strong position to either defend or argue for a particular angle. For example, when visiting a zoological collection last year and being angered by the conditions in which the animals were kept, I was shocked to later discover that the zoo were meeting the legal requirements for keeping animals in captivity. It’s all too easily to respond based on your own morality, and that can be a good thing, but the conclusions you reach might not always be the ‘right’ ones and so I’ve learnt to tread a little more carefully before jumping in all guns blazing. However, I thought on this occasion I’d try and take you through a few of the questions and topics I often find myself contending with and deliberating on.

1. Zoos

Should they exist or shouldn’t they? What makes a ‘good’ zoo, if there is even such a thing? Why is the legislation around the keeping of animals in captivity so lax? Why will parliament not approve the ban on the use of wild animals in circuses? Or the keeping of some exotic animals as pets? Why are there still so many comparisons to be made between the 19th century, 20th century and 21st century when so much else has changed? I could go on.

With all these questions, just a sample of what I could think of, where do I even begin? One of the two events that led me to focus my dissertation on Charles Jamrach, involved asking myself the question “why did zoos spring up in the middle of urban areas during the nineteenth century?” and at the time I happened to be stood looking at the giraffe house at London Zoo. I’ve been to zoos and wildlife parks all my life – some good, some bad and some excellent (as far of course as they can be). I’ve grown up with a respect for wildlife and interest in it, some of which stems from those very visits. But as I’ve grown up, what was once awe inspiring and entertaining has become more educational, thought provoking and a topic much closer to my heart.

I look at a visit as an opportunity to learn about conservation, but also about the heritage of these institutions. For example when in Vienna last year, I visit the Tiergarten Schonbrunn and was as interested in, if not more so in fact, in the infrastructure and layout of the zoo, as I was in what was contained within the enclosures. There is a history there I want to understand and I think that is something zoological collections should be looking to impart on their visitors - show the changes that have occurred and own that past. Offer the context and circumstances in which these curious institutions arose to help people better understand ‘why’. Let’s stop disassociating and hiding from the unpalatable bits of that past. It can’t be changed, it was what it was, so let’s be honest about it and show the progress that’s been made since, in terms of our attitude towards animals (although, has there really been any? Another question I often wrestle with and have done a lot this past week, in the wake of the controversy over Cecil the lion. But that is a blog in itself).

However reticent I am to admit it, and regretful, I think there is little point in suggesting the demise of zoos and wildlife parks. They have a value in terms of education, conservation and funding projects that for some species, offer a last ditch attempt to bring them back from the brink of extinction. I just wish Zoos could lose the ‘entertainment’ label. I don’t think they should be entertaining, I think they should be a sharp reminder of the power we yield over the natural world and that we should being doing all we can to hand that back and leave well alone. I read recently John Berger’s view that ’in zoos [animals] constitute the living monument to their own disappearance’ (1) and couldn’t help but get a heavy heart. What a sorry state of affairs the relationship between mankind and animals is currently in.

2. Why does the legislation suck?

I’ve also become increasingly aware of the lax legislation that surrounds exotic animals generally in the UK. It seems archaic to me. Something that’s been neglected and over looked for far too long. I know there are a number of organisations out there who are pushing for change and we really need to get behind them.

Born Free’s summer 2015 Wildlife Times highlights some harrowing statistics about the numbers of exotic pets in the UK. They estimate for example that there are at least 7,000 pet monkeys and other primates in the UK. And then there is the sheer range of different species being kept as household pets, all of which was bought to light in a recent survey. This includes amongst others snow leopards, polar bears and tapirs as well as meerkats and venomous snakes. The article asks ‘Just because we are legally able to keep any animal, does this mean it is morally right?’ and I’d ask you the same question but also – why in the world does the law permit this? These are animals that are not just wild but some that are listed as species in need of protection (vulnerable, threatened, critically endangered etc.)

And then there is the fact that British Parliament can’t pass a bill to ban the use of exotic animals in circuses. The why is just beyond me – especially when you consider that other European countries have introduced this ban. Why hang on to this ‘traditional’ relic when so many people are against it? Are we not better than that? How can someone look at an animal in that sort of situation and feel that it is acceptable? I know it comes low down on the priority list when compared to other issues such as welfare, defence and the economy, but come on people can’t we just get it sorted out?

3. Why bother when nature has its own agenda?

Nothing appears to be safe- whether from humans or from nature. For example, I read very recently how 10 Asiatic lions have been reportedly killed in the floods that hit Gujarat, which is a significant number when you consider that the remaining surviving population is believed to be only 523. This disaster has renewed criticism by some conservationists that the lions should not be kept in a single location (2) but I couldn’t help but think, is there any hope either with or without human intervention? Has the damage not already been done and are we not at a point where it’s irreparable in so many cases? But then the flip side to that view - I read another recent article which reports how the numbers of peregrine falcons have risen in Illinois, so much so that the species has been removed from state’s endangered and threatened list.

And so I end up right back at the beginning, questioning whether we ‘need’ zoos and what function they serve and whether we can actually make a difference.... I told you this wasn’t going to be straight forward.

4. When should I quit it all and become an animal activist?

When I read of the harsh reality in the way we treat animals - the huge number of species threatened and nearing extinction; or of those trapped in unfit cages and enclosures, used as photographers props and as circus entertainment, or shot for ‘sport’ – I get so enraged. Often my reaction to these things is “right, let’s get out there and do something” or “why?”, so often the question is why.

Three recent incidents particularly sparked this reaction. The first was the story of 66 chimpanzees abandoned by the company who had performed medical tests of them, after pledging ‘lifetime care’ when the laboratory was closed down. The second, was the overturning of South African Airlines ban on the transportation of hunting trophies, and third of course, was the hunting and death of Cecil (links 3 & 4 below). I want to get out there and do something, I just don’t know what or how at this moment in time. I really want to make an impact and not some half-hearted attempted that falls flat on its face. Perhaps using the work I’ve done and am about to do, I can influence policy, educate and help to make lasting changes. “Why haven’t you done so already?” I hear you ask, and another good question. I suppose my Born Free subscription isn’t quite enough is it…. and I think in light of recent news, I’d better get straight on it!

5. What’s the role of Natural History Museums?

Again, this is a topic I’ve engaged with a fair bit of late and it’s no more straight forward than any of the previous. I read recently somewhere natural history museums described as “cemeteries of corpses” – a phrase which evoked two images for me. On the one hand, it seemed to have rather negative connotations; why would we want to make pilgrimages to these sorts of places, to look at the dead and ‘decaying’. It all seems rather morbid when you think about it. Why look at something still, lifeless and posed when you could look at something full of life, via the internet, TV, in a wildlife park or best of all, in its natural environment. And in part, I can see the argument. I recently had a conversation with someone who argued this case, expressing criticism of the NHM South Kensington for the faded mammal taxidermy specimens that are on display, for this person had in fact wanted to be able to show their child a vibrant, impressive looking male lion.

So just why do we go to NHM’s? Is it to see, to study and to compare creatures – their physiognomy, colourings and size? Or is it to understand the work taken by that institution as a scientific organisation? I think in part it’s both, but I don’t think that the latter is something that is really explored enough by NHM’s and transmitted to the public as well as it could be. Natural history museums are oddities in that they are “cemeteries of corpses”, dead specimens put on display for public consumption. But so much more goes on behind the scenes, work of global scientific significance and I think that is so often overlooked. NHM’s aren’t just preserving specimens but they are continuing to carry out the scientific and educational work they have always done, so let’s inform people about that. There is a reason why these museums have in their stores, hundreds of specimens of creatures from around the world. Let’s tell people what drove, and continues to drive that collecting and scientific research.

In a positive step there have been some successful attempts to contextualise collections and explain these ‘oddities’ by doing exactly that. Both the Horniman Museum and Gardens and the NHM Tring have attempted to address this; the Horniman with its new introduction to the Natural history gallery and Tring with its new Rothschild gallery. Both have attempted to contextualise the collections, explaining why they exist, what drove the people that began those collections and what else was going on at the time to influence it. It’s a much needed approach and one which can only improve people’s understanding of what at first glance, are pretty odd institutions.

It’s all too easy to forget that what is on display is only a small proportion of a collection and that much more is held in a museum’s store. It’s here that the real scientific value is to be seen and understood and that was something I really grew to appreciate very recently when shown some of the bird collection at the NHM Tring.

6. And, what should we be telling people about natural history collections?

Last one, I promise!

Recently when in an archive, I was approached by a mother with her two young boys who enquired as to what I was looking at and why. This moment was pretty significant for me for two reasons really. Firstly because it was the first time I really owned my claim to being a historian. But I was also struck by her response when I told her that I was looking at evidence for what specimens were being donated too and bought by this collection, by whom, where from etc. in order to try and map what was going on and why. I think I find this aspect particularly interesting because I’m looking for some sort of justification that this whole over exploitation that occurred throughout the 19th and early part of the 20th century, was in some way ‘worth it’ or ‘justifiable’. I don’t for a moment think it was, but I cling to the hope that there might just be something that makes it seem that tiny bit ‘ok’.

And that is exactly what this mother had said she’d tried to explain to her boys. That the animal specimens on display hadn’t been killed or died and preserved for nothing, and that the knowledge derived from them was hugely important. That’s what I want to believe too, and to a certain point, I do. But the more you encounter statistics that only 1 in 12 animals survived transportation to Britain, or that such and such died only days after it arrived, and that an animal was beaten to death for striking out – it really does destroy that belief. And even more so when you read that that is exactly what happens now, and again I can draw on a Wildlife Times article, in particular the one on cheetahs as ‘The ultimate status symbol’.

It’s all just very difficult because on the one hand, the history of the exotic animal trade is a colourful and fascinating one. I’ve been amazed to discover how far it impacted upon and reflected wider social, cultural, political and economic issues and it has enabled me to look at history in a very different way. However, while I maybe studying this subject and sharing my research, I do not for one moment condone what went on and what continues to go on, nor do I want to be seen as glorifying it by talking about it. I suppose, you have to learn to compartmentalise it in order to keep perspective and this is something I am still very much learning to do. The topics of animal welfare and animal rights are ones I feel very passionately about and there are often a lot of deep breaths to be heard when I’m in the archive and reading up on it, just as there has been in writing this, as I struggle to come to terms with the reality of what I might be reading.

(1) John Berger, Why Look at Animals? (London: Penguin Books, 2009), 36.
(2) http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/indian-floods-kill-10-endangered-asiatic-lions-in-gujarat-10390123.html
(3) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3173127/The-heartbreaking-battle-save-66-chimpanzees-baby-left-starve-African-island-medical-firm-abandoned-finished-experimenting-them.html?ito=social-twitter_mailonline
(4) http://www.fastcompany.com/3048936/fast-feed/south-african-airways-lifts-ban-on-hunters-animal-trophies

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

Being asked to write a specific blog can be a bit difficult as all of a sudden I feel all those eloquent thoughts I might have had shrivel up and turn to mush, almost immediately. Hence, I just tend to write on whatever topic comes into my head that week or in the moment that I sit down to write it. So you can almost imagine my reaction when I was asked to write a blog on H.M.S Victory, or more specifically Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. It went something along the lines of “oh hec, what in the world am I going to write about this place?” Maritime history, lots of school groups and a weird vibe in our friendship group were all I could really remember of it and I got the feeling it had the makings of a one liner – “you should go, it’s a really great day out, especially if the sun is shining!”…… Not my style though is it and it reeks of cynicism.

Thankfully, I’m one of those people who tends to take a lot of pictures on a day out like this and that actually came in very handy when thinking about this review, because those images prompted my memory. The whole complex is steeped in history – you’ve got the ships, various statues, plaques and memorials, museums, workshops and buildings – the Dockyard really does take you on a chronological tour of the British Navy and of British maritime history. That said, we didn’t necessarily adopt that approach in how we went around the site. Turns out we went backwards in time, when I think actually I’d have preferred to go forwards, but that is personal preference and as a visitor you have the freedom to make that decision.

H.M.S Warrior

Our first stop was H.M.S Warrior 1860 and this ship was pretty good for having a good old poke around. “The fastest, largest and most powerful warship in the world when she was launched. Such was her reputation that enemy fleets were intimidated by her obvious supremacy and deterred from attacking Britain at sea – yet she never fired a shot in anger” reads the website (1)”.  In presenting the ship and its history the Dockyard have tried to re-create areas of the ship and show them as they would have been. For example, the cannons are in situ, swords are placed in the holders and the captain’s cabin is furnished. It gave quite an authentic feel, even if those particular items were not necessarily authentic to the ship and the period. This method of display is a technique I tend to be fond of and actually, looking back I think it was done well. There were also some very helpful guides/volunteers aboard to offer information and insight into the history of H.M.S Warrior, which accompanied information panels around deck. And again, from what I can remember, we were actually invited to ask questions. The guides weren’t passive or inanimate to our experience, they wanted to engage with us and I felt the need to find a question to ask just to respond to this eagerness to impart their knowledge.

Aboard H.M.S Warrior

Captain's Cabin H.M.S Warrior

However, that said, having just taken another look at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard website and the page dedicated to H.M.S. Warrior, I can’t help but feel I failed to take much away from our visit to this ship and that actually, the website has proved to have greater impact. Now I don’t know if this is because of the time that’s lapsed between the visit and actually writing this blog, but reading about how this ship was the “pride of Queen’s Victoria’s Fleet” and how the “combination of iron sides, which offered protection from the exploding shells and the ability to carry large guns, changed the nature of marine warfare” (2), didn’t ring any bells and I can’t say it was something I remember learning on the day; which is a shame because it’s a fact I actually found particularly interesting. I suppose it throws up questions about how effective sites are in educating in the long term. I might well have been engaged at the time, but the retention of information seems a little lacking. Now is that down to me, or the experience I wonder?

H.M.S Victory

Anyway, next stop was H.M.S. Victory and our main reason for going. As the Royal Navy’s most famous warship, and known for her role in the Battle of Trafalgar, H.M.S Victory attracts over 400,000 people a year, most of whom desire to see the spot on deck where Nelson fell. This is marked by a plaque reading, “here Nelson Fell, 21^st October 1805” and again, was something I remember being surprised at on the day. I think my response went something along the lines of “how can they be sure that that is the exact spot?” I’d love to know, so if any readers do, please let me know. I have to admit remembering little else about this ship, which feels like blasphemy, but naval history just isn’t my thing.

"Here Nelson Fell..."

The Mary Rose Museum

You might therefore be wondering, what on earth made me visit if I felt that way. Well, the draw for me had really been the chance to visit the Mary Rose Museum, which had opened in May 2013 and displays both the ship and its artefacts on an unprecedented scale. Costing somewhere in the region of £27 million, the museum retells the story of the Mary Rose, from its crew right through to how it was raised from the bed of Solent back in 1982. It is still experiencing ongoing development, meaning that it is still subject to closures as new work is carried out (as will happen Dec 15 to Summer 2016) but for me, the draw was the fact that while it presents a significant proportion of naval history, it is also hugely significant in terms of marine archaeology and poses important questions about preservation. So it was these bigger, overarching themes that were the real draw for me.

Interactive Screens

The Mary Rose is the only 16^th century warship on display anywhere in the world and you get a clear sense of the unique nature of the ship and its history from the level of care and standard of work that has gone into the exhibition. It felt fresh and modern, but importantly, also attempted to tackle some of the big questions and themes that had remained somewhat hidden from the ships narrative in the past. The dominate image we have of the Mary Rose is as the favourite war ship of Henry VIII, not necessarily as the place of work for a huge crew or for having impact on 16^th Century science. So the fact this museum attempts to readdress that is a great thing.

The galleries themselves make great use of technology and merge modern and traditional museum display techniques together to create an interactive and informative learning environment. For example, there were a number of touch screens where you could select specific artefacts to see them close up and 3-dimensionally, but alongside those enlarged images, there were also video reconstructions to show the items in use. They became animate objects to interactive with and not those merely to be observed. There were also sensory activities, where visitors were encouraged to feel the hammer and chisel marks on a cannon ball for example, or to remove the stop from a jar that once contained menthol and so to get a sense of the smell. There were also eye catching “Did you know” and “Don’t Miss” panels – which enticed the attention of those who might not be as drawn to great lumps of text. I got the impression that the museum had tried to cater for a wide audience, with different learning styles in mind and that was a nice thing to see.

Multi-Sensory Activities

Of course, you are also able to see the wreckage of the Mary Rose and view each of its decks, while the techniques for the preservation of the ship are also explained. (3) The Mary Rose has led to significant developments in the field of conservation, preservation and maritime archaeology that to see it in the flesh is something else. It’s a really special moment when you first lay your eyes on it.

The Mary Rose

I think what has to be my favourite part of the whole museum however, was the emphasis placed on ‘The men of the Mary Rose’ – an attempt to weave real ordinary lives into the narrative of the ship and remind visitors that it was ordinary men who had served aboard and who died when the ship sank. The layout of the museum allows visitors to follow the lives of particular craftsmen aboard ship and answers all sorts of questions about what they might have experienced.

The Men of the Mary Rose

And to do this, the museum has made great use of forensic science.  For example, in the case of the  Carpenter an artist has reconstructed the face of a man found on the orlop deck with a number of woodworking tools next to him; the assumption being that as the carpenter he would have been as close to the action as possible so as to make the necessarily repairs to the ship as soon as possible. They’ve also done a lot of analysis on the skeleton of this individual and are able to inform people about him in more detail, such as that fact that he suffered with arthritis in his spine and ribs. This technique is used for a number of other people employed aboard ship not just the carpenter, and includes the master gunner and surgeon. They’ve attempted, and I’d argue rather successfully, to give visitors an idea of daily life and routine aboard ship, from what you would eat, to “keeping the faith” and what medical treatment you might get if needed. By attempting to put life stories back into the narrative of what happened to the Mary Rose, the museum are telling a largely untold story to a wider audience and I was really impressed by that approach.

Reminding myself of the trip and the history the site has to offer has actually renewed my enthusiasm for it. It has lots to offer visitors and makes the annual pass ticket price worth it. Maritime history might not be my thing, but Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is definitely worth visiting, even just for the Mary Rose Museum.

(1)    http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/site-attractions/attractions/hms-warrior-1860

(2)    http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/site-attractions/attractions/hms-warrior-1860

(3)    http://www.maryrose.org/discover-our-collection/

Happy as a pig in muck – Archives, archives and more archives! Part 2

Right, so where was I?

Ah Yes, that’s right, moving on from my little negative rant… After I got a little perspective on the whole situation and had a “that would make a good blog” moment, it was time to hit the next archive and see what else it could reveal in my hunt for new information on Mr Jamrach, to use in both my upcoming talk and exhibition. The great thing this time however, was that I needn’t even leave the comfort of my own home for this archive is all online.

For a reasonable subscription fee members of the public are able to sign up to the British Newspaper Archive (BNA) and access over 400 newspaper titles, spanning from 1710 to the 1960s – an invaluable resource for any researcher, both professional and amateur. I fast became a fan of this archive, for what a fantastic resource it offers its users! It’s easy to use and offers a wealth of material and I’ve really enjoyed navigating my way around and uncovering new little gems. Part of me wants to divulge some of that material, but then again, “spoilers”!

Previously the access I had to online newspaper archives came through the online e-resources access I had the luxury of using as a student at university. The Times Digital Archive and the 19th Century British Library Newspapers were both resources I used a lot when it came to working on both my undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations and had offered up some really interesting snippets of information. However once I’d left university, I lost that access and it forced me to look elsewhere. Hence I rediscovered the BNA, an archive I’d never really thought to utilise before. “Rookie error” I hear you cry!

Launched in 2011, the BNA is a partnership between the British Library and findmypast to digitise up to 40 million pages of the British Library’s vast collection of newspapers, over the course of the next 10 years (1). This enables researchers to search through thousands of articles by keyword, name, location, date or title, and see immediate results. Gone are the days of pain staking scrolling through microfiche and actual hard copies of papers - which can be a nice experience once in a while, but when researching on a large scale this resource is a genius one. And that is actually, exactly why I found myself putting aside a couple of days and dedicating that time to a thorough search of the archive. Before, had I had to do it ‘manually’, I’m not sure whether it would have been worth the time, unless of course I’d known exactly what I was looking for - a specific article or edition – and I think I could quickly have got disheartened with it. But there is no need for that with this archive; you can just explore it without that clear idea. I was able to find new snippets of information I had no previous idea about within seconds, and that made for a really exciting couple of days.

The Site

I found it to be a really user friendly database, offering users different ways to filter the results from announcement types to publication titles, date (YYYY/MM/DD) and even public tags (the sorting of articles into additional categories or topics such as news, classifieds, crime, art etc.). The technology used to recognise search terms also works well at picking out those key words for both basic and advanced searches.  And the character recognition software (OCR) is generally spot on, but some of the transcriptions, especially on the older stuff, can be a bit hit and miss. It does however, appear that the BNA acknowledge this limitation and do offer users the opportunity to correct the OCR errors with the ‘Edit Article Text’ option; therefore offering users a way to improve the quality of the database. How many people have used or will use this feature is, I guess, is open to speculation. Only those articles looked at will have any chance of being corrected, we’d hope correctly but there is no guarantee, and also, how will this be kept on top of as new material continues to be added? There are lots of unanswerable questions here, but I think the approach is definitely one to be commended.  

In terms of the images of the papers, they are of a high quality and are easily manipulated by users – zooming in/out and navigating around the page. It was worth, what I expect, was an extra expense, for the quality of images this resource provides is not always matched by its contemporaries. I have had a few experiences where I’ve viewed some online documents and the images have pixelated when enlarged, or been slow to load when navigating around a page. But like I say, I didn’t experience any of those problems here. Upon viewing an article, your attention is also easily drawn to your original search term, which is highlighted by a blue box around the word and the article tends to be a lighter shade than the rest of the page. This is hugely helpful given that each article appears within the full page view of the original document.

One particularly good aspect to this feature is that fact that it gives you the full context in which the article is appearing. You don’t view it in isolation and this really helps with understanding the article and what else was going on at the time. For example, one of the most well-known stories about Charles Jamrach relates to the escape of a tiger from a shipment, onto the Ratcliffe Highway, where it proceeded to attack a young boy named John Wade, in October 1857. Interestingly, one particular article which documented this event, featured just below another article that discussed Imperial Rule within India subsequent to the Indian Mutiny– and in a way it makes a subtle reference to the symbolism that the event of the escaping tiger evoked.

However, with this feature also comes a slight drawback when it comes to downloading or printing articles. As copies of the entire page view, the PDF’s that are produced are large, complete files, when in actual fact you might only want a small snippet or single article. And, from what I could see, there wasn’t the option to print or download just the single article; a feature I’d particularly liked when using 19th Century British Library Newspapers in the past. So I took to print screening the smaller articles, so as to just get the bit I wanted. Where this wasn’t possible, I did save the large ones but am wondering what I will do as and when I decide to print them. It could be a mammoth cut and paste exercise!

In terms of my own research, what can I say? At first I was really excited to see over 1,800 results bought back for my first search term, but very quickly realised that an article published in a national or regional paper would be published numerous times in smaller, local and provincial papers and so there was a fair bit less to look at than I had first anticipated. But I found this to be interesting in itself and quickly noticed a pattern in terms of which sort of articles were published at various times and also, reused at later dates. As you’d expect, the tale of the tiger featured heavily and appeared in over 300 articles, some of which appeared in the October or November of 1857 but some dated later and covered the court case, when Jamrach was sued by Wade’s parents for compensation, and others just reflected on that incident some 10 or 20 years later. So, just by observing that pattern, I was able to reconfirm how dominate that event was in forming society’s view of Charles Jamrach.

One thing I had been a little concerned about when subscribing to this archive was that there might be a usage cap on how many articles you can view in one session/month. But I did a bit of research and was relieved to find that this doesn’t appear to be the case. I was free to mosey about looking at what I wanted and really enjoyed the process of doing so.

Conclusions

The BNA has really opened up the collections of the British Library to a much wider audience and I think that can only ever be a good thing. In many ways it is democratising research and offering researchers of all kinds, access to an invaluable resource that can be at their fingertips in minutes – although, at a cost. I hope that this is a sign of more good things to come and wonder, whether there is scope for the project to run for longer if funding and resources can be found?

So….I know you’re probably all dying to know – what new gems did I uncover? Well it was a bit of a mixed bag really. Sadly, I discovered news reports dating from the 1870s that describe how Mr. Jamrach, “the well-known dealer in wild beasts” was charged at the Thames Police Court with assaulting his wife. (Whether this was Mr Jamrach Snr or Jnr thought, I have yet to determine). One particular report in the Leeds Times goes on to describe details of the two cases which were put to the court, Mrs. Jamrach’s informing of the violence to which she was inflicted, but then it being implied she was actually having an affair with the character witness and medical examiner in the case. The case for the defense was then put forward and the judge told of the “wretched, miserable life [he suffered] at the hands of the complainant”. In the end the summons was dismissed and the judge ruled that Mrs. Jamrach “keep the peace towards her husband for the next three months”.  Would we expect any other judgment given the time?

Then, there is one other final snippet that I will share with you, which is one that really stood out for me, partly because of its ludicrously, but also because it shows how present Jamrach’s was in the consciousness of society during the later half of the nineteenth century. I was very surprised to find a couple of articles dating from 1888 speculating as to the culprit behind the Whitechapel Murders and that actually implicated Jamrach’s. Having been compared to, or perhaps inspired by, Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “Murder in the Rue Morgue”, it appears it was actually suggested that the Whitechapel crimes were being committed due to the “same agency” as that in the story and that “it might be worthwhile... for the police to inquire at Jamrach’s and other dealers in the White-chapel Road and the neighborhood, if any large monkey has escaped”; while another directly claimed it could be down to “one of Jamrach’s Gorilla’s armed with a knife” (2). I had to laugh. It really does seem that Jamrach managed to get himself caught up in all sorts of new stories of the day! I’d say more, but would like to keep something back for those upcoming events – that’s after all what is has all been in aid of.

(1)    http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/help/about

(2)    http://poestories.com/read/murders

Happy as a pig in muck – Archives, archives and more archives! Part 1

This week I went very much back to basics and found myself in the archive, both in a physical and digital sense, conducting original primary research. I spent the best part of the week examining documents, some of which were over 200 years old, and loved every single minute of it – well, mostly, but all in good time! There was a sense of urgency in my attempts to plan as many archive visits as possible as I have a couple of big ‘events’ coming up in the next few months and as we all know, early preparation – especially given that I’m starting the PhD in September – is always a good idea! I do slightly feel as if I’ve bitten off more than I can chew, however I do tend to thrive under the pressure and I’m really excited about each of the projects!

So, I started this little research binge at Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archive which was my first experience of a Borough Archive, unless you equate it to a County archive, then Surrey History Centre would be awarded that accreditation. But I digress. But how did I end up there one might ask? And in fact a couple of people have asked me that very question, as it’s a bit off the beaten track and not the most obvious choice to have made.

Well it was in fact the result of an enquiry placed with the Museum of London Docklands in search of material that might shed further light on the life and business of Charles Jamrach.  As part of my ongoing research I really want to try and figure out which London Docks Jamrach was importing into and whether any manifests survive that might tell us a bit more about the transportation of exotic cargo from ‘source’ to the ‘middle man/distributor’. It was therefore through correspondence with the archivist at the Museum of London Docklands that the suggestion was made that I make enquires with Tower Hamlets Library and Archive, as it was explained to me they hold material that focuses expressly on the Borough of Tower Hamlets. So this is exactly what I did and having received a positive response that they do hold some material, off I went, fortunately on a Saturday which meant no need to take a day of work!

 It transpires that the Archive and Library is open on the 1^st and 3^rd Saturday of the month, which for others in a position like I am is a huge benefit. Generally speaking, most archives tend to run 9-5 hours and so if you’re working, conducting research requires you taking holiday. But not in this case. The discovery of Saturday opening hours, especially in relation to a small and locally funded archive, that I expect only attracts a certain niche of researchers, was therefore a hugely pleasant surprise.

What I found was an archive with a lot of character but one I couldn’t help feel harks back to a bygone age. There was lots of wood cladding and retrograde steel shelfs and I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about the cataloguing system or lack thereof - an online version is coming soon which is fantastic, but as a researcher you are completely dependent on the assistance of the archive staff and of course, they can’t always know what you are looking for, because half the time you don’t really know until you find it!

I suppose I’ve been very spoilt in what I’ve experienced in other archives before now, as they’ve tended to be the larger, well-funded ones. For example, I am used to drawing up a list with reference numbers of what I’d like to see before I turn up, or the very least will have arranged this with an archivist beforehand. However that didn’t happen in this case. I was just told to turn up but then when I arrived, I was asked to provide references – catch 22. There is also a further complication which has arisen through subsequent correspondence because referencing on the original material isn’t particularly clear and it’s therefore been difficult for me to supply an accurate reference number for an item I’ve requested a copy of.

I feel pretty useless being so vague about it, as it’s normally something I am very particular about. I want to be able to go back to the original material and re-source what I found, but I also want others to be able to do the same thing if and when they need to – to both corroborate and question my work. And this was also made difficult by the fact that in a number of cases, the material I was looking consisted of newspaper clippings, cut out from the original newspapers and merely stuck to pieces of card, not necessarily with their provenance labelled anywhere. I found this all quite prohibiting as a researcher, so while I may have found some great material, and some pictures I’m very pleased to have found (we now have a face for the name for example), I’m a little hesitant to use them, as I’m not entirely sure where they’ve come from - at least not at the moment. All in all, it felt a little haphazard if I’m honest, but, on a positive note we did get there in the end and the archivist was very helpful in producing a lot more material that I had anticipated being available, so all in all it was a very beneficial visit and I left on a bit of a high it has to be said.

I also had my first microfiche experience at Tower Hamlets Archive which was simply terrifying. Never having used it before I did ask for a tutorial, which the archivist was very happy to provide, but the whole process still scared the life out of me and I had horrible visions of pushing the button too fast and the film bursting into flames and being lost forever. I’m not sure I’d race to use it again – I’d much rather stick to digital archives or those with pages I can turn!

So high on the success from earlier in the week I then headed off to another, arguably more well-known and well used archive, where I spent the next two days. The first day was brilliant. I was very impressed with the archive, the organisation and the staff who were very friendly and accommodating and who helped to create a really nice environment in which to work. As sometimes happens, the material was not all relevant or what I had been hoping to find, but I did find a few nice surprises and had a bit of a refresher in reading 19^th century italicised handwriting. It felt really good to be back in the archive, in a more traditional sense – it had been too long, so all in all I had a really nice and productive day.

However, the second day, or rather, the last half an hour of that second day, was a completely different story. When it hit shift change we ended up with a bit of a jobsworth on the desk and I left feeling completely enraged. The demeanour of that particular archivist is exactly what can put ordinary members of the public off going to archives and what helps to preserve the image that archives are only for the use of the ‘elite’ and members of the ‘academy’. This particular archivist didn’t attempt to educate, but reprimanded in quite an unpleasant tone. Hands up, my original set up wasn’t as it should be, I did have part of the file (a corner) hanging over the edge of the desk, and rightly so she told me to place it more centrally on the desk – fine, I don’t have a problem with that. What I do have a problem with is her both doing it for me and the tone that she adopted. Teach me, don’t lecture me.

But the second thing that also really got me was being told that I couldn’t hold up the documents or angle them ever so slightly in an attempt to decipher, what is quite difficult handwriting to read. I am a historian. I appreciate that documents are fragile and I didn’t take the decision to lift that particular document lightly. Had it been fragile, or tearing or weak in any way I wouldn’t have chosen to look it at that way. I assessed what was in front of me and reacted suitably. And I think that particular archivist needs to appreciate that. As visitors to the archive, we’re not all inferior because we don’t hold the title of archivist.

Documents like those I had been viewing, have been kept to be studied and that’s all I was doing. There was no man handling, just holding it lightly at different angles – and the insistence that they could offer a magnifying glass, I’m afraid, wasn’t go to make that task any easier. The size of the text wasn’t the issue, but had I been asked rather than pre-judged, I might have been able to explain that.

I know archives have rules and guidelines for a reason, but I also think the value in their existence is the use people are able to make of them. Provided people are respectful and careful with the material they handle, we shouldn’t be reprimanded for how we hold a document. It’s a bit backward and old fashioned for my liking - I wouldn’t be surprised if this same archivist favoured the white glove approach as well!

Just why I’m on my soapbox - this particular individual even prohibited a visitor taking a picture of the library. Not specific items or artefacts, just the room as an entity. I mean come on?! Archives shouldn’t be closeted, mysterious entities shut off from the world. They can offer so much, but people need to know they are there in the first place. If anything, that’s what I took most from my experience of Tower Hamlets Archive. I needed to know it was there before it could be of any use to me and what use it was?! The whole thing just really grated on me – especially as it didn’t appear to be the archives’ ethos, just the ethos of that particular archivist.

I can’t help but think, if I felt intimidated having used numerous archives in the past, how would someone inexperienced feel? It really would be enough to put some people off and it continues to promote this elitist approach to archival study and that is something I really resent. I think so many organisations have come so far in accepting ‘modern’ historical practice and in welcoming those from outside the academy, but some and some individuals, have yet to catch up with that philosophy. So yes, you could say that particular archivist put a right downer on the day.

To be continued…

The Subterranean Secret Lair of Britain’s Second World War Leaders.

The Cabinet War Rooms

It’s been a long, long time since I last went to the Churchill War Rooms but after numerous visits to London in recent months where I’ve walked past it and said “I really must go back there”, I finally got around to it. It’s the second recent visit I’ve made to a place affiliated with Winston Churchill in the past month; the first having of course been Blenheim Palace which was the feature of another recent blog, and it is perhaps rather apt given that this year marks the 50^th anniversary of his death.

Having first become operational at the end of August 1939, it’s always struck me as a bit odd that the War Rooms remained largely intact immediately after the war, never having been fully dismantled or turned back into the stores and offices they had once been.  An odd view for a proponent of heritage to have perhaps, but also somewhat redundant as we know this didn’t happened.  It was as if someone knew how much of interest they would be in the future, for most of the important rooms have remained preserved and untouched for some 70 years since the end of the Second World War.

Visitor Feedback built into the exhibition

The War Room’s caretaker, Rance, stayed on post- war and after a 1948 press conference revealed the secrets of the Rooms, he began giving tours, enlightening visitors to what had once gone on there. This marked the beginning of a surge in interest in the War Rooms over the next thirty years, resulting in the Imperial War Museum being asked to restore the site and open it as a museum to the public, which it did in 1984. Ever since it’s commanded worldwide interest and remains a highly popular attraction with tourists visiting London – you only have to look at the admissions queue for evidence of this!

They may date from 1939, but it is under the leadership of Prime Minister Churchill, whose term in office began in 1940, that the War Rooms really began being used and with whom they will undoubtedly, forever be associated and remembered.  It was from these rooms that Churchill commanded the war effort of Britain and it’s Empire; held important meetings, as the Blitz raged on overhead; in which he contemplated and planned for the anticipated Nazi invasion; and into the adjacent map room that he brought some of his most important visitors to demonstrate the thorough and high-tech charting of the war. This subterranean network has some fascinating stories to tell, many of which are unveiled on a visit.

The War Rooms consist of a series of rooms connected by a network of narrow passages – what you’d expect really from an underground HQ. But as a visitor what this means is on a busy day it’s a bit claustrophobic and the day I visited, it was very, very busy. A lot of people were tripping over each other to get around and have a good look and I felt a bit harassed at the beginning, it has to be said. However, what I was immediately struck by was the sense of authenticity embodied here. The War Rooms really evoke the ‘sense of place’, that can really entice a visitor to connect with their experience.

Many of the rooms are still ‘dressed’ as they were left and it is like peering into a window in time. It’s not a museum in an abstract setting, the information being told here relates directly to events that went on within those exact rooms; that table is where the Cabinet met and made decisions, Churchill spoke on that telephone, and Mrs Churchill slept in that bed. These things are fact – ok they could be replicas - I’m pretty sure they weren’t but they could be - but you get my point. On the whole, this is a genuine piece of history, a snapshot in time, and in overhearing other visitors’ comments on this aspect; I would conclude that the War Rooms are successful in capturing interest on this very basis.

One of the Rooms occupied during the war

I was actually surprised at how much there was too see and how much has remained untouched; the map room being particularly impressive. The walls are still covered with wartime maps, each of which is punctuated by thousands of tiny pin holes, charting the movements of naval and military conveys across the world. There is even a key pinned to one wooden post providing an indication of which country is represented by each colour. It’s kind of eerie in a way, knowing that most of what occurred in the war would have been fed back into this very room. It sort of bought home the enormity of it all again, just in a different way.

One of the many maps still in situ.

In terms of transmitting information the War Rooms depend on visitors using an audio guide, each room having been designated a number which you then type in to hear the information. I was always a bit anti-audio guide, I much prefer making my own way around and not being dependent on a device to gain information, but in this context audio guides seem to be the best option. Realistically there is little space for information panels or guides and if there were, given how many people you’re battling your way around, I suspect they would be difficult to access and read. Having the audio guide means you can tuck yourself in a corner and have a listen at your convenience, either before, after, or while viewing the rooms it’s talking about. It’s also very helpful in finding your way around, signalling which way to go!

An artefact that particularly stood out for me was the map of Europe which proposed how Germany would be divided up in zones of occupation after the end of the war and which had been used by Churchill at the Potsdam Conference in July 1945. World War Two was the focus of most of my pre university history education in one way or another, so I knew at a conceptual level that this happened, but to see the actual map which had been drawn on, shaded in and annotated really bought it home.

What I hadn’t realised was that the War Rooms also contain the Churchill Museum, a dedicated sub-museum to the man some claim is ‘Britain’s greatest politician and historical figure’ (1) and I was very interested to read in the guidebook after my visit, the intention of this museum. Here’s the passage I found particularly insightful:

Winston Churchill, has become a two dimensional and slightly unreal character. His reputation rests largely on superficial knowledge, constantly replayed images and on one brief –albeit momentous – period of his life. The Churchill Museum has taken on the difficult task: a ‘personality museum’ could so easily slip into the pitfalls of dullness or hagiography. There was a clear need for a museum which could explore the complex nature of Churchill’s life and his long political career…

One they further outline would challenge the existing narrative and reveal aspects of his life and personality that were otherwise unknown or forgotten (2). And what a way to do it. The exhibition puts into perspective his whole life, focusing on five key areas; his childhood, early political career, ‘Wilderness years’, War Leader and Cold War Statesmen. And I have to say, I came away having learnt a great deal, because I too was guilty of having this ‘two dimensional’ view of Churchill that did only really concentrate on his role as a war time leader.

As you enter the Churchill Museum, the introductory panels explain at the outset how ‘This exhibition explores the real man behind the icon’, so early on you are being challenged to reconsider any existing knowledge you may already have. This was something my friend had mentioned to me when we were at Blenheim, and something she argued the War Rooms explored more directly than at the former. I just hadn’t realised how head on they really do deal with it. I dare say they could have taken it even further, but as it stands they have pushed those preconceived ideas we have as a society about Churchill, and even more impressively, have done so without alienating themselves from more traditional 'thinkers' in the process. I didn’t feel like the museum had ruined by perception of Churchill, just encouraged me to reconsider it and I did leave feeling as though I’d been given a more rounded perspective of him; one that included his odd habits and more controversial politics.

Interactive Screens challenge what you know or
understand about Churchill, in this case his views on the Empire

The use of touch screens was also particularly helpful in encouraging visitors to engage with this idea. Through this medium visitors are asked quite thought provoking questions about some of Churchill’s more controversial politics. For example, one screen poses the view ‘Churchill’s views on India were based on race’ and you’re invited to cast your vote (Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Not Sure, Agree or Strongly Agree). You’d then be offered access to further information - primary sources and research that you could read and continue to take further until you’re asked again if you'd like to reconsider your original response. Once you’ve made that decision you are then shown the rest of the results and can see what other visitors have thought when doing the same activity. I think it’s a really well done element, tackling something quite challenging. It wasn’t lecturing or pushing a view point on you. Each screen offered you further information upon which to draw your own conclusion – museum visitors doing their very own history - what can be better?!

A large interactive map provides the museum's 'centre-piece'
and allows visitors to interact with far more archive material than could
otherwise be displayed.

A display of personal family photos
and letters between Winston
and Clementine

The techniques used by the Churchill Museum are broad and varied across the space and offer visitors an experience which is something of an assault on the senses which I liked, but also found to be a bit over whelming. A high level of modern technology has been used to make it interactive. There were sound effects, video excerpts, photographs and objects; all exhibited in designated areas that focused on a particular period of his life, with each segment being centred on a large interactive table offering visitors a platform through which to engage with a more extensive range of the museums archive material about Churchill’s life and career. There is really a sense that the museum wants to project a rounded image of Churchill to the public, but also to arm them with as much material as possible to draw their own conclusions and move beyond this overriding image and understanding we have of him as the War Time leader.    

One of many interactive screens - this one picking out
Churchill's famous and lesser known quotes.

I have a vague memory of visiting the war rooms when I was younger but this recent visit has been really thought provoking and has really challenged my pre-existing understanding and knowledge of Winston Churchill. I think the Churchill War Rooms offer visitors a chance to engage dynamically with this area of history, offering a good balance of good ‘academic’ history, as provided by the Churchill Museum, and good ‘popular’ history, as provided by the War rooms. It was a great day out and one I would certainly recommend - I’m very glad I finally got around to spending my afternoon there!

P.S....

....There always seems to be a wild/exotic animal trade/gifting link in the unlikely of places! 

(1)    Churchill War Rooms Guidebook.
(2)   Churchill War Rooms Guidebook.