The Royal Pavilion, Brighton – A memory shattered as the truth is learned!

The Royal Pavilion, Brighton
Authors Own Photo

As I’ve probably mentioned before when writing this blog, my family history is something I’ve done a lot of research into and is an ongoing project for me. And one of the things that has really developed out of that work is the connection I feel to the city of Brighton. It’s where my Dad grew up and where his family have lived for generations; where as a child I spent time visiting family and somewhere, over the years, I’ve heard a lot. But in actual fact I haven’t spent a lot of time in the city. I visited the church where my grandparents were married and viewed the register, and had my first archive experience there, but what I know is largely second hand.

So a couple of weekends ago, as part of a trip to visit family, my Dad and I made a stop at Brighton Pavilion, for it had been on my “wish list” to revisit for a while. I had been before, but many moons ago and I couldn’t remember that much about it, asides from it being Indian in influence, having connections with the Indian Army during the WW1 and, I thought, had been a much loved summer residence of Queen Victoria. Like St Paul’s it’s a building I am just fascinated by and fondly remember, how around Christmas time, we’d ask that Dad drive back through the city, rather than over the hills, so that we could see the city’s Christmas lights and the Pavilion – it was majestic and exotic, especially when lit at night. Even now, something about it just captures my imagination and as we were heading down anyway, I asked if we could make a pit stop and revisit.

The thing is, the visit shattered all the memories I had – especially learning that Queen Victoria had sold it as she didn’t really like it, owing to the lack of privacy it availed and the fact it wasn’t large enough to house her growing family. I mean how did I get it that wrong? I can only think I had confused it with Osbourne House, but who knows! And, far from being Indian in influence, the inside is completely Oriental and its history is more centred on George IV and to an extent, William IV, than it is on Queen Vic. In that sense, the visit was incredibly worthwhile for it corrected those misunderstandings I had and allowed me to reconnect with a building that’s history fascinates me. 

So what did I make of it? Well, I was really impressed by the audio guide that is available in multiple languages for all visitors and they were really modern and easy to use. The information was clear, informative and in bite sized chunks which could be expanded upon by choosing further options. In actual fact, I’m not normally a fan of audio guides, I would rather make my own way around and read the information panels, but on this occasion welcomed the additional device, and actually without it I would have struggled to learn anything - the audio guide being the main way in which the historical narrative is told to visitors.

I just love this building!

At first, I wasn’t sure if I was a fan of this approach, but having spent some time thinking about it, I reached the conclusion that it is perhaps the best option the Royal Pavilion could offer its visitors. Let me explain my train of thought. What I was particularly struck by during our visit was how many of the artefacts and items on display are actually on loan from various collections or have been donated to the Pavilion by patrons. There are few original fixtures on display and as I learnt that, I have to admit it did lose some of its wow factor for me.  
It is still an impressive building with an interesting history, but that atmosphere is evoked more by the sense of place than what it contains. It made me think of Avebury Manor actually, another site where the place itself has significance, and the items, although not original, are given meaning because of the power that sense of place creates. Had I not been informed by reading the guidebook that these items had been donated, I wouldn’t have known any different; they fit in and they recreate the image of what you’d expect it to look like. So I don’t know why knowing of the origin of items changes that, it just did for me.

So the fact that the information is given through the audio guide, which can talk specifically about the building, its occupants and what it would have been like, gives you the history the Pavilion, rather than of the objects which have alternate origins. If the more mainstream approach of  using object labels and the like had been adopted, I think the history the Pavilion would have been lost against the history of individual items and not been what visitors walked away having learnt about. 

There is also a fair bit of renovation underway, The Saloon in particular. The curatorial team have gone to some lengths to explain this and have included a display which informs visitors about aspects of the process. But again, when reading the Guidebook, I was surprised to learn that this room has been under renovation since 2009. That’s six years and it is still a way off being completed. And this comes after other periods of serious renovation. For example an arson attack in 1975 destroyed much of the music room which then underwent a huge restoration effort, only then, when near completion, to suffer at the hands of the Great Storm of 1987, which saw stone work fall through the roof and require a repeat of the process.

Majestic!

So much time and care has clearly been put into the Pavilion and its restoration has clearly been a labour of love. I heard it described as “the heart of the city”, and the fact that such huge efforts have been made to restore it to its current state is amazing. I think for a community to be so attached to such a landmark is really admirable in this day and age – it’s a piece of history really cared about by the people of Brighton, the precedent for which began when the city bought the Pavilion from Queen Victoria in 1850 for the sum of £50,000.

What I also really found interesting was the information about the Pavilion’s use as the Indian Military hospital during WW1 and couldn’t help but pick up the guide on it. I think I’ve posted a blog about the Chattri before (another Brighton landmark) and it’s all connected – the Chattri being the memorial unveiled in 1921 by the Prince of Wales, to all Indian soldiers who died in Brighton. This aspect of the Pavilion’s history is one I also find interesting because of a family story that claims our Great Great Granddad West, a concertina player, entertained the Indian soldiers when it was Military Hospital. Now how true that is I have no idea, but it has sparked and sustained my interest in the Pavilion over the years.

I am really glad we took the opportunity to revisit the Pavilion but it does go to show how you take different things away from places when you revisit and that there is much more to be learnt that can be done in a single trip. It was only last month that I admitted my apathy to the Imperial War Museum, but perhaps it’s because I’ve been comparatively recently and not enough time has passed to allow me to visit and connect with it again. In the case of the Pavilion, this is certainly what happened. I had these memories of it from childhood which were completely incorrect but they had caused me to remember it fondly and encouraged me to visit again, where this time I learned more accurate information about the Pavilion and how it fits into history.

There are other places on my wish list I hope to revisit for similar reasons; nostalgia, curiosity and seeking blog inspiration among them! I just wonder, can childhood memory stand the test of time, or will it fall short, as it did here?

Conducting research, with all the challenges and complexities that can entail.

Given that I claim to have made the ‘animal turn’ and specialise in the history of the exotic animal trade during modern British history, I do seem to blog relatively little about it. I couldn’t tell you why that is particularly; I suppose I just use my blog as a way to pen other thoughts, away from the main body of my research. However, in preparing a paper for a conference I’ve been asked to speak at this week, I’ve been revisiting my favourite research topic, Charles Jamrach and his animal trading business, and began formulating ideas for a blog.

Previously, when researching my dissertations, I think it’s safe to say I was caught up with the pressure of deadlines and reading with a particular purpose in mind. I knew what I was looking for, or more specifically what I wasn’t looking for from my sources and I just powered through the material. I did get what I needed, but as so often happen in situations like this, I can’t say I really took everything in.

However, it’s been different this time around and I have really read and engaged with  the articles I’ve been examining and if truth be told, have actually found it both quite difficult and infuriating. When you’re dealing with a subject you care about and are confronted with information that is difficult to digest, it’s hard to put into context what you are reading. For example, in one account an author commented on how 80% of a shipment of animals died before making it to their destination – and we’re not talking 10-20 animals or birds, we’re talking hundreds if not thousands. It was an indulgent and exploitative trade driven by imperialism that saw animal dealers, hunters and collectors, mine the earth’s surface for animals to add to their collections, with no real understanding of the long term implications. As one article described, ‘Africa was Jamrach’s nursery’.

It’s also hard to read how a dealer might have received a shipment of animals, the sum of which now equates to that of the surviving population which is now fighting impending extinction. The root of many conservation issues originate in this period and being someone who is aware and concerned about those issues, it was quite thought provoking research. As a historian you have to try and remain objective, weighing up the evidence to draw reasoned and well-argued conclusions, but as a citizen concerned with environmental issues, it was pretty hard stuff and I have to admit to having really struggled to remain impartial on this occasion. I understand that it was of its time, but with a modern mind set, it’s pretty hard to justify.

I think my feelings were also further exacerbated by a recent report on how the bill to ban the use of wild animals in circuses in the UK has been blocked by Tory backbenchers for the final time. Even more frustratingly- we’re not talking a majority. No. Three individuals have repeatedly blocked this going through, one claiming that it’s a “Great British institution…[that] deserves to be defended against the propaganda and exaggerations”. (1) I’m sorry, but I really am of the thought that the time for wild animals to be used as entertainment in a circus setting is over. I struggle to justify the existence of zoos to myself, let alone circuses that have little if anything to do with conservation and the preservation of species. Perhaps it was once the case that this was true, but it is now an outdated practice and I’m not the only one to share this view.

There was a time not that long ago, in early in the twentieth century, when the animal trade supplying circuses and menageries entered a decline because it was replaced by the entertainment that films could provide. And you’d think to some degree this would have continued – what with the potential for HD and new filming techniques to reform the way in which we view animals and allow us to observe them in their natural habitats, in a more unobtrusive way. Is there really a need to train animals for our entertainment? And what is it that still compels us as a society to be drawn to a circus to watch animals perform? I just don’t get it.

Coincidentally, this report came after another which announced that the largest circus provider in America, The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, declared it would phase out the use of elephants in its shows, amidst growing public sentiment against it. You’d think wouldn’t you, that with such emphasis placed on conservation and the like, that this would have stopped years ago but there are so many more instances like this one where animals are kept and used for entertainment. It makes me shudder. I naively thought when first embarking on this project 3 years ago now, that the commercial animal trade was long gone. How wrong was I?!

Our relationship with animals is such a complex one and in this blog I’ve really just written a gut reaction to this news. It’s not well balanced or researched but highlights just some of the issues I engage with when doing my research. There are so many layers to a topic like this; you have to engage with the history, the legality, the ethics….. the list goes on. Yet, however much I am at times horrified by what I read, I am also fascinated and discovering the history of the exotic animal trade has completely changed the way in which I view the British Empire and its legacy.

(1)    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ban-on-wild-animals-in-circus-blocked-by-tory-backbenchers-10092779.html

(2)    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11453278/American-circus-will-end-elephant-acts-in-response-to-public-criticism.html

Imperial War Museum – World War One Galleries

Authors Own Photo

I’m probably about to commit heresy by saying this out loud, but I’ve never really been a fan of the Imperial War Museum. In the past I’ve only ever really been to visit ‘The Holocaust’ exhibition, first with school and then again some years later, while the only other occasion I remember visiting was when we were younger and my Dad took my brother and I; my brother being a huge military fanatic at that age, forever covering the living room in battle scenes with his toy soldiers.  As such I see it a bit as a ‘blokey’ museum and personally, it wouldn’t really ever be first on my list of museums to revisit. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a great institution and a hugely valuable one at that; the loss of its library, artefact collections and testimonies never being one I could comprehend. But personally, I just don’t connect with it; I think the only thing I wish I’d seen but didn’t was the Animals at War exhibition a few years ago, which I had the chance to familiarise myself when creating my radio programme this time last year.

However, that said I did recently revisit the museum to view the refurbished First World War Galleries and found myself pleasantly surprised. Now rather foolishly we did go on the last Saturday of half term and it felt like half the population of London did too – it was extremely busy! And that does impact your experience; it’s not easy to see and read everything and at times you do get pushed along with the crowd whether you like it or not. But given the huge efforts that went in to refurbishing these galleries in time for 2014’s centenary commemorations and the media coverage it received,  I really wanted to go and see for myself how the museum had changed and what shape the new exhibition took.

The first thing I should say is “wow!” I mean every inch of that exhibition has been thought about and considered – accessibility, visitor interaction, engagement, digitisation, visitor comfort…. all the public history buzz words apply in this context. It was an assault on the senses and while it felt a little overwhelming at times, it really was impressive. I particularly like the use of sound and texture; that the surfaces on which glass cases rested were inscribed with quotes and phrases; while walls were pasted with WW1 posters and propaganda; and that full use was made of interactive screens, film footage and first-hand testimony. It meant that even if you couldn’t wade through the people and be right up close to the artefacts on display in the glass cabinets, you always had something to look at or read or engage with. You’d have to try really hard not to interact with something.

A few things really stood out for me however. One was the inclusion of an illustrated children’s books which focused on key areas of WW1. I mean what a topic for a children’s book – it’s not something I would have ever considered would have been produced, and that’s the sort of facts I find particularly interesting.  Another was the interactive game of battleships that people could play in order to see how many cargo ships they could safely get to the front line, replicating the mission many men faced in trying to overcome naval blockades and naval warfare.
I was also impressed by one particular area of the museum where again, one of the benches (if that’s the right word), which sort of shaped the museum, had been designed to look like stacks of newspapers and featured headlines from during the war. They speak for themselves but what an effect design feature, turning something that needs to be there into a display in its own right – highly effective!

The Wall of Bullets

Aspects of the exhibition are also designed to make you feel as though you are in the trenches and the one overriding image I am left with, is that of the machine gun which is placed at a distance, yet pointed towards visitors and coming from it are metals rods, following the trajectory of the bullets that would have been fired from such a gun. Two are layered upon each another and you can see really effectively how destructive these guns would have been and how strategically they were placed. Soldiers really did run into walls of bullets. I’ve never seen anything quite like that in a display and it made it that much more real.

Everything has been thrown at this exhibition to make it the best it can be and you can see that right away. You can see the time and care that has gone into this exhibition and it really is a great one. Military history is not really my thing, and I find WW2 more interesting than WW1, but for those few hours I was really interested in what I was seeing and engaging with. I would definitely probably go back at a quieter time, just to take more of it in. There’s a lot to do in one visit.

I think this is also worth a mention. While there my friend and I also looked at the Curiosities of War exhibition which did exactly what it said on the tin – my friend and I just looked at these artefacts quizzically and then at each other as if to say “What is that?!” It was only a small part of the museum, but if definitely made us stop, think and enquire - all important things for an exhibition to do.

     "A Barrel.... Right ok...."       "Oh I get it, I think, sort of..."

That said, my favourite exhibition visited that day was The Lord Ashcroft Gallery: Extraordinary Heroes, which has on display the personal stories and medals belonging to those, who throughout history, have been awarded the Victoria Cross (VC), for extreme bravery under enemy fire, and the George Cross (GC), which recognises extreme bravery carried out away from battle, both in war and peace. It was a new gallery to the museum in 2010, paid for by a £5 million donation by Lord Ashcroft, KCMG, and now contains the largest collection of VC’s ever assembled, merging Ashcroft’s private collection and those already held by IWM. 

The exhibition is built around the question “How brave are you?” and provokes visitors to consider how they would define the concepts of bravery and heroism; offering some suggestion by dividing the exhibition into seven themes; aggression, boldness, endurance, initiative, leadership, sacrifice and skill.

Lord Ashcroft Gallery

What I really liked about this exhibit was its inclusion of modern techniques to engage visitors of all ages. The medals are displayed alongside narrative but you can learn more by interacting with touch screens, listening to sound clips and watching video montages. There are also graphic magazines you can pick up and read and next to some of the stories there are lever arch stamps which children can use to mark off a card as they follow the trail round. Another simple technique used was placing some of the narrative in boxes, so visitors have to open them to read the text – very simple yet I found myself opening everyone, spurred on by curiosity. I also like the fact they haven’t stuck to using traditional fonts either. In some places it’s jazzed up a bit and that just makes it that bit more quirky and engaging.

The website for the exhibitions describes its objective as being ‘to intrigue, inspire and amaze by re-telling forgotten stories of bravery that show, when faced with extreme situations, some people can do extraordinary things’ (1). And it does just that. I hadn’t expected the exhibition to be as fresh and full of life as it was. Owing to previous visits I don’t associate that sort of experience with the IWM and yet this exhibition still gives that impression after five years. I would have said it was much more recent and it just goes to show that I should ditch any presumptions I have, because the IWM is clearly moving with the times.

There is much more pressure on museums now to cater for its modern visitors and we demand so much more. I’m as guilty of it as the next person, I want to be engaged and to an extent, entertained. That is how I learn best - through interaction and I was plenty surprised at just how well the IWM did those things on my most recent visit.

It is definitely worth another visit – especially if a slice of cake’s in the equation!

(1)    http://archive.iwm.org.uk/upload/package/184/about.html

Kinver Rock Houses: The Inspiration for Tolkien's Shire - Fact or Fiction?

A few weeks ago I went to stay with a friend up in the lovely village of Kinver and on the Sunday the four of us set off on an afternoon walk. I thought it would be a nice stroll up Kinver Edge – all very scenic and lovely, outdoors and close to nature, you know the sort of thing. So the last thing I expected was to come across a National Trust Property, yet here was Kinver Edge and the Rock Houses at the foot of the hill we were about to climb. It just goes to show, history really is everywhere and that you’ll find it when you least expect it!

I had no idea what rock houses were to that point, I hadn’t even considered they existed and then here I was confronted with them and all I could think was “what a great blog topic”. I feared it would almost be like a repeat of the Ostrich vs. Flamingo wars as it was the same group of friends, but thankfully there was no conflict to be had – just curiosity.

Unfortunately the houses were closed for the winter meaning we were unable to go in and the only information we had to go on was that which was provided by a small plaque. It didn’t say a lot however, so I came away and did a little more research, but I am also heading back up in a few weeks and am wondering if there might be time to pop in, so watch this space. That said, the research I’ve done so far has only intrigued me more.

The Holy Austin Rock houses are as they sound, cave dwellings, which were hand carved in the sandstone and inhabited until the 1950s. They appear to have a long history but a somewhat mysterious one. No one is entirely sure of the date of their original construction but it precedes the 16^th century, for until the Reformation, Holy Austin was a hermitage, a space dedicated to religious devotion. The site was then added too considerably, particularly during the eighteenth and nineteenth century and at its height, the houses were home to 11 families, inhabiting rooms across three levels. None had electricity, running water or toilets and as such had to share an outside privy.

Most houses consisted of only a single room, each having been carved into the rock using hand picks. The decision to refrain from burrowing too deep was practical one as well as structural, for deep rooms would have been poorly lit and ill-ventilated. That said, if the house was constructed further up the cliff, it could be cut deeper than one room and some have interconnected rooms on each face. Almost all the caves occupied in the nineteenth century also had their interiors plastered or whitewashed, as well as having tiled floors and chimney flues.

Census records from the nineteenth century show that many inhabitants were labourers working for local farms or within the local area. Others however, made their living off the woods and heaths that surrounded the Rock houses; for example the last occupant of the Edge, made a living as a maker of brooms crafted from local birch twigs (1).

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the wider area was popular with tourists – a particular draw being the “troglodyte” dwellers of Holy Austin Rock. As evidence of this, there exist a lot postcards that illustrate the fascination people had with the rock dwellings and their inhabitants and many of these can be seen in areas around the village of Kinver; as well as a painting of two occupants. There are also much earlier accounts and records of inhabitants dating back to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, showing the long history this site has.

The National Trust restored Holy Austin Rock and rebuilt one of the dwellings from old photographs allowing for a permanent custodian to live on the site and prevent further deterioration and it being damaged by vandals. This restoration also initiated the only detailed archaeological assessment of any of the rocks houses. In further efforts, the National Trust have restored two more of the homes, one to show the Victorian experience and the other, life in the 1930s. Both are now open to the public during certain times of the year. The allotments have also been restored by volunteers to show what would have been grown by residents on the Rock Houses and so it looks and feels as if someone continues to live there.

The Holy Austin Rock Houses are just one example of rock houses that can be found across the local area –however while some continue to be used as wood stores, sheds and garages many more have become derelict. The Rock Houses at Holy Austin are therefore the only ones classified as a scheduled Ancient Monument and sit in a landscape full of archaeological landmarks, including an Iron Age Hill Fort some 150 meters away.

Granted it's not round - but remind you of anything?

Leaving the history behind, there is also an interesting cultural tie here for there are claims that the Rock houses were the original inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien’s Hobbit holes. Having grown up in nearby Birmingham, Tolkien often craved the countryside and as previously explained, The Rock Houses were a popular tourist destination and as such it is perfectly feasible that Holy Austin could have inspired his creation of Hobbits and the Shire.

This has been a somewhat descriptive blog but I just wanted to share with you this unique site that I didn’t expected to encounter, but one that provoked my curiosity. It was a really interesting place and I hope I get chance to find out a little more about them sometime soon!

(1)    http://www.arct.cam.ac.uk/Downloads/ichs/vol-3-2927-2944-simons.pdf