Development Fund Projects 2005-2006
RESTORATION
Kenilworth Castle Gatehouse
Thanks to the help of donations and bequests held in the Development Fund, English Heritage has been able to re-open Leicester’s Gatehouse at Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire, for the first time in more than thirty years.
The Gatehouse now contains a new exhibition ‘Queen and Castle: Robert Dudley’s Kenilworth’, examining Dudley and his castle in the context of the relationship between Queen Elizabeth and her favourite courtier.
The grand space of the second floor of the Gatehouse provides the setting for the new permanent display, and the ground and first floor rooms have also been opened as a suite of historic rooms presented as they would have looked during the Gatehouse’s last period of occupancy.
The new visitor centre has recently won two awards, ‘New Build of 2006’ by Warwick District Design Awards and ‘highly commended’ by the judges of the Wood Awards. The Wolfson Foundation also generously supported this project
Woodland Restoration at Osborne House
Thanks to the help of a single legacy intended for the Isle of Wight from the Development Fund and thanks to the Forestry Commission, woodland restoration work is now taking place at Osborne House. This will produce extensive results, bringing work to a standard that will enable more use of the area for visitors, and allowing intensive conservation and woodland management to occur.
Carisbrooke Castle
Thanks to a single legacy intended for the Isle of Wight, English Heritage is developing the Privy Garden at Carisbrooke Castle. The first phase will involve undertaking a programme of archival research into the history and development of the garden.
The research will identify the key periods in the history of the gardens and its characteristics at the time. We will also be carrying out a programme of physical investigations on site, and this project will run alongside a larger visitor enhancement project at the Castle.
WORKS OF ART
Chiswick House
New for the Summer of 2005, this interesting picture was purchased and conserved by English Heritage with the help of the Development Fund and the Friends of Chiswick House. By Arthur Devis (c1711-1787), it depicts the mother of Lord Burlington, the Dowager Countess, in the gardens at Chiswick House.
The painting hangs in the Bedchamber closet in a display that includes paintings and prints which bring together portraits of potentially three generations; the Dowager Duchess, Lord and Lady Burlington, and their two daughters Dorothy and Charlotte.
FURNISHINGS
Pendennis Education Facilities
The Development Fund has been able to provide furniture and ICT equipment for a state of the art suite for education and community use at Pendennis Castle, Cornwall. The education suite in the Barrack Block will now contain ICT equipment in the form of interactive white boards in both education rooms, so that booked groups can watch the film from the exhibition in the education rooms rather than in the exhibition itself.
The accessible Keep tour for those unable to visit the Keep can also be run on a smart board in the education rooms, making the education suite fully accessible (in addition to hearing loops and an adapted toilet). These facilities demonstrate English Heritage’s commitment to a high quality experience for some of our younger and local visitors.
EXHIBITIONS, EDUCATION & OUTREACH
Brodsworth Illuminating Gardens
The restored Victorian gardens at Brodsworth Hall near Doncaster are spectacular throughout the year. Thanks to the Development Fund, theatrical lighting now makes these gardens available for short periods of time in winter to create a magical experience which echoes the Victorian pleasure garden design and re-introduces the idea for a 21st century audience.
A semi permanent power supply was installed throughout the gardens to allow them to be illuminated on an annual basis without the need for heavy machinery. It also enables Brodsworth Hall to introduce a brand new annual event for four weeks every winter.
Great Yarmouth Heritage Youth Club
In May 2004 English Heritage embarked on a community project with the residents of the Middlegate estate in Great Yarmouth. The project involved local youths and their families in re-landscaping an area of scrubland in between two English Heritage properties.
Inspired by the landscaping project and to build on its success, a Youth and Community Project has now been established to continue to inspire work and work with the young people and local families from the estate.
The Development Fund has already contributed towards this project, and scheduled activities include maintenance of heritage spots, oral history projects, contribution to photography exhibitions, film making, traditional craft skills workshops and environmental studies.
'Stonehenge Rebuilt' at the Festival of History
'Stonehenge Rebuilt', thanks to the Development Fund, took place at this year's Festival of History. A half scale model of the central stones structure of Stonehenge was built in 'child friendly' materials, and children were then asked to decorate their stones in materials that would have been available at the time.
Once children had made and erected their stone, they had the chance to visit the English Heritage Education team's drop-in craft session and make their own headdress or musical instrument to use in a colourful procession around the stones at the end of each day. 'Stonehenge Rebuilt' enhanced the visitor experience at the Festival of History and, in particular, provided an activity which appealed to and inspired young visitors.
'Memento Mea' at the Festival of History
The Development Fund has enabled 'Memento Mea' to take place at the 2005 Festival of History. After the excavations at Groundwell ridge ended in July 2004, English Heritage worked in partnership with Swindon Foyer to support a series of drama workshops with residents, experimenting with new ways to interpret the site through performance art.
The resulting performance of work was given at a Campaign for Learning conference in Swindon in December 2004. A group of young people were subsequently taken from Swindon Foyer to the Festival of History, where they performed sections of the original performance.
Housesteads Museum Refurbishment
Thanks to a single legacy intended for properties in Cumbria or Northumberland, English Heritage is now able to refurbish the very outdated museum at Housesteads Roman Fort.
More original artefacts, currently in storage, will be put on display and be accessible to the public. These will include new finds from an excavation in 1974-80 and leather work from excavations in the 1980/90's.
Interpretation panels explaining the history of the site and the Romans along Hadrian's Wall will be installed, in addition to life size tactile models of Roman soldiers. Hands-on exhibits will be available for children to explore, demonstrating finds from Housesteads Roman Fort. This newly refurbished museum will be complete and open to the public by 2007/2008.
Learning Programmes
These consist of a range of new learning materials, including a free education visits brochure, an education publications catalogue, an outreach leaflet and a learning leaflet, distributed to every school in England. This pack encourages teachers and their students to get out of the classroom and experience the historic environment first hand - from castles, abbeys and country houses to local history on the doorstep. As well as information on all of English Heritage's sites, it includes a magazine packed with ideas for exploring history both in school and on visits, together with a 'historic days out' poster and a catalogue of our educational publications. Many of these resources are now also available on line at www.english-heritage.org.uk/learning
Email this to a friend