Friday 15 May 2015

First Video Uploaded to YouTube!


Our first video has gone onto YouTube! We created this video to tie in with the recent election. It includes images and sounds from Wightwick Manor's archive, including Geoffrey Mander's voice!

Stay tuned for the next video installment, in which David, a Wightwick volunteer, discusses Geoffrey's political life, work with the Mander Brothers company and his vision for the future of the United Kingdom.


Monday 11 May 2015

Bookmarks of the Past

As a confessed, obsessed bibliophile, spending time in Wightwick's library learning more about the book collection was, in the words of Mary Poppins: 'practically perfect in every way'. Picking the brain of Stephen Massil, a research librarian, who is cataloguing Wightwick's paperbacks, pamphlets,  and all myriad of publications of poetry, politics and the Pre-Raphaelites (amongst many other topics that unhelpfully do not begin with a P!), my goal was to understand how one would go about creating a database of the books in Wightwick's collection. How to describe, identify, group and code them and furthermore, how entries are created and corrected on the NT Collections Management System. Stephen patiently answered my wide ranging, and occasionally wacky, questions, explained the differences and similarities between book collections, how to examine them and drew my attention to key features to remark on. He also crucially described how the history of the collection of books charts the history and relationships of the family. He even remarked that he could in fact write a book on his specific insights into the collection and what they reveal about the Mander family.

Stephen helpfully pointed to: a geology book given to Geoffrey by his Grandfather, Henry Paint; frontispieces bearing the stamp of Theodore Mander; devotional books belonging to Flora; and sweetly, poetry books given by Theodore and Flora to each other for their anniversaries. He knowingly explained that these books are important not only for their published content, for the themes they discuss, the views proposed within their typed texts, but also for their ability to be tools to unearth family ties, charting the relationships, achievements, tastes and ambitions of the Mander family. It was truly fascinating to listen to Stephen, and to hear his views of Wightwick and the Mander family from the perspective of the books that dwell within.

The book I became enamoured with bears the marks of Geoffrey as an eighteen year old undergraduate at Cambridge. Although this book was used by Geoffrey more than a century ago, it's chemical stains appear as fresh as the signs of spring. These experiments that have coloured, mottled, scorched and dissolved parts of the papers of  this chemistry text book, are enriched by handwritten footnotes, diligently noting the scientific processes observed. The book came alive with the imprints of Geoffrey's early scholarly triumphs and tribulations, and I had to resist the urge to bring the page to my nose to see if I could get a whiff of long since completed chemistry experiments.

Hannah

 
 The format of Stephen's cataloguing I spent time learning about.
 
 
Stephen working diligently in the library at Wightwick Manor.

 
The chemistry tome I became enamoured with. Here Geoffrey has declared ownership with his name, Trinity College, Cambridge, 20th November 1900.

 
 Another view of the book, entitled Notes on Qualitative Analysis, with telling marks of a book well used.

Saturday 21 February 2015

Mission Accepted

A parcel arrived at Wightwick Manor today containing the Panasonic "Action Camera" and a "tracker pack" with harnesses, so we could film on a bike, underwater and some timelapse sequences. Enclosed in the package was our first mission from the National Trust to capture the "Signs of Spring". Imaginations running, we have been debating how easy it would be to strap a camera to a duck or a willing gardener.


Below are a few stills from our first attempt at filming.




If anyone has any suggestions for shots please leave a comment below and let us know.

Friday 20 February 2015

Biscuit Beetles and Biscuits


Destroying dust, battling biscuit beetles, slaying silverfish, and starting a war on woodworm! Just a few of the pests and hazards we were learning about at our training yesterday with the nemesis of the pest world, Jane Thompson Webb, from the Birmingham Museums Trust. We examined close-ups of the adult and larvae phases of insects and identified the damage they cause, including the destruction done to original William Morris wallpaper, not Morris paper from Wightwick Manor we hasten to add!



The training took place at the National Brewery Centre (with the wonderful perfume of hops permeating the air), with a great group of museum professionals, all on a mission to identify ways to improve conservation practices at our organisations. Stopping for the occasional biscuit and tea break, naturally.


We identified silk webs and the size of bore holes in wooden objects, scratches and eroded surfaces, gritty frass (excrement!) and the skins of larvae. These are all signs of an infestation and are associated with predominantly warm, damp and dark environments which might be found in a museum.

Examining old pest damage on a toy kangaroo from the nursery at Wightwick Manor. It has already been treated and is in a stable condition, so it can continue to hop!

This all shows that keeping a close eye on your collections is important; something we also learned at Attingham Park. At Attingham we undertook audited inventory training which links to the National Trust collections management system, learning more about documenting and monitoring collection objects, their condition, where they can be found in the house and if they have gone away for an exhibition.


We have both had a very productive couple of weeks and have some exciting things to post about in our next blog!

Friday 13 February 2015

Dust-busters! Vacuuming and Valentines.

Our recent mission as part of the conservation team, aka the dust-busters, has been to assist with the deep clean and learn more about the conservation work that occurs in the manor, whilst the upstairs is closed to the public for 6 weeks in winter.

We have been learning more about caring for and cleaning: paintings, ceramics, fabrics and furniture, inspecting some incredibly beautiful and finely crafted pieces.


Using the ergo vac dust-busting on the lampshades in the Billiard room.


Different types of paintbrushes are used to remove loose dust from surfaces. "Pony hair" brushes are mainly used for ceramics, whereas soft gilt brushes are used for areas with gold leaf.


To give ceramics a good clean we used a very diluted solution of water and washing up liquid to break down grease, which is applied to a cotton wool ball and is brushed over the surface.


Rehanging paintings after they have been cleaned in the Pomegranate Passage.


It is amazing what information you can find on the back of paintings! 

The upstairs of the house will be open again from tomorrow, ready for Valentines day. Wightwick Manor is a perfect place to visit for Valentines due to the abundance of nooks and alcoves in which to whisper sweet nothings to your loved one.

Hopefully your day will not be as tragic as Edward and Maria's tumultuous love affair, depicted at Wightwick, in Love Amongst the Ruins.
 
 © National Trust 

Friday 23 January 2015

Moving DeMorgan and Mander Family Photos

A few weeks ago saw the exciting arrival of pieces from the DeMorgan Foundation, which are on loan to the Wightwick Manor until the end of August. We both had the opportunity to learn more about how loans are processed, how they are catalogued on CMS and were also able to watch and help with the DeMorgan tiles being placed in the Great Parlour cabinets. It was a truly wonderful chance to examine these exquisitely crafted tiles up close, to be able to handle them and learn about the considerations for displaying them.

Below are photographs of the tiles ready to be moved to be displayed.




Below, the tiles looking as if they have always been here, effortlessly complementing the Great Parlour aesthetic. We took a few quick pictures before the cabinets were locked.




Also, as part of our on going research for one of our major projects of our traineeship, we have both been investigating Wightwick's extensive and fascinating archive to unearth stories and photographs that we can incorporate into short videos about the family, house and collection.




 And finally, considering it was such a beautiful day, we thought we'd include a photograph of one of the lovely views of nature at Wightwick, framed through the office window. It makes us feel incredibly lucky, as not many can boast of such a view to inspire them while working.


Friday 16 January 2015

Beginnings

Towards the end of last year, we were informed about an opportunity that is the result of a collaboration between Collections Trust and Arts Council England; the Collections Management Traineeships programme. The traineeship provides support for 20 museum trainees working or volunteering in English museums to build skills in Collections Management, improve knowledge of the Museum Accreditation Scheme and develop professional networks over a period of 12 months. After consulting their website and learning about what the traineeship entails, which includes, learning practical heritage skills, attending funded conferences like the Going Digital and OpenCulture events, and workshops on museum management, we both decided to apply.

As you can guess from the photograph, we have both been successful and gained places alongside other young professionals in the heritage sector, from museums such as The Lowry, People's History Museum and the Royal Albert Memorial Museum. As the only two representatives of the NT we hope that this will benefit both us and Wightwick, by helping us to train for our future careers in heritage management and by using our skills for the care of Wightwick's collections.

Our first meeting was on 19th November at the Natural History Museum in London where we met the head of the Collections Trust, Nick Poole, and the other successful trainees. 

We will keep you all posted with information on the projects we are working on this year.