The making of a modern estate: employment & service at Chatsworth in the 20th century
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sheffield
Department Name: Sch of English Lit, Lang and Linguistics
Abstract
The aim of this project is to use the extensive archival materials in the Devonshire Collection in order to gain an understanding of the wider community who have lived and worked at Chatsworth during the twentieth century, brought together by relationships of work and service. It will employ an interdisciplinary linguistic-historical approach to explore the changing relationship between masters and servants, employers and employees in the twentieth century.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Jane Hodson (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Fiona Clapperton (Student) |
| Description | The findings of my research have proved useful to the world outside of academia. My research is part of a collaborative doctoral award project co-supervised by the University of Sheffield and Chatsworth House. The intentions of this research project were to develop a new understanding of the entire community who made up Chatsworth in the period 1908-1950, and to bring this to light, not only within the context of an academic thesis, but also at Chatsworth, through public engagement activities and novel methods of interpretation. The social norms and interpersonal relations chronicled within my thesis have already been used for a number of different public engagement enterprises. These enterprises have been listed within this research impact assessment. Most ambitious of all these enterprises was a pop-up exhibition entitled 'House of Stories' which was held in the stable yard at Chatsworth on 13th June, 2018. For this exhibition, Chatsworth commissioned the design of some information panels based upon some of the stories I had uncovered as part of my research. I wrote the text for these panels, and they now form part of Chatsworth's collection. In this manner, I have been able to permanently re-insert the voices of some of the estate's historic staff back into the narrative of Chatsworth. The feedback from this ventures was overwhelmingly positive, and in the future, the findings of this thesis can provide the inspiration for, and heavily inform, even more ambitious projects at Chatsworth, such as a full-scale exhibition or festival of events. |
| Exploitation Route | the findings of this investigation into the Chatsworth estate community are also useful to country houses more generally. Hitherto, most of the domestic servant exhibitions which have taken place in country houses, have been confined to the former servant quarters. An example this sort of interpretation can be seen at Ickworth House. Here, thanks to an HLF grant, the servant's rooms below stairs were re-developed, and living history days regularly take place. During these times the basement is populated by the 'ghosts' of the servants who worked at the house in the 1930s. Yet, despite the innovative techniques used to bring these individuals to life, the stories told in relation to Ickworth's servants seem somewhat disconnected from the rest of the house, its grounds, and moreover, from lives of the family who lived 'upstairs'. It is hoped that, by focusing on the interpersonal relations and social norms which underpinned life and work upon the Chatsworth Estate my research will encourage country houses to move away from a narrative of 'upstairs, downstairs'. In particular, it is hoped that the expansion the definition of 'servant' in this thesis, to include the myriad of workers who populated the Chatsworth estate in the years 1908-1950, will inspire other country houses to tell a wider variety of stories, in a greater number of locations. Ultimately, this project proves the potential for utilising the material preserved within country house archives in order to better inform visitor routes, and to create exhibitions and experiences which, not only have a greater sense of historical 'breadth' and 'depth', but moreover, allow visitors to recognise their own role as part of the modern-day country house community. |
| Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Description | This award has allowed me to conduct research into the history of the Chatsworth Estate and then present these findings back to the public. I have written about my research in blog posts, delivered talks based upon my findings to members of the public, utilised my findings for historical interpretations/re-enactments which have taken place at Chatsworth, and I have developed a searchable database for the use of researchers and those with family history enquiries. Alongside my research, I have also undertaken various archival tasks such as cataloguing, scanning and transcribing documents, which will benefit future researchers. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2016 |
| Sector | Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
| Description | Economic History Society Initiatives and Conference Fund |
| Amount | £845 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Economic History Society |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2018 |
| End | 06/2018 |
| Description | Royal Historical Society Conference Grant |
| Amount | £400 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Royal Historical Society |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2018 |
| End | 06/2018 |
| Description | Small Awards Scheme for Travel to Workshops, Training Sessions and Conferences |
| Amount | £3,556 (GBP) |
| Organisation | White Rose College of Arts and Humanities |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2015 |
| End | 10/2018 |
| Title | Servants' Database |
| Description | A Database listing all of the servants, estate workers and tenants living and working upon the Chatsworth Estate 1700-1950. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | This searchable database will be used by members of the public wishing to research the history of the Chatsworth Estate, and also those wishing to research their own family histories and ancestry. |
| URL | https://www.chatsworth.org/art-archives/access-the-collection/archives-and-works-of-art/historic-ser... |
| Description | 'The Living Estate' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Between 26.09.2018 - 28.09.2018 I participated in 'The Living Estate' workshop. I worked alongside professionals from Chatsworth, a theatre company, and academics, and considered how my research, and that of my research project colleagues, could be interpreted for visitors coming to Chatsworth. We drew upon feedback from the 'House of Stories' event and engaged in some creative sessions relating to the history of the estate. Based upon this workshop, we are now exploring how the theatre company could bring to life some stories relating to the harvest at Chatsworth. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Author and Co-author of several blog posts for the Chatsworth Blog |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As mentioned with the 'collaborations' section of this portfolio, I have authored and co-authored a number of blog posts based upon my research and findings within the Cavendish archives, which have been uploaded to the Chatsworth blog. It is hoped that through this platform, the findings of my research will be able to reach a great number of people with an interest in Chatsworth and its history. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017,2018 |
| URL | https://www.chatsworth.org/news-media/news-blogs-press-releases/from-servants-to-staff-the-whole-com... |
| Description | Co-curated the pop-up exhibition 'House of Stories' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I co-curated and project managed a pop-up exhibition which was held at Chatsworth on 13th June 2018. The exhibition was entitled 'House of Stories' and was be based upon the findings from my PhD research. This was an experimental event for Chatsworth. For the event, my colleagues and I co-wrote information panels, and planned some activity sheets and designed an interactive 'silhouette booth'. We also wrote short 'stories' based upon our research, which we then delivered individually on an hourly basis. This one-day event attracted 156 visitors and proved to be a fantastic success. I have compiled a report based upon feedback collected at the exhibition. We collected feedback 71 forms in total, and the response from the public was overwhelmingly positive, with 50 attendees stating that they found the exhibition to be 'very good' and 55 individuals responding that they had learnt 'a lot of new information'. Based upon this feedback, I am now working with Chatsworth in order to develop this exhibition further and to host similar events. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://wrocah.ac.uk/house-of-stories-collaborating-with-chatsworth-by-hannah-wallace/ |
| Description | Interviews relating to my research at Chatsworth |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | I participated in a series of interviews and press releases based upon my research at Chatsworth. This included a press release written by the University of Sheffield, a feature in The Times, The Daily Mail, and The Tab Sheffield, and an interview on BBC Radio Sheffield on 23.10.2018. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://researchstories.group.shef.ac.uk/impact/chatsworth/ |
| Description | Public Engagement work for Chatsworth's Education Department |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | I co-planned and co-delivered a talk and a workshop, based upon my research, to exchange students from The United States of America who were participating in the charitably funded educational programme, 'Southeby's Success Academy'. The talk focused on the different kinds of servants and employees working at Chatsworth between 1700-1950. The workshop made use of archival sources relating to servants and estate workers. Students were taught how to find and make use of such sources in order to come up with their own ideas for interpreting the history of domestic service at Chatsworth. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Public Talks on the history of the servants and estate workers at Chatsworth |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Throughout my PhD, I have co-authored and delivered a number of public engagement talks relating to the histories of the servants and estate workers at Chatsworth. The talks 'Stories from the Servants Hall', 'More Stories from the Servants Hall', and 'From Servants Hall to Village School', were given respectively to audiences as part of Chatsworth's Winter Talk series of events in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Other talks have also been given to two local history groups (The Baslow History Group and the U3A Tansley History Society), to a ticketed audience at the Derbyshire Record Office, and as part of the University of Sheffield's 'The Festival of the Mind' event. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017,2018,2019 |
| URL | https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g209968-d213894-r455553259-Chatsworth_House-Bakewell_P... |
| Description | Research on Thomas Hobbes for 'Grand Tour' Exhibition and for first-person interpretors |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As meantioned within the 'collaborations' section, the collaborative work I have been undertaking at Chatsworth, has included a great deal of public engagement output. During the first year of my collaboration, I conducted research into Thomas Hobbes' experiences of travel in Europe for the 2016 'Grand Tour' exhibition at Chatsworth. Documents I examined were included in a display case which was seen by the (estimated) 500,000 people who visited the exhibition. I also put together a character profile based upon my research which was used to develop 'living history' interpretations, with costumed actors playing the part of Thomas Hobbes. These interpretations were a new initiative for Chatsworth and they took place daily between July and August in 2016. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://www.chatsworth.org/media/10306/annual-review-2016.pdf |
| Description | Researchers' Night |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | On Friday 30th October, I presented a stand at 'Researchers' Night' at the University of Sheffield alongside my PhD colleagues. This gave us valuable experience of presenting/talking about our research to interested members of the public. We also created a series of postcards for the event, an interactive quiz, and a slideshow of photos relating to our research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Under Her Eye Fellowship |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Between 19.04.2018 - 03.06.2018, I took part in the 'Under Her Eye' fellowship scheme which was organised by climate change charity, 'Invisible Dust'. This fellowship saw me designing and delivering a series of public engagement workshops events on the theme of climate change, which were held at the British Library, London in connection with the 'Under Her Eye' conference. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.bl.uk/events/under-her-eye-women-and-climate-change |
| Description | Undertook Research for the Chatsworth Renewed Exhibition |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | For the 'Chatsworth Renewed' exhibition of 2018, I researched some of the builders and labourers who worked at Chatsworth during the first half of the Twentieth Century. The findings of this research fed into the narrative of the exhibition, which was visited by around 500,000 members of the public |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008,2017 |
| URL | https://www.chatsworth.org/events/chatsworth-renewed/ |