Paving a way for Deaf Heritage
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Warwick
Department Name: History
Abstract
Projects such as English Heritage's 'Disability in Time and Place' highlight the way that specific
historical environments were shaped by and for their users. This is particularly the case for
environments used by deaf people, whose reliance upon visual communication or auditory
augmentation necessitates either substantial adaptations to buildings or, in some cases, buildings (or
parts of buildings) designed and built bespoke.
Recent research has uncovered many of these historical deaf adaptations. The 1851 Great
Exhibition demonstrated a 'deaf pew', complete with tubular system to pipe the voice of the clergy
directly from pulpit to ear-trumpet. At least one church went further; St Saviour's Church for the
Deaf and Dumb (Oxford St. 1870 - 1923) was rotated through 90 degrees to ensure better access
to sunlight and its interior designed to preserve sightlines, furnished with two (signing and speaking)
pulpits and decorated with artwork communicating deaf people's hope of celestial hearing.
Wherever they occur, environments adjusted to foreground vision or amplify hearing challenge our
assumptions of a 'normal' sensorium and speak of the creativity of humanity in overcoming
difference. Yet this rich heritage remains underexplored and the learning that it offers, untapped.
Indeed, it is positively under threat. In the last 12 months, changes in Deaf community cultures,
finances and owner-decisions have resulted in at least one Deaf church being put on the market
(Acton), and two Deaf centres (Bristol, Wolverhampton) being sold. Urgent intervention by English
Heritage to list the Acton church has preserved it for the future, but much more is needed if other
Deaf heritage environments, and knowledge of their histories, are to be identified, preserved and
enjoyed by future generations.
This project will identify and assess Deaf heritage in England, describe its significance in the widest
terms and work to devise and test negotiated plans for its future sustainable management and
promotion. It will do this by bringing together experts from the University of Bristol and English
Heritage, to support a PhD student who will be tasked with the following general research focuses
(RF):
RF1: Identification and Cataloguing. The development of an authoritative, central catalogue
of Deaf heritage environments must be the student's first priority.
RF2: After identification, the student will engage with diverse groups (users, owners,
experts) to assess the significance and value of different characters of Deaf heritage;
architectural innovation, community history, financial, academic and wider social value. This
will inform their ongoing work.
RF3: The student will work with historical and heritage experts to develop strategies and
processes for the ongoing protection, preservation, understanding, and promotion of Deaf
heritage to both hearing and Deaf audiences.
RF4: The project will devise, conduct and assess pilot projects, which will involve historical
research on one or more Deaf heritage spaces and the exploration of strategies to manage
and publicise the value of these spaces, to further inform understanding of managing a Deafspecific
heritage portfolio.
In addition to the research thesis, each of these Research Focuses produces a carefully and critically
constructed output that is a staging point in paving the way towards a more sustainable
understanding and management of Deaf heritage. The project will also contribute to the priorities
and objective of English Heritage by bringing the expertise of researchers in Deaf history at the
University of Bristol to develop English heritage's implementation of the National Heritage
Protection Plan with regards to Deaf heritage, and will create significant impact for the Deaf
community, for owners of Deaf heritage sites, for academics within the field and related fields, and
for government and wider society.
historical environments were shaped by and for their users. This is particularly the case for
environments used by deaf people, whose reliance upon visual communication or auditory
augmentation necessitates either substantial adaptations to buildings or, in some cases, buildings (or
parts of buildings) designed and built bespoke.
Recent research has uncovered many of these historical deaf adaptations. The 1851 Great
Exhibition demonstrated a 'deaf pew', complete with tubular system to pipe the voice of the clergy
directly from pulpit to ear-trumpet. At least one church went further; St Saviour's Church for the
Deaf and Dumb (Oxford St. 1870 - 1923) was rotated through 90 degrees to ensure better access
to sunlight and its interior designed to preserve sightlines, furnished with two (signing and speaking)
pulpits and decorated with artwork communicating deaf people's hope of celestial hearing.
Wherever they occur, environments adjusted to foreground vision or amplify hearing challenge our
assumptions of a 'normal' sensorium and speak of the creativity of humanity in overcoming
difference. Yet this rich heritage remains underexplored and the learning that it offers, untapped.
Indeed, it is positively under threat. In the last 12 months, changes in Deaf community cultures,
finances and owner-decisions have resulted in at least one Deaf church being put on the market
(Acton), and two Deaf centres (Bristol, Wolverhampton) being sold. Urgent intervention by English
Heritage to list the Acton church has preserved it for the future, but much more is needed if other
Deaf heritage environments, and knowledge of their histories, are to be identified, preserved and
enjoyed by future generations.
This project will identify and assess Deaf heritage in England, describe its significance in the widest
terms and work to devise and test negotiated plans for its future sustainable management and
promotion. It will do this by bringing together experts from the University of Bristol and English
Heritage, to support a PhD student who will be tasked with the following general research focuses
(RF):
RF1: Identification and Cataloguing. The development of an authoritative, central catalogue
of Deaf heritage environments must be the student's first priority.
RF2: After identification, the student will engage with diverse groups (users, owners,
experts) to assess the significance and value of different characters of Deaf heritage;
architectural innovation, community history, financial, academic and wider social value. This
will inform their ongoing work.
RF3: The student will work with historical and heritage experts to develop strategies and
processes for the ongoing protection, preservation, understanding, and promotion of Deaf
heritage to both hearing and Deaf audiences.
RF4: The project will devise, conduct and assess pilot projects, which will involve historical
research on one or more Deaf heritage spaces and the exploration of strategies to manage
and publicise the value of these spaces, to further inform understanding of managing a Deafspecific
heritage portfolio.
In addition to the research thesis, each of these Research Focuses produces a carefully and critically
constructed output that is a staging point in paving the way towards a more sustainable
understanding and management of Deaf heritage. The project will also contribute to the priorities
and objective of English Heritage by bringing the expertise of researchers in Deaf history at the
University of Bristol to develop English heritage's implementation of the National Heritage
Protection Plan with regards to Deaf heritage, and will create significant impact for the Deaf
community, for owners of Deaf heritage sites, for academics within the field and related fields, and
for government and wider society.