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Nurturing Worcestershire’s Treasures Issue 4: September 2012

MODERN HISTORY

Worcester’s Future Rests on Firm Foundations as New Heritage Showcases Open in the City Sarah Baker Looks Inside THE HIVE Laura Butland Reports on the Opening of THE INFIRMARY

Also in this Issue: New Jubilee Family Garden at the Elgar Birthplace Museum Conservation Research at the George Marshall Medical Museum The trainees’ Swap Shop at the University Research Collections and Hurd Library Royal Worcester Porcelain at the Antiques for Everyone Fair Work Experience Students Join the Cathedral Library

This issue was edited and produced by Tamsin Rowe, Worcester Cathedral Library

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The Hive

B ack in June the five trainees were lucky

enough to be invited to the Hive’s ‘pre-

opening’ party.

We were excited to get a sneak preview of such an

outstanding building – the first joint Public and

University Library in Europe. Having sampled the wine

and cupcakes at the party, which paid tribute to the

people who ‘had made it all happen’, we spent a

pleasant hour browsing the new library.

We were specifically on the look-out for the display

cases situated at the ends of the bookshelves on Level 3.

Earlier in the year heritage organisations across

Worcestershire were contacted by Deborah Fox from

Worcester City Museum and asked whether they would

like to contribute an image, object and quote to the

Hive. Naturally we all jumped at the opportunity to be

represented in such a forward thinking and innovative

public building.

If you have visited the Hive you may have noticed these

attractive and informative displays. All the trainees’

organisations are represented, with items including: a

collection of postcards found in the Infirmary, a Royal

Worcester plate, books by G.A. Henty from the

University Research Collection, a manuscript of the

prelude to Elgar’s ‘Dream of Gerontius’ from the

Birthplace Museum and a copy of a fourteenth-century

lease from Worcester Cathedral Library.

If you haven’t yet been to the Hive we would thoroughly

recommend a visit. Don’t forget to look out for the

heritage displays!

By Sarah Baker

Elgar Birthplace Museum

Above: The University of Worcester Research

Collections Case. Photograph by Laura Butland.

Below: The Elgar Birthplace Museum Case.

Photograph by Sarah Baker.

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T he past few months at The Infirmary have

been very busy, but also very exciting, as the

new Museum is now open to the public! We

had our first preview event on the 19th July,

with an opportunity for former staff and patients to

come and have a look at the exhibition before a full

opening to the public on the 21st August. The space

looks fantastic, with all the objects that the trainees

helped us to pack and move back in April proudly

mounted and displayed for everyone to enjoy. The

Science and Technology area which I worked on is

almost finished, with just a few finishing touches to the

multimedia interactives still to be finalised. Visitors now

have the chance to play with a 3D model of the human

body, investigate the microbes that cause infectious

diseases, and learn more about the genetics that

determine what we look like and how we behave.

We’re now open Monday to Friday, from 9am-5pm,

please come and have a look for yourselves!

By Laura Butland

The Infirmary

Opening of The Infirmary

Above: Staff and visitors enjoying the displays at the new Infirmary exhibition.

Image © The University of Worcester.

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A Reinvention of Space at the Elgar Birthplace Museum

O nly a matter of weeks ago, visitors to the

Elgar Birthplace Museum would have

passed by an ordinary grassy space when

moving between the Elgar Centre and the

Birthplace Cottage. Now, thanks to the generous

support of the Kay Trust in memory of Margaret Kay,

this unused space has been transformed into a

delightful family musical garden.

Named the Jubilee Family Garden in honour of this

celebratory year, the space is now home to a 25m

curving pergola following the line of the existing

boundary hedge. Inside, the pergola is planted with

mixed shrubs, climbers and varieties of scented flowers

intended to give year-round colour and interest.

There are three instruments for visitors to play and

enjoy including vertical and horizontal wooden

xylophones and a metal spiral scraper. Alongside the

pergola a substantial grassy area remains that has

seating where people can relax and maybe even enjoy

a picnic.

True to its name, the garden has already been a big hit

with families, but personally, I take particular pleasure

in seeing the way the space engages all ages and really

brings a smile to people’s faces. I can most definitely

say it is a wonderful addition to the Museum and

something that makes a visit even more worthwhile.

By Sarah Baker

Elgar Birthplace Museum

Below: Visitors enjoying the xylophones in the Jubilee

Family Garden. Image © Elgar Birthplace Museum.

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The Trouble with Rubber… M eanwhile at the George

Marshall Medical

Museum I’ve been

spending time getting to

know the collection better whilst researching

for my dissertation. I’ve been looking at

objects with rubber components, to try and

get a better understanding of their condition

and whether we need to re-assess our policy

on how we store and display them. Rubber is

notoriously difficult to store, due to its

instability. Deterioration of rubber materials

can also damage other objects close by, such

as the material lining of boxes and paper

documents. It’s been a great chance to do

some work on the collections, and will

hopefully prove to be a useful resource to

the Museum after I’ve left!

By Laura Butland

George Marshall Medical Museum

Above: Set of false teeth made from vulcanised rubber which

were used to fit crowns for patients. Image © Charles Hastings

Education Centre.

Below Right: The New Cathedral Library Guidebook .

Image © The Dean and Chapter of Worcester Cathedral.

Cathedral Library Gets New Guidebook

F or the first time in its 1300-year existence the

Cathedral Library has a guidebook. Written by

Librarian David Morrison, with some new images of

medieval manuscripts and early printed books, the

pocket-sized publication aims to give visitors to the Library a

lasting souvenir of their tour. It is part of a new initiative

between the Cathedral gift shop and the various Cathedral

departments to raise the profile of some of our hidden

treasures.

Copies of the book can be purchased in the Library or in the gift

shop for £2.99.

By Tamsin Rowe

Worcester Cathedral Library

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Welcome to the Swap Shop!

T his month it was my turn to host the third of

a series of trainee Swap Days, where the

other trainees were given the opportunity to

get hands on with two examples of the

different project work I do.

Book Conservation with the Research Collections

As a taster of my work at the Research Collections, the

trainees were given a quick lesson in the practice of

leather dressing for book conservation. Last year the

Research Collections received, on loan, part of the City

Library’s collection of eighteenth- and nineteenth-

century material. Since then, the Research Collections

team has been working to stabilise the collection, which

was in need of conservation treatment. During our

session, the trainees worked on the 40 leather bound

books using specialist conservation leather dressing,

smoke rubbers and badger brushes.

Collection Interpretation

One of my core projects at The Hurd Library has been

creating an online presence through a blog, Facebook

and Twitter page. Through this outreach I’ve actively

tried to demonstrate the diversity of content contained

within the library. In this session, I was keen to tap into

the trainees’ fresh ideas and perspectives. They were

asked to look at the newly compiled subject index and

try and pull out any unusual or interesting themes that

we could share on the blog. The girls didn’t disappoint

and put together brilliant posts on eighteenth-century

London and the use of humorous tailend pictures in

Bewick’s Birds.

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Previous Page: Shabeena, Laura and Tamsin cleaning

the books, supervised by Rachel Johnson.

Right: Sarah and Laura working together on collec-

tion interpretation. They decided to research eight-

eenth-century London.

Below: Shabeena and Tamsin discuss their research.

Images © The University of Worcester

The girls’ blog posts can be viewed at :

http://thehurdlibrary.tumblr.com/

By Sarah Stretton

University of Worcester Research Collections

and the Hurd Library

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‘Antiques for Everyone’

J uly was an exciting month for the Museum, with

rarely seen items from our splendid collection

featuring in the ‘Antiques for Everyone’ Fair at

the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.

The Museum exhibited historic film and a range of

artefacts, emphasising the profound role the factory

and its workforce played in the expansion of British

ceramics through the centuries.

Some of the objects on display included a 223-year-old

diary of one of the founders of Royal Worcester

porcelain, John Flight and the ‘Misdemeanour Ledger’.

Both items received huge media attention, featuring on

BBC Regional News and the national Daily Mail.

The ‘Misdemeanour Ledger’ is a personal favourite; it is

an 1850s ledger that records the misdemeanours of

young apprentices at the factory. Misbehaviours

include talking, whistling, singing, mouse hunting and

breaking a milk jug.

One notorious apprentice, aged eight and identified

only as Barker, was frequently levied and in 1858 he

was fined threepence for ‘letting off fireworks in shop’.

A film entitled The Doctor Ordered Clay was also eagerly

received by visitors fascinated by the production

process behind a number of iconic Royal Worcester

pieces.

The exhibition gave a unique insight into life at the

porcelain works during a range of periods in its long

history. Following on from our success, The Doctor

Ordered Clay will be shown at The Museum in the

upcoming months.

To arrange a viewing please contact Shabeena Anait on

01905 21247 or by email:

info@museumofroyalworcester.org.

By Shabeena Anait

The Museum of Royal Worcester

Dates For the Diary

Elgar Birthplace Museum 4th - 24th September Elgar's Worcestershire: An exhibition of paintings by two well-known local artists, Peter Wale and Ruth Boothby. Normal museum admission and opening applies. 9th October The Gallic Muse: One of Dr Donald Hunt's illustrated talks on significant French music of the 20th Century. Are we still suspicious of the artistic outpourings of our neighbours and if so, why? Includes refreshments. Tickets £6. Museum of Royal Worcester The Big Draw—Printing Workshop with Jose Santos 16th October 2012 10am-12pm & 1pm-3pm 19th October 2012 10am-12pm & 1pm-3pm Create your very own monotype print under the guidance of Jose Santos, a Mexican fine artist specialising in printmaking. Participants can take inspiration from a selection of magnificent Royal Worcester copper plates dating back to the nineteenth century which draw on the English landscapes beloved of the finest engravers of Worcester Porcelain.

Below: 223 Year-old Diary of John Flight, one of the founders of

Royal Worcester. © The Museum of Royal Worcester.

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Back, L-R: Shabeena Anait (Museum of

Royal Worcester), Sarah Baker (Elgar

Birthplace Museum).

Front, L-R: Sarah Stretton (University of

Worcester Research Collections and the

Hurd Library), Laura Butland (The

Infirmary and George Marshall Medical

Museum), Tamsin Rowe (Worcester

Cathedral Library).

Each trainee has taken it in turns to

produce an issue of the newsletter.

Photograph by Alex Kinnersley.

The Trainees

Cathedral Library Welcomes Work Experience Students

W e have been joined by two work experience

students in the Cathedral Library this summer.

Matthias Hans studies History and English at

the University of Bonn. He is producing a

series of blog posts on English Reformation monarchs, as well as

learning some of the duties of a historic librarian and archivist.

Grace Bradley has just completed her AS Levels at The King’s

School Worcester. Grace is very keen on history and was

delighted to get ‘hands on’ with the rare books. She has been

producing a display for us on the Book of Common Prayer,

which is now up in the south nave aisle. She is also gaining

experience of accessioning new books and answering public

enquiries.

By Tamsin Rowe, Worcester Cathedral Library Above: Matthias Hans in the Library

Nurturing Worcestershire’s Treasures is a Heritage Lottery Funded scheme in partnership with Worcestershire County Council and the University of Worcester.

Visit the project webpage at www.worcestershiretreasures.wordpress.com