Stories Beneath the Surface - Session Three Shugborough Estate

This was the first of our two away days as part of the workshop series. We visited the Shugborough Estate for the day with the intention of exploring how the National Trust has started to create exhibitions exploring the background of the building that they took over 5 years ago. 

We first received an introduction to the building by National Trust staff having previously read documents Matt had sent about the estate:  


  1. Excerpts from National Trust Visitor Guide to Shugborough 

  1. Excerpts from Interim Report on the Connections between Colonialism and Properties now in the Care of the National Trust, Including Links with Historic Slavery, 2020

 

The estate had been run by the local authority for 50 years and still had Lord Litchfield living there for some years. The building is separated into two for the public to discover the main building and then the Litchfield apartment. 


The building was built with money from slavery, plantations and piracy. Not much of this is described in the guide book or the exhibitions themselves. I have always found most National Trust buildings and other Estates like it, problematic to visit. I feel that places like this are usually not forthcoming with the nature of how they were funded and the builders/owners praised for their grandeur. 


The main building felt very male, with the exhibitions centring on Thomas and George Anson. There was little known about Thomas personally, he did go on a few grand tours and collected antiques etc. His brother George Anson, hardly lived there and was a celebrated naval admiral. He was celebrated for his priracy-he stole a lot of treasure from the Spanish. This seemed to be celebrated in the exhibition which felt uncomfortable. His wife also hardly lived at the estate but seemed to be the only woman they could include in the exhibitions; it felt like an add-on for gender sake. There were so many other lives attached to the building that could have been explored; the gardeners of the 900 acre Grade 1 listed park lands, the maids etc.

 

We had interesting discussions, as a group, with the curators and how they are going to delve deeper into the narrative behind the previous owners and have more honest displays. We were asked to look at the spaces and see if there was anywhere we would be interested in creating an installation. I was interested in the Chinese House situated in the landscaped gardens. It was first erected by Admiral Anson around 1747, following his travels around the world. He stopped in China for some time to have repairs to his ship. Whilst there he collected Chinese antiquities that he brought back and possibly displayed in the Chinese House. It is single storey and rectangular with a pyramidal leaded roof. It is believed that dragons used to sit on each corner of the roof. Inside is empty apart from a red lacquer fretwork alcove and gilded pillars with a cornice decorated in red, blue, gold and white. The ceiling is bare but it is believed that a heavily decorated plaster ceiling now sitting in the house was once the ceiling in the Chinese House. It is damp in there and shows signs of age. The whole building is intriguing and I could definitely see an installation sitting within this interior. 




Within the main building is a library. It is an inviting space as opposed to the rest of the building which is imposing. I was really interested in the caged books; wire mesh had been put on the bookshelves to prevent visitors from touching and removing books. It felt like knowledge was being caged and hidden. I could see myself responding to that by making an artwork.

 

It was an interesting day and made me think about how I should investigate buildings and exhibitions differently. You always explore what is on display and never think about what isn’t. What hidden histories exist in places like this. 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Behind the Bricks: A Visit to York Handmade Brick Company

Image
There's something grounding about standing in a place where things are made with care, by hand, from the earth itself. My recent visit to the York Handmade Brick company was just that - a rare chance to step into a world where tradition, craft and materiality are still held in high regard. I first contacted the York Handmade Brick company when I read that they had produced bricks for the renovations at Theatr Clwyd. The architects, Haworth Tompkins, worked with them for a bespoke blend of handmade bricks which were sympathetic in colour and texture to the existing brickwork of the theatre. I reached out for some more details and Mark Laksevics, York Handmade’s senior sales manager, was incredibly gracious and invited me to come and have a tour of their brickworks. Nestled in the North Yorkshire countryside, York Handmade Bricks is known for producing bespoke, characterful bricks using time-honoured methods. The tour began with an introduction to the clay itself; dug locally, rich i...
Read more

Photo Blog of Practical Work

Image
 I thought I would post photos of my making so far: These two images show the moulds that were originally made for the tile commission. I was hoping that I may be all to tidy them up ready to be moulded, to create the mould of the moulds. After cutting the moulds and sanding them, I wasn't happy with the finish so I decided I had to make new models for the moulds. I decided on a set height and depth for all the models and then I started to prepare everything to make the model. These are the cottle boards ready for the tile and plaster. As there was an undercut on the tiles, I had to backfill the tile with clay to prepare the tile for plaster. This is the tile ready to have the plaster poured on the top. I had to repeat the process for each size tile: three times in total. These are the models before they are sanded. This is the start of the moulding process. I chose to make the smallest tile mould first. I use the coin to create notches for the plaster to lock together. I was happy...
Read more

Earth Hour at Theatr Clwyd

Image
Earth Hour started in 2007, as an hour to turn non-essential lights off and reflect on environmental issues. It is held yearly and is organised by the World Wildlife Fund. It is a global event, creating a symbolic moment of support for the planet and raises awareness of the environmental issues affecting all of us.  This year it was held on 25th March at 8.30pm. Through the Environmental Committee at Theatr Clwyd, it was decided to hold an event in the temporary bar area at the theatre. Discussions included how to power the event. It was decided that various performers would perform in the space aided by electric provided by bicycles. The committee researched the options and found a company who could provide the right amount of bikes to sufficiently power the event.  Thirteen members of staff spent the hour cycling to provide the power for the speakers, microphones, lights etc. The sound of the bikes was could be heard all evening as a low whirling. The staff were guided by a ...
Read more