WE DID IT!
Stories from the past From concepts to costumes, Heather Redmond, former head of on-site visitor experience, talks about our storytelling projects.
T
he idea for the storytelling projects introducing props which the volunteers originally came from previous could use to depict the stories of the projects we had completed at sites and the characters. We had three Pendennis Castle, where it was clear that roles: William Cavendish; the storyteller recruiting volunteers and allowing them (who told the stories of the eccentric to dress in costume and engage with ceiling murals in the castle); and, my our visitors gave a huge increase on the personal favourite, Margaret Cavendish. visitor experience scores at site. We knew that Margaret hadn’t really This time, though, we had to move had a voice at site before, depicted ahead with the two projects really as just the wife of during the middle of Covid. William, but she was such I’m in constant But with a lot of hard work a fascinating character in awe of the and thinking around every her own right, so it was issue that cropped up – from dedication of really important to us cleaning the costumes to how we pulled that out and our volunteers created the costume you we trained our volunteers when they weren’t even able at all of our can see here. to come onto site – we were costumed able to make them a success. Dedication I’m in constant awe of interpretation The concepts the dedication of our sites We knew the Boscobel volunteers at all of our project had to fit with the costumed interpretation Capital Investment Project underway, so sites and hope they enjoy playing the stayed with the two key eras – one was roles as much as we enjoy creating the Victorian farm and the other the them. I can’t wait for our new projects Civil War aspect inside the house. At to start at Kenilworth and Audley – we Bolsover, with no such project underway, are currently working up the designs for the team set about thinking how we them but what I can tell you is that they could unlock the stories of our sites will be just as magical (and unusual) for our visitors in completely new ways. as the costumes we already have in We struck upon the idea of printing place as we continue to push the the stories on the actual costumes and boundaries of storytelling further. ►
FIND OUT MORE To find out more about volunteering at Bolsover Castle or Boscobel House please visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/support-us/volunteer
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Above Heather Redmond Below Sketched concepts for the William and Margaret Cavendish storytelling costumes at Bolsover Castle Opposite page Storytelling volunteer, Karl Bloch, dressed in the final William Cavendish costume
