Together we’re making a difference
Volunteers spark the imagination of students
FROM
Student volunteers supporting Kenwood
To book or to fi nd out more email holidaycottages@english-heritage.org.uk or visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/holidaycottages
Garden area of Cambridge Lodge at Audley End House and Gardens, Essex | sleeps 4 +cot
Luxury hamper on arrival
The Sergeant Major’s House at Dover Castle, Kent | sleeps 6 +cot
On the cover: Inspiring young visitors at Gainsborough Old Hall.
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0370 333 1185
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Editor Anneka Coleman
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Ann Mateo, Lynne Baybut, Kirsty McEwen
Thank you to all our contributing volunteers
In the words of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA, ʻThe work of today is the history of tomorrowʼ – and so it is that we once again find ourselves looking back on another six months of wonderful work from you, our unstoppable and enthusiastic volunteers. As we feel summer in the air, you should congratulate yourselves on a winter well done!
In NEED TO KNOW on page 30 we get an opportunity to hear from our new Chair, Gerard Lemos, who tells us about his passion and vision for English Heritage. In YOUR STORIES on page 26 Toby Charkin tells us how his role at Lullingstone Roman Villa led to an MA in Ancient History – and how a decades-old schoolboy theft has given visitors the chance to get closer to the past. In this edition’s ROUND UP on page 8 we take a look into how education volunteers are looking to inspire our visitors across the country.
Volunteer Focus magazine is your magazine, which is why we’re asking all our volunteers to share their feedback on it in our OVER TO YOU section on page 33. And if you have a story or an idea for an article, we’d love to hear from you.
Matt Huggins, communications volunteer
As you receive this issue, many of you will be busy preparing to bring history to life for the peak summer season. Thank you for the crucial support you give – your time, enthusiasm and dedication makes all the difference to our work.
You can read more about our plans to grow and improve volunteering on pages 14–15. Our plans are based on the feedback you give us – so thank you to everyone who completed the recent people survey in March. We’ll be sharing results with teams shortly and working to improve those areas that you told us we could do better.
At the end of February, the Senior Management Team set out the priorities and projects for this financial year, which is the second year of our three-year Strategic Plan – you can read the plan and watch the presentation
on Fuse. With your support, we’re continuing to provide people from all backgrounds with inspiring and enjoyable opportunities to explore England’s past. Recent projects include the re-opening of Richborough Roman Fort in Kent with its new museum, refurbished visitor centre and improved accessibility and interpretation, while at Warkworth Castle in Northumberland, exciting new interpretation is helping visitors explore the castle through the stories of its historic residents.
Across the country, we’re expanding our schools offer by developing new curriculum-linked Discovery Visits and Free Education
Visits – read more on pages 8–11. We’re also developing programmes to involve a wider range of people at our paid and
free-to-enter sites, helping to ensure that the nation’s heritage continues to play a vital and positive role in our communities.
On a personal note, my journey with English Heritage is very shortly coming to an end as I’m leaving to take up a new role as Master of St Cross College, Oxford University. I’m incredibly proud of all that we’ve achieved in the last eight years and have loved leading English Heritage – especially working with such passionate and dedicated people. I’ll miss you all greatly.
It’s now time to give others an opportunity to make their mark. The charity has a new Chair, Gerard Lemos CMG, who has given an interview to Volunteer Focus on pages 30–32, and Mark Stuart-Smith, our Chief Financial Officer, will be interim Chief Executive while the recruitment process for the permanent position is underway. I’m pleased to be leaving the charity in such a strong position and in such capable hands. Thank you, for the final time in this magazine, for your support, and I send you all good wishes for the future. ■
To find out about current volunteer opportunities across the country, go to www.english-heritage.org.uk/volunteer
Your time, enthusiasm and dedication makes all the difference to our work
These one-hour, monthly online sessions are led by our territory volunteer managers and cover an introduction to English Heritage as a charity, our strategy, values and behaviours, structure and geographical reach. We discuss volunteer-specific policies such as expenses, surveys, passes and the safeguarding policy.
The dates are advertised in the newsletter and on Fuse, or you can ask your manager. Everyone is welcome, whether you are just starting your role or have been here for a number of years. So come along and find out more while meeting other volunteers.
The Hadrian’s Wall volunteer forum was established to support the development of volunteer and community programmes within English Heritage.
In an exciting fi rst year, which coincided with the 1900 celebrations, forum members have been involved in supporting new volunteers, organising on-site social events and providing constructive feedback on best practice and where we can make improvements. The forum has also invited a range of guest speakers, including Penny Sexton, Senior Creative Programme Manager, Hannah Jackson, Community Fundraising Manager, and Joe Savage, Deputy Head of Interpretation. Through the guest talks they have had the opportunity to feed into external partner events, including Saturnalia and the Hadrian’s Wall 1900 thank-you conference.
The forum has quickly become a really valuable part of English Heritage’s work at Hadrian’s Wall, and we’re looking forward to it developing further over the years to come.
SHARE YOUR NEWS
We’d love to hear from you by email at volunteerfocus@english-heritage.org.uk
Kenwood volunteers were the first of 63,000 visitors to explore ‘Christmas at Kenwood’, a festive light trail produced in partnership with Kilimanjaro. The trail traced a dazzling path around the grounds of the estate.
The volunteers were also among the first to taste-test mince pies, mulled wine and other fare at the improved catering facilities in the Brew House Café area. Christmas at Kenwood is returning in December 2023.
As part of Hadrian’s Wall 1900, artist Karen MacDougall ran a project called Frontier Voices: A Creative Exploration at 12 sites along and around the Wall. At each, she worked with local communities to celebrate the Wall’s history and the area’s diversity through art.
Three English Heritage sites were included in the project. At Corbridge Roman Town, Dr Frances McIntosh ran a Roman pottery handling session with a group of Scouts, who then created their own felt face pots to celebrate the Romans’ sheep rearing skills.
At Birdoswald Roman Fort, Karen, Frances and a group of volunteers used words and images to produce poems at a creative writing workshop. Karen selected poems inspired by objects from Birdoswald to be displayed on banners in the café.
For Temple of Mithras at Carrawburgh Roman Fort, Karen, Frances and volunteers explored the stories of the Carrawburgh Mithraeum and of the metal Roman votive plaques found in the area. In response, participants created their own votive plaques.
Get 10% OFF your stay at an English Heritage holiday cottage. Use discount code EHTVOL10 when you book online or call 0370 333 1187.
Your volunteer pass allows FREE ENTRY for you, one other adult and up to six children (under 18 years and in the family group) to all English Heritage managed properties. Just show your pass on admission. Alternatively, you can book online: use code EHT2023
Across the country, volunteers work hard to provide wonderful experiences for school groups and learners. Communications volunteer Matt Huggins highlights a few of the brilliant things they’ve been up to.
Ateam of education volunteers have been working tirelessly to foster great connections with local communities in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight, and their efforts are paying off – since 2018, sites in the area have enjoyed a rise in local educational visits.
One of the projects they help with is the ‘Termly Challenges’. Local schools are given a brief with different themes throughout the year, including the most recent Christmas challenge to create table decorations representing different kinds of Victorian servants from the 1861 census.
‘Make and take’ sessions have also provided families with a chance to get hands-on with history at Osborne and Carisbrooke Castle, with activities like making bug castles and Christmas crackers, which are often as popular with adults as they are with children. Other events such as concerts, garden trails and bird surveys have also encouraged local people to spend more time in our historic places. None of these wonderful opportunities would have been possible without the dedicated team of volunteers who work so closely with their communities. ►
None of these opportunities would have been possible without the dedicated team of volunteers
Audley End House and Gardens in Essex is one of 30 sites to offer ‘Discovery Visits’, which are immersive workshops tailored to the national curriculum. Volunteers don costumes to become Mrs Warwick, the formidable housekeeper, and her team of servants before leading children in an interactive tour of the service wing where they get hands-on with traditional chores.
These valuable practical experiences were of course brought to a halt in 2020, and they took some time to bring back. When education visits officer Alice
Trickey-Roberts reached out to her volunteers in January 2021 to start the relaunch, she was delighted to be met with an overwhelmingly positive response. Preparations for the comeback began, and by midSeptember the team was raring to go. Thankfully, the Discovery Visits proved just as popular as before the pandemic, and they have continued to flourish. This is due in no small part to the experience and enthusiasm of the volunteer team who work together to provide an exceptional experience that brings history to life for the next generation of history fans and heritage lovers.
Volunteers are making a big contribution to ‘Teacher Twilights’ – afterschool sessions designed to help teachers prepare for upcoming Free Education Visits and Discovery Visits.
They usually require the help of four volunteers who greet visitors, demonstrate workshop activities, help to define learning objectives and give teachers a chance to enjoy discovering the site. Although of course our education volunteers love spending time with children, these relaxed evening sessions bring a nice change of pace. ■
The volunteer team work together to provide an exceptional experience that brings history to life
All of our sites offer free visits for schools and other educational groups, but few are as idyllic as Chysauster, an Iron Age settlement which offers views of the Cornish coast from the heart of the West Penrith countryside. It’s one of the bestpreserved ancient villages in Britain, dating back as far as the Iron Age.
Here, volunteers are leading sessions where children get to handle stone querns, replica pottery,
bone tools and copper and tin ore, helping them understand what life was like for the people who lived here.
Adrian Rodda was the first to volunteer with education visits in August 2019, and he has enjoyed every session since.
‘I enjoy the wonder in the eyes of the children,’ says Adrian. ‘They are struck by the size of the houses and thickness of the walls… there is literally nowhere else like it in the English Heritage portfolio.’
English Heritage provides free selfled education visits for schools and learning groups at our properties. Groups can also book hands-on, immersive Discovery Visits, often delivered or supported by volunteers. Over the last year, we’ve welcomed 162,654 education visitors and delivered 1,165 Discovery Visits. Education visits officer Laura Bosworth enthuses: ‘We’re so fortunate to have such a dedicated team of volunteers. Without them our offer would be nowhere near as rich – we’re really grateful for their time and energy. Thank you to all our education volunteers and those who support learning.’ ■
Passionate about education? Get in touch with your local site for opportunities to share your enthusiasm. volunteer.enquiries@english-heritage.org.uk
There is literally nowhere else like it in the English Heritage portfolio
My volunteering story began one bright spring morning back in 2019, when the route to my parents’ house on the North York Moors was diverted via Coxwold and Ampleforth. It’s possible I’d visited Byland Abbey before, but so many years previously that I couldn’t recall the occasion – or the site – at all. So, rounding the bend, the dramatic, soaring west end of the abbey church with its iconic rose window semi-circle was suddenly revealed to me as if for the fi rst time. Hugely impressed, I vowed to make a leisurely return visit as soon as possible.
That return visit didn’t take place until April 2022, after I had moved permanently back from Wales to North Yorkshire, and was keen to rediscover the land of my childhood. I’d often thought about volunteering for a heritage charity, so I checked the English Heritage website to see if any help was required near my new home. There, I discovered that Byland Abbey was looking to increase its volunteer team. So, it was possible I might finally fulfil my promise of a return to Byland – but in a much more active way than anticipated.
After a Zoom meeting with the regional volunteer manager and a lively, in-depth tour of this former Cistercian monastery with lead volunteer Sam Macfi e, I became a visitor volunteer. I met the rest of the team gradually: as we work in twos or threes on a rota, it
can be some time before you see the same person twice. To begin with, I was mainly based in the site museum, but my role grew rapidly – once you’re involved, the opportunities come thick and fast. A few weeks later, I’d read, researched and learned from my colleagues suffi ciently to start leading some of the guided tours – not to mention spending a sunny summer’s morning repainting the dilapidated former ticket hut. Best of all was simply spending hours chatting to visitors among the ruins (or in the museum when raining), answering questions and fi nding out about them and what had brought them to Byland.
And when you’ve finished doing that…
By the end of the summer, things moved on again for me. I had enrolled as a parttime MA student at Teesside University, and also answered a call in one of the regular English Heritage volunteer newsletters looking for new writers for Volunteer Focus magazine and Fuse. Again, it was no time at all before I was involved, and I was soon travelling up to Hadrian’s Wall with my husband as photographer/relief driver and my scruffy little dog for moral support. Think Tintin, Captain Haddock and Snowy here! My first two articles for Focus were on the latest developments at the Housesteads and Birdoswald sites, and it was satisfying to see these in print when the next edition came out.
A little while later, I wrote about the new guided tour offering at Easby Abbey near Richmond, North Yorkshire, for Fuse. This was another English Heritage project that I’d recently become involved with. Easby is another magnificent ruin in my local area, this time of the Premonstratensian (or Norbertine, if you prefer) order. I learned that its former inhabitants were not monks, but a community of priests who would have been very active and visible in the parishes of the Richmond area. The layout and functions of the various buildings are slightly different from those at Byland, so there was more training and reading to do and site plans to study. By mid-September, however, our small team was ready to lead free tours of the site for the first time, initially for the annual Heritage Open Days events. These were well attended and resulted in very positive feedback. During winter opening, we offered monthly tours and are looking forward to welcoming people to more events over the summer season.
My English Heritage volunteering role fi ts in well with my family responsibilities, part-time study and enthusiasm for Yorkshire and its history. I fi rmly believe that you can’t beat fresh air and a good ruin when you need to clear your head, banish woes and refocus on what really matters. Even better if you can write about it afterwards. ■
Once you’re involved, the opportunities come thick and fast
Annie Bethell talks us through the English Heritage volunteering and participation strategy.
For over 25 years volunteer involvement has steadily grown at English Heritage, from our very first team of volunteers at Brodsworth Hall to one of our latest teams, at Wall Roman Site, which you can read about on page 22. Every time you volunteer at English Heritage you are making a difference, whether you volunteer from home, at a site, in a collection store or out and about in your local community. Your time, skills, support and absolute dedication inspire me every single day.
The charity’s Strategic Plan places great value on volunteers and communities, and it recognises that they are crucial if we want to achieve more and open up more of our places. We’ve committed to recruiting more volunteers than ever before – 2,500 more to be precise – and we want to improve volunteer satisfaction from 76% to 80%. We are also aiming to increase our inclusion indicator score from 77% to 95%.
As I'm sure you can imagine, there are lots of other plans to help us achieve this, and I wanted to share an overview of our volunteering and participation strategy
with you. We developed this strategy with input from you (mostly via the volunteer survey), volunteer leaders and managers, and our collective knowledge of what’s happening in the heritage and voluntary sectors as a whole.
Our vision for volunteering
By providing fulfilling and empowering volunteer experiences, English Heritage will increase its volunteering and participation reach, becoming an easily recognisable volunteer-involving organisation by 2025.
But what does that all mean for you?
This article could be a full book, so I’m going to do my best to keep it concise. You can read the full strategy on Fuse later in the summer and your manager can share it with you, but broadly, its focus is two main areas:
Our regular volunteer surveys have given us a really fantastic insight into where you think we need to improve. Your feedback has formed the basis of what we will focus on to improve everyone’s experience.
In 2023/24 we will:
■ improve communications for volunteers at a local and national level, including making more effective use of digital tools like Fuse and WhatsApp, but also providing simple tools like newsletter templates
■ enable volunteers to have a voice throughout the organisation by supporting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) networks and improving our ability to connect with you
■ improve all of our processes to make them easier, more relevant and smoother. This includes our expenses process, as well as how you might apply for another role
■ review and develop our recognition and appreciation for volunteers
■ improve our training offer for all volunteers
You can read the full volunteering and participation strategy on Fuse later in the summer.
■ improve how we make use of the skills you want to offer us.
Your time, skills, support and absolute dedication inspire me every single day.
We’re developing action plans for all locations to grow our numbers. These include a consideration of how we can appeal to people who, up until now, might not have felt that volunteering at English Heritage was for them.
We will need your help with this. We know that the world of volunteering is changing and people have more responsibilities and less time, so we will need to find new ways of reaching out to people and showing what we have to offer.
So, there’s plenty for us to be getting on with as we look to the future. I’m looking forward to going on this journey with you and hearing your thoughts when I see you at your site. Thank you. ■
For the last five years, groups of Italian school students have been volunteering at Kenwood. Volunteer manager Michelle Cook and volunteer Thomas Cattaneo share their experiences.
As a free-to-enter site with a world-class art collection and a diverse historic landscape, Kenwood relies heavily on volunteer support, and nearly 400 people give their time to help. Intensive volunteering allows us to reach beyond ‘business as usual’ to deliver an even richer offer for visitors and the community, and since 2018, groups of Italian students have been joining our volunteer community to play their part – and to gain valuable experience along the way.
The students join the explainer team for up to one month to improve their English and gain experience in tourism and retail.
In 2022, the students helped us through a challenging time after reopening when we were still redeploying and recruiting volunteers postpandemic. Ten students contributed 800 hours over seven weeks. Lisa, a session leader, said: ‘It’s a pleasure to welcome the Italian students. They bring new perspectives, enthusiasm and energy.’
This year, we asked the volunteers to write and deliver a tour of Kenwood in their native language for other young Italians. We gave them our Highlights Tour framework in English as a starting point, and encouraged them to be creative in their approach, using the reference library and speaking to other volunteers to build a narrative which would engage their audience.
Welcoming the students brings so many benefits. It supports us to adapt how we work and pushes us to try new things. We love the energy and perspectives the students bring. Thank you to everyone who has made this partnership so successful. ►
Iam a student at an Italian school named Istituto Marcelline Tommaseo, located in Milan, Italy. In my country, to gain access to our high-school final exam, we must complete a curriculum based on a number of hours of volunteering. Luckily for me, my school offered me the possibility of carrying out my volunteering in a wonderful city like London. I was chosen, along with two of my classmates, to volunteer for three weeks at Kenwood, a neoclassical house located on the edge of Hampstead Heath.
In the beginning I felt bewildered by the extraordinary beauty of the building and the enormous gardens that stretched in every direction. I had never seen such a place before. I was volunteering in September but I would have liked to have seen them in spring when they were in bloom. None of us knew what to expect and we weren’t sure that we
were sufficiently up to the task. Normally students are assigned volunteering in shops or offices so our experience was unusual.
Settling in
However, we had little to worry about as it became clear that the staff and volunteers at Kenwood had everything under control and were used to welcoming new volunteers like ourselves. We received a warm welcome from the volunteer manager, Michelle, who guided us through Kenwood and explained what our duties would be. The concern of having to learn all the information regarding Kenwood and its contents by heart quickly vanished as Michelle assured us that we would remember the details over time.
In the first week, several presentations were given from staff about their jobs, which was really interesting and helped us to understand what volunteering for English Heritage really means. During the evening,
If youʼve been inspired to join the Kenwood volunteer team, please get in touch. Email kenwood.volunteering@english-heritage.org.uk
Thomas Cattaneo talks about his unforgettable experience.Images from previous page From left to right Kenwood interior; portrait of Dido Elizabeth Belle and Lady Elizabeth Murray This page From left to right Kenwood volunteer manager Michelle Cook; Self Portrait c.1665 by Rembrandt van Rijn; Thomas Cattaneo
In the beginning I felt bewildered by the extraordinary beauty of the building and the enormous gardens
we were assigned rooms together with other already experienced volunteers. I immediately perceived a strong sense of duty and professionalism which felt almost contagious. By shadowing other volunteers, incredibly and inexplicably after a few hours we felt ready to present the first paintings.
After a week we had almost all of the information in mind and after two we were able to cover different rooms by ourselves. We learned how to guide people through Kenwood and hold people’s attention, and our communication skills improved greatly. For me, as a foreigner, it was also an opportunity to significantly improve my English and pronunciation, expand my vocabulary and of course my knowledge of art.
Gainsborough, Reynolds, Constable and Vermeer, whose paintings can be found at Kenwood, together with the other volunteers and staff, helped me to improve myself as a person and learn new skills.
What really reassured us during our training and the experience was the constant presence of Michelle, always kind and available in case of doubts or uncertainties. Each one of the volunteers had different skills, different problems and different opinions and she was able to bring out the best in all of us. She truly was an inspiration to all as everyone knew they could count on her.
At the end of this unforgettable experience, I am grateful to all the people who taught me the deep values of volunteering and showed how fun it can really be. I tried something new, got out of my comfort zone and it was amazing.
Since the end of the experience, I now suggest volunteering to others to try new experiences. Perhaps it might be at Kenwood, perhaps not, but the experience will always be worth the try as everyone can always gain new skills and learn something new. ■
English Heritage is currently piloting work experience programmes for under 16s. We plan to have the framework, tools and resources ready for 2024.
Carole
The Friends of Letocetum had been opening the museum at Wall Roman Town for over ten years when Covid came along and the world changed. One sunny day in 2021 we were asked to become English Heritage volunteers, and since then we have been able to reach out to a wider audience and have just had our busiest season yet, with over 2,000 visitors to the site and more than £500 received in donations. Joining English Heritage means we can have a say in how those donations are
used to enhance the visitor experience.
With support from English Heritage, our team has learned new skills which will help protect this wonderful site in Staffordshire for the next generation. We have been trained to monitor humidity levels in the museum,
and we’re now able to contribute to cleaning some of the artefacts, like our Roman-era millstones and tiles. On the site itself, new volunteers have been recruited and trained to record any damage to the walls and soil, ensuring that appropriate measures can be put in place. The volunteers are looking forward to learning more about conservation at other English Heritage Roman sites. We have also been able to introduce
Taylor, a volunteer at Wall Roman Site, explains how this new team supported the site and welcomed new visitors.
Our aim is to have even more visitors than last year
explainer volunteers. Now there is an explainer present most weekends and on sunny days, giving visitors an extra insight into the history and archaeology of Wall. The explainers mean we can engage with a wider range of visitors, not only those who come specifically to explore Roman history and visit the museum, but also people out enjoying the countryside.
Our educational programme has always been a big part of what we do at Wall. We have changed and expanded
our off er to schools using insights provided by English Heritage staff and other volunteers. We already have lots of bookings from schools for 2023.
Looking forward
Our biggest planned events of 2022 were the Heritage Open Days in September, which sadly we were not able to hold due to the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We had not taken part in any of these before and were only able to plan to do so
with the support of English Heritage. Open Days will be an important way of attracting visitors in the future and we are looking to hold similar events in 2023.
A lot has changed for us since we joined English Heritage, and it has been hard work at times. But it has also been immensely rewarding, and we look forward to new challenges and achievements in the years ahead. Our aim is to have even more visitors than last year. ■
Planning for the new season gets underway early in the year at many sites, so the relative calm of January presented a good opportunity to catch up with lead bookshop volunteer
Nicola Mackley at Byland Abbey, North Yorkshire. In the summer of 2022, a volunteer team helped restore the shed that was home to the ticket office before Byland became a free-to-enter site and transformed it into a small but well-stocked second-hand bookshop.
Right from the start
Nicola, who has been involved in historic tour guiding and other community ventures for several years, is one of the team of tour guide volunteers established at Byland in 2022. She stepped forward to oversee the operations and administration of the bookshop’s opening in the early autumn.
‘It was so interesting to be involved in a project from the start,’ explains Nicola. ‘I was really drawn to the idea of coming up with plans for the shop, then helping to shape and develop them. There’s flexibility when it comes to things like displaying the books – and living close to the site, I can drop in when I have a spare moment, to sort through stock or see how sales are going.’
The shop, which is raising funds for projects specific to Byland, is one of the first English Heritage second-hand bookshops in the north of England. There are more on the way – theyʼre a great way to raise money, and they also help increase awareness of our charitable status and fundraising needs.
Every modern convenience
‘In addition to a wide range of adults’ and children’s books, we’re now able to sell Byland Abbey guidebooks on site for the fi rst time in a number of years,’ notes Nicola. ‘We also have an unusual item on display inside: the old metal ticket machine, found in the hut. Another volunteer, Kate Streatfi eld, carried out some research into its history, and visitors can read all about it in the bookshop.’
Despite its modest size, the shop boasts contactless payment, comfy seating, a heater and a functioning lightbulb – the only one on the site. After sales got off to a promising start in the autumn months, opening hours during the winter were restricted due to a more compact volunteer timetable.
Nicola explains: ‘It will only be when we’re opening more frequently as the weather and site conditions improve that we’ll get a true picture of the bookshop’s popularity and potential.’
Are there plans for further development?
‘Certainly, we’ve now established a volunteer team sub-group to assist with planning, and we’re addressing questions like, how can we keep the shop looking fresh and attractive? How can we market it better locally? And how can we integrate the bookshop with potential family events at Byland Abbey?’
We look forward to hearing how the bookshop and team develop this season. ■
It was so interesting to be involved in a project from the startAbove Nicola Mackley in front of the bookshop Main image Byland Abbey
Explainer volunteer Toby Charkin tells how a visit to Lullingstone Roman Villa inspired him to apply to do a masterʼs degree in Ancient History.
Ithink many of us started to rethink what we wanted from life during the Covid-19 lockdowns. I certainly did. I was happily working as publishing director for a scientific publisher in London, with a career of 25 years under my belt. But I had always felt there was something missing. As a child I always loved classical mythology and history. I suppose I was influenced by Indiana Jones discovering mystical ancient treasures and hoped I could be that swashbuckling archaeologist. Well not quite, but nearly (I have not yet bought a whip). Having lived in the Darenth Valley in Kent for the last ten years I decided to revisit Lullingstone Roman Villa on a whim and was so inspired by the friendly staff, amazing site and objects that I applied to volunteer. At the same time, I was looking for a new challenge and decided to go back to university at University College London (UCL) to study for an MA in Ancient History.
I started my course and decided to take a module on Roman Britain. Lullingstone came up several times, which made me realise just how significant it is in terms of the history of Roman Britain. Villa culture, agricultural economics, a pagan nymphaeum, a unique Christian ‘house church’, fabulous jewellery, marble busts (maybe even of a Roman emperor), lead sarcophagi with skeletons, a bath complex and hypocaust, animal paw prints on tiles – Lullingstone has it all. But perhaps most significant for my story is the amazing mosaics and their inscription in Latin. When the opportunity arose, I thought ‘I must write about this’.
So I chose to write one of my essays on how the mosaics at Lullingstone came into being, and all the people and processes that influenced their creation, how they reached their audience and what that audience made of them. In the process, I learned about how mosaics are made and about the classical myths they tell, about the use of public and private space in villas, and about the allusions to writers like Virgil, Ovid, and Martial in the inscription. It also led me to create a modern
Communications Circuit for all the people and processes still influencing how its meaning is created to this day. The maintenance of the site by English Heritage involves staff, volunteers, education officers, local authorities, conservators, cleaners, fundraisers, lighting experts, photographers and website designers, as well as visitors of all ages, who are all constantly reading, reinterpreting, and creating meaning from the mosaics.
My essay concluded with the story of a piece of the mosaic which was stolen by a schoolboy who visited the site many years ago. When he died his daughter returned it. That piece is now used by volunteers to show visitors what tesserae looked and felt like and is the only piece of mosaic that visitors are physically allowed to touch. So, whilst one would never condone such a theft, the outcome has been that visitors today can still touch a little piece of Roman history. ■
Many of us started to rethink what we wanted from life during the Covid-19 lockdowns
At the start of the year Gerard Lemos became the Chair of the Board of Trustees. We asked Gerard about his views on volunteering.
What attracted you to volunteer at English Heritage? I jumped at the chance because I just thought ‘what a fantastic job to do!’ It’s a huge privilege and honour. I believe that trustees should be volunteers because it changes the way they engage with the organisation. We may not get paid, but we get rewarded in all sorts of other important ways. It’s such a privilege to be shown around these sites by historians and curators, meeting such interesting people and seeing such beautiful things. The volunteers I meet at Audley End or Kenwood or our other sites are incredibly knowledgeable and I am always awe-struck! What more could anyone want?
What does the Chair’s role involve?
I’m pleased to say I don’t actually have to run the organisation – thatʼs down to Kate Mavor and the senior managers. But what I and the other terrifi c trustees do is think about the big picture and the next 10 or 20 years. We bring professional experience and skills, and we can advise on various aspects of the charity’s work, but our main role is to help the senior management to think about the long term. English Heritage is a large charity so trustees also have to be good stewards of the organisation and its charitable objectives.
What do you think is so special or important about volunteering at English Heritage? Of course, we all have a role to play in encouraging and welcoming visitors and supporting the research
and care of the collection, but I think that English Heritage volunteers have a special relationship with our visitors because they are volunteers. But more than that, English Heritage is a community with a shared commitment to the past and the future of the 400 sites we care for. But we also refl ect and represent the way that we think about England as a country and the way that we think about ourselves. I hope our volunteers feel they are part of that wider community and encourage their friends to join us.
How can we get a wider range of people, including young people, involved in volunteering? The whole question of diversity, not just in volunteering, is about how we tell the story, and to make that as inclusive as possible. To me that is very important, and we’re working hard to listen carefully and to tell diverse stories. Our aspiration is to share everyone’s story. That’s what heritage is about for me.
I meet a lot of young volunteers, and I would encourage them to think of volunteering as a way to consider how the past has made you who you are. We want to tell the stories of our properties through the stories of people who lived or worked there.
I was surprised that the fi rst Duke of Wellington lived in the Indian city in which I was born. I thought I knew a lot about him, but I didn’t. That sense of connection is very important when you’re young. Many young people today feel isolated and detached but being involved with English Heritage and being out and about and spending time with different people is great for your sense of who you are, your sense of belonging and wellbeing. ►
I believe that trustees should be volunteers
What would you like to say to our volunteers?
Iʼve not been in the role long but the first thing one has to say is ‘thank you!’ We simply couldnʼt do it without you. You are central to the way the public see us and what we achieve. We really appreciate not just the knowledge that you bring – I think that is completely astounding – but also the way you get your enthusiasm and commitment across to our visitors. It really helps to communicate our values to visitors, which is something we are deeply appreciative of.
What is your favourite English Heritage site?
I’m a bit reluctant to answer this question for fear of offending anyone! But I love my local site, which is Totnes Castle – it really fires kids’ imaginations, and it has great views.
I recently visited Clifford’s Tower, on the day the first of the 18,000
daffodils were flowering. The Jewish community had a Hannukah celebration there, which was the first time a Jewish ceremony had been held in the tower for 830 years. The people there were very moved.
I was tremendously moved by that story, and it really shows how heritage can bring people together. We also have the most amazing gardens. I was at Mount Grace Priory and met volunteers who were working their socks off on those gardens, doing backbreaking work, planting ferns and cutting edges. The staff teams are often small so we couldn’t show such wonderful gardens without the volunteers. ■
Gerard is a leading social policy expert with a particular interest in the role communities can play in our societies. He brings a wealth of experience from the worlds of finance, government and the arts. He is a former Chair of the British Council and is the current Chair of the Agency Board of His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service.
Gerard was born in India and grew up in London. He studied History and English at the University of York and now lives in Devon. Hear more from Gerard by following his blog posts on Fuse.
Trustees sit on the board of English Heritage. Their role is to provide strategic direction and constructive oversight to make sure English Heritage delivers its goals and that it’s managed effectively. For more information, please visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/about-us/our-people/our-trustees
For me, volunteering is a very special contributionGerard at Stonehenge The view from Totnes Castle – Gerard’s local site Mount Grace Priory, House and Gardens
A dedicated space for you.
We wanted to use this space to talk to you about the future of Volunteer Focus. This is our 22nd edition, and with just a couple of exceptions (due to the pandemic and a redesign in 2018), we have produced two copies a year since 2011.
Volunteer Focus has always been a place to celebrate you – to share your stories and achievements and recognise all that you do for English Heritage. It’s also a way of keeping in touch and sharing important charity news and updates. But things have moved on since we started, so we’re keen to fi nd out if the magazine is still working for you, and whether it’s something you’d like to continue receiving.
It takes our small central team quite a lot of time to produce the magazine – even with the support of our wonderful communications volunteers. We’re mindful that we could be focused on other areas that we would like to work on, such as overhauling our ʻreward and recognitionʼ schemes, developing more learning opportunities for you and creating new roles for others to enjoy (which are all areas discussed in the volunteering strategy update on page 14).
We can’t ignore the increasing costs either. The charity’s fi nances are still recovering from the pandemic, and the production, printing and postage comes to £12,000 a year.
Do you have a burning historical question you’d love to have answered?
Send them in to us and we’ll ask the curator in the next edition.
We will soon be asking you to give us your thoughts and feedback in a survey – keep an eye out for it in the digital newsletter this summer.
At the moment, we’re anticipating that we’ll move to one larger, yearly edition of Volunteer Focus alongside bringing you stories in the newsletter and on Fuse, which we encourage you to join if you haven’t already. Speak to your manager if you’re not sure how to. But we want to hear from you before we make a decision, so do fill out the survey when it launches, or, if you’d prefer, you can share your thoughts any time by contacting:
volunteerfocus@english-heritage.org.uk
Don’t forget to check out our English Heritage Volunteers’ Facebook group. It’s a great space for you to connect with others. Over four hundred of you have joined and everyone’s welcome to come and be part of the friendly conversation.
Our photography volunteers continue to produce beautiful images. Here are a selection of our latest favourites. If you’re a keen photographer and would like to see your photos used across English Heritage, please get in touch.
Regular readers of Volunteer Focus will notice there’s no crossword in this edition. This is because, very sadly, Stonehenge exhibition volunteer David Tovey, who had created them for us since 2018, passed away late last year.
Since the Stonehenge visitor centre opened in 2013, David brought warmth, enthusiasm and always a smile. He supported English Heritage in so many ways – giving exciting tours of the exhibition, meeting VIP groups and providing induction training and a welcome for new volunteers.
The loss of David is felt hugely by the Stonehenge and Volunteer Focus teams and his cheery crosswords, which provided a lovely break with a cuppa, will be missed too.
Discover more about our learning, knowledge sharing and internal communications platform.
Fuse is a professional tool that is used by many organisations. It’s not a social media site but you can use it to ask questions to an expert or to everyone in the ‘community’, and by commenting on content you can share your knowledge or start a conversation.
We believe it’s very important for volunteers to have access to our learning, knowledge sharing and internal communications just as employees do. On Fuse you’ll find:
■ useful resources, such as the most up-to-date expenses claim form
■ key charity policies and strategy documents
■ volunteer voice pages – a growing bank of articles written by volunteers
■ event booking details, including learning and social events
■ news and information.
You can access Fuse anywhere, anytime by logging into the English Heritage Fuse website or by opening the English Heritage Fuse app on your mobile phone or tablet. If you have been volunteering for some time you should have received an invitation, but if you need a reminder of your login details contact us at the email address below. New volunteers will be invited to join via email within a month of starting.
It’s your choice whether you use Fuse but we hope that you will explore its pages. We’ll always send vital information to you directly, but Fuse is the best way you can keep up to date with all the latest news and information.
Your managers all use Fuse and can give you a demonstration on site or in an office. Alternatively, you can contact:
ehfusequeries@english-heritage.org.uk
The growing team of maintenance volunteers have improved facilities and the presentation of sites across the country.
DAUBING A NEOLITHIC HOUSE
MAINTAINING WILDLIFE HABITATS
CLEANING MEDIEVAL FLOOR TILES
STONEWORK REPAIRS PAINTING AND DECORATING
IMPROVING SITE PRESENTATION