Care Today, There Tomorrow

In 2018, Maria de Peverelli became responsible for the development of a long term strategy for the care and management of the unique collections and furnishings of Holkham Hall in Norfolk as part of her practice in running the art management department at Stonehage Fleming. Her story reveals the complexities and challenges of conservation planning.

“Everything we do at Holkham must be for the benefit of the Hall and its amazing collection. It is the centrepiece of the estate”

Holkham Hall, one of the major country houses of England, was conceived by Thomas Coke (1697-1759), as a total work of art: the house was built with the precise purpose of hosting his collections and each acquisition had a specifi c place and meaning within the order and progression of the overall decoration. Most of its pictures and sculpture, as well as its furnishings, are still in their original place: an extraordinary testament to a specifi c moment in the history of taste. It is this essential completeness that is so rare, and therefore so important to safeguard for future generations.

Holkham’s archives are also exceptionally well preserved and document the Hall since its conception. The 1773 inventory, handwritten by Lady Margaret, wife of Thomas Coke, who oversaw the Hall’s completion after his death, reveals that she was already conscious of the need to protect its collections and of the destructive effects of sunlight, dust, and wear. This same inventory allowed the 7th Earl to rehang the paintings according to the original layout. The use of the house has dramatically changed since its creation, and the greatest challenge today, is fi nding the right balance between conservation and access (family and visitors); resources (time, money, people); and long-term maintenance. Contemporary guidelines in conservation require minimum intervention and focus on collection care but risk-based methodologies in preventive conservation are also being increasingly adopted, following a growing awareness of the wider range of factors that may affect collections.

Our strategy had to be holistic, and consider, simultaneously, the status of the building, the environment in which the collections were displayed, the specifi c needs of the various objects and their individual condition, but also be mindful that the Hall is still a family home, yet also open to the public. Traditionally, the focus of resources had been on visitor access and on the library and archive and a shift to a more specifi c collections care was required. To make this happen, it was essential that all stakeholders were actively involved in the conversation.

The strategy, based on a ten year plan, needed to work within a budget defi ned by the trustees, and started from the basics, a digital inventory and condition audit of the collections.

The first three years were devoted to selecting a database that could be used to catalogue the art collections, library and archive; undertaking a physical and photographic inventory of the artworks and furnishing; identifying missing or additional items and location changes from an old Christie’s valuation; mapping the contents of an obsolete library catalogue; and fi nally, the transfer of all this data to the new system. An in-house staff member undertook data preparation and input.

While the work on the database was on its way, a master plan was formulated to:

• allocate a specifi c budget to the care and maintenance of the collections;

• assess, on rotation – one a year – the condition of the various categories of artworks; • identify the works in need of conservation and defi ne priorities; • start a six-year plan for the preservation of the library (manuscripts and printed books);

• draft guidelines for loans;

• open a discussion on the presentation and interpretation of the collections on the

Estate’s website;

• organise volunteers to assist with cleaning and cataloguing of books and low value items in the attics;

• set guidelines for the handling of artworks and furniture as well as for the training of in-house staff during deep cleaning;

• analyse the data retrieved from dataloggers measuring temperature and relative humidity;

• review of the impact of light on wall hangings and upholstered furniture