IFORD MANOR

or evening, catching up on the energy storage news, writing articles and creating figures/

infographics for the company's website. On the weekend, I would relax by having a long call

with my family, playing badminton, exploring different cuisines and nature spots around

Oxford with my friends, and trying to build a robot with my boyfriend.

Lasting Impressions

I really enjoyed the experience. It gave me my first experience of working for a start-up

remotely. I've worked full time for 2 years before I started my DPhil, but this internship

experience has opened my eyes about how fast paced a start-up company is and how my

scientific research can be useful in investment settings. While completing my tasks, I learned

how I could communicate my DPhil research to broader audience. Lastly, I got invaluable

lesson about green investment and network of people who are really passionate about it

from this internship.

What practical advice would you give to future interns?

Be ready to explore as much as possible and get challenged.

Archie John Williams, Wolfson College, First Year Postgraduate, MPhil Islamic Art and Architecture, In-person working

Work Projects

My internship project was to write an audio

description guide about the history of the garden

of Iford Manor. Iford itself is an extraordinary

property with a history dating back to the

Domesday Book, but which was successively

added to over the next millennium. This

culminated in the early twentieth century when the architect Harold Peto bought it to

create a home for himself and for his collection of classical and medieval statuary.

Though the current owners had long wanted to write an audio description guide, every time

they tried, they found that their passion for the place made it hard for them to do so

selectively and in a way which would engage people. In the course of trying, though, they

had collated a good deal of archival material which I was able to use. Rather than finding

more material, their main hope was that as an outsider, I might be able to create something

more workable for them.

On the first day I was toured around by the owners and began to get to grips with the

intricate design of the garden, and the complex vision which Peto had for it. From then on, I

spent my days in their library working through the archival material and trying to create a

narrative which would take guests through the garden's history and map on to a route

around. After a year of studying art and architecture remotely, for me the greatest pleasure

was being able to write about a place where I actually was. I would sit at the various 'stops'

in the garden as I drafted my work and was able to notice things which I would never have

realised if I was working remotely, such as how Peto used architecture to manipulate the

sounds you hear in the garden and your lines of sight.

The other great thing was being able to talk to the owners

themselves about what it was like to live and work in that space.

I was also able to speak to the owner's parents, who bought the

house back in the 60s and then passed it on in 2013. When they

had bought it, the garden had been pretty neglected and it was

wonderful hearing about what a labour of love it had been, and

then fitting their stories into the audio description guide. In the

end, after two weeks' work, I produced a guide which had a

central narrative and structure which the owners could tweak and add to as they wanted.

Daily Life

I was very lucky in that my grandmother lives not far from Iford Manor, so I was able to stay

with her and on top of that enjoy a really lovely walk to work every day through Avoncliff.

From the moment I walked in the door though I was made to feel so welcome.

The owners, William and Marianne, were the most important reason for this. On the first

day they spent the whole day getting to know me, showing me around, and introducing me

to all the team. During the day they'd swing round to the library for a chat and made it clear

that if I needed anything I could ask them. I also got on really well with some of the people

working for them, so all told it was quite a sociable time. Iford is a real team though, and

William and Marianne are very hands on when it comes to doing jobs around the estate. So

it was important to get involved with that as well, and I'd often put down my work to go and

move the rubbish from the cafe to the tip or help them move furniture.

My last day was spent preparing signage for their annual Butterfly Day, marking the route

which people were supposed to take through the meadow. Other than that they were very

relaxed about where I was and just trusted me to crack on with my work - they even let me

attend my online language classes three times a week.

Lasting Impressions

I had the best time at Iford, and hope that the relationships I built

in my time there will prove lasting. One reason why I had such a

great time was the garden itself - it was so interesting working on a

project which required me to draw on knowledge about Edwardian

society, Byzantine statuary, and even Japanese gardening. But as I

said above, the most important thing was the family itself and how

welcome they made me feel.

On top of that, I think I got a lot of insight into what it means to run a historic property.

Because they are so small, I was right at the heart of things and heard about everything that

was going on. I have a new fond appreciation for the challenges which everyone in the

heritage sector has faced in the last year and a half, as well as the place which innovation

has had in meeting them. It's definitely made me feel more committed to working in the

sector, though also more mindful of how uncertain things are at this moment in time.

What practical advice would you give to future interns?

I hope that Iford offer opportunities to more interns, and if they do, I would recommend

doing your research beforehand on what they have at Iford and have a particular project in

mind. I think if I hadn't had this particular job, I might have just drifted about and not

achieved very much - even as it was they were so hands-off that I had to be quite self-

motivated. Be proactive and come with your own ideas for what you want to do and then be

prepared to just spend days hanging about and getting on with it.