Interpretation: Case Study
Audley End.
One of English Heritage’s flagship sites and the subject of a multi-million pound investment programme opening up the hitherto unseen service wing, Audley also has a team of costumed interpreters provided by Past Pleasures. I not only lead the team but also devised the structure and format in consultation with both English Heritage and Past Pleasures.
Service Wing Alive! comprises a set of buildings dating from the late C18th to the mid C19th. Set-dressed and interpreted for the year 1881, visitors can see a model dairy, wet and dry laundries and kitchen complex (kitchen, pastry, scullery and larder). An AV feed provides a narrative structure with filmed characters enacting vignettes in every room. Additionally, during school holidays and weekends at peak times Past Pleasures provides 3 to 7 servant characters, details of which have been taken from the 1881 census. Interpreters were all recruited and trained by Past Pleasures and all costumes are provided by their in-house team of professional costumiers.
The experience is designed to be immersive, in that characters are maintained throughout the day (within reason – no-one asking a serious question which cannot be answered in 1881 will leave disappointed), and activities are carried out using authentic equipment, both replica and original. Visitors can not only converse with characters, but also witness the tensions and joys of the highly hierarchical and closed service wing community. Ongoing scenarios are used to give a narrative thread to the day and ensure that credibility is maximised. Clear interpretive aims have been set which inform not only the characterisation and broad approach, but also influence specific activities. For example, in the kitchen each dish we cook has been chosen because of its potential as a tool for exploring themes such as patriotism, or the interaction of the estate with the surrounding villages. Visitors can also help with certain activities, for example butter churning, bread kneading and mixing cakes, though this is at the discretion of interpreters and dependant on the equipment being used and number of people in the room.
In market research carried out in 2008 visitor satisfaction was high, with live interpretation especially good at driving repeat visits.
Visitor Quotes:
‘I really love the work you're doing at Audley End and visitors seem to really connect with it. It was by far the best interpretative work I have seen in a country house ever!’
‘I loved the moments of 'character' that came out at various times (for example, Lucy-Clare's saucy looks whenever there was discussion of men being around), the obvious hierarchy and 'domain' of the various staff (such as Becky having to knock and ask permission to cross the threshold into the kitchen and Mrs Crocombe having a dainty teacup while everyone else drank from enamelled mugs). I also very much admired the genuine skill involved in the skinning, churning, etc. The visitors were absolutely fascinated and you all absolutely seized the opportunity to teach them more about the period and the site. It certainly worked on me! I knew almost nothing about the period and subject matter, but I learned an enormous amount in my time there.’
