The New and the (Not So) Old

This week Hayley and Laura have written the guest post and have decided to hold an interview so that you can get to know the two archivists a little better. Hayley has been working at the Archive since October 2012 and Laura is our newest recruit, starting in April 2013.

How did you come to work at the BSU Archive? 

Hayley: I selected the Humanities at Work module for my second year of study as I want to work at the Imperial War Museum as Education Officer and felt that I should start gaining experience of working within active historical environment. I was given the choice of working at the Archive (then known as the Newton Park Project), working on digitisation for Bath in Time or at an excavation project with connection to the Roman Baths. I chose to work at the Archive as working on a brand new project in which I got to meet past students and staff of the institution I studied at sounded fantastic. 

Laura: I knew Hayley before starting at the Archive, and it was her passion and interest in what they were doing that really got me interested, especially when she would sit and tell me things about the Gore Langtons and the history of Newton Park and Corsham Court. I already followed the BSU Archive Twitter feed https://twitter.com/@BSUArchive , so had a little understanding of what had been going on, so as soon as I found out about the summer module I contacted Bobby who seemed more than happy to let me get involved and join Hayley and the team here at Corsham Court the next week to see if I was interested.

A view of the East Wing of Main House.

Did your first impressions of Newton Park encourage you to find out more about the history of the institution?

Hayley: Definitely. I had not visited the university before I came to live and study in Bath. I was stunned by the beauty of the buildings and landscape of the campus and my inner historian wanted to find out more, but I didn't know where to get information. When the opportunity to become involved in a project that would teach me more about the institution whilst providing me with experience of a working archive arose, I grabbed onto it with both hands!

Laura: I came to the university in 2010 to visit a friend for a week, and fell in love with the campus and its grounds. Once I then started at university I learnt a little more about the history of the grounds however it wasn't until Hayley started telling me about her work at the Archives that I realised just how much history there was surrounding the estate, and ever since then I have wanted to be a part of finding out more!

The Garden Temple

What interests you most about working at the BSU Archive?

Hayley: Of the wide scope of work that we do here, for me the oral history section of the Archive is the most enjoyable part. Whilst we have been given some fantastic donations of former student’s work and some beautifully crafted scrap books, I feel that physically interviewing past students and staff has a competitive edge when regarding personal accounts of the past of the institution. During the interviews these people share their memories and seeing their facial expressions and hearing their tone of voice can affect your impression of what they’re talking about. The human history is made more real when you are face to face with someone who used to sleep in the room you now have seminars in!

Laura: I didn't have any experience with regards to oral history and working with in an Archive before,  other than what I had studied as part of my course, so I am really interested in finding out more about how it works, and the logistics of actually putting together an Archive, as it all seems very complicated to me at the moment. What I am most excited for right now is meeting people who went to the university before I was even born, and hearing their stories about what life was like, as well as having access to pictures of what the campus was like before. I am also really interested in the family history behind both Newton Park and Corsham Court, and despite reading quite a bit about them, would love to find out some more. 

Hayley and Laura having a look at the Technical School's minute book from 1905.

Bugs, damp and rusty pins: Conservation challenges in the archive

Here in the archive, although most of our documents are relatively modern (20th century onwards) we still have to consider the potentially damaging effects of the environment.

The 'nine agents of deterioration' is a theme very familiar to Conservator Emma Gatehouse, a Bath Spa graduate who now works for the National Trust. She developed an interest and expertise in this area during MA Heritage Management studies at BSU, and has advised the archivists here on aspects of preservation and collections care. (By the way, those nine agents of deterioration are fire, water, loss, physical, chemical, biological, light, humidity and temperature)

As well as being an archive storage area, our room at Corsham Court is also a working office, so the rather cool temperature has to be accommodated through extra jumpers for the archivists! It also means that we are surrounded by archive quality storage boxes, and in the corner, our two display mannequins stand, awaiting their chance to show off any period clothing. On a day to day basis, 'Archie' and 'Little Archie' model our coats and scarves for us, and move their positions according to who was last in the office (or do they actually move independently...?) If anyone is ever in the office on their own, the mannequins either keep you company or give you the creeps, depending on your frame of mind...

Archie Archive and Little Archie, modelling our coats...

Conservation issues vary with the rest of the archive materials. During office hours, care needs to be taken with food, drink or greasy fingers; we can't risk the documents when it comes to careless handling. Some of the postwar papers, from the early days of Newton Park, are copies of letters and were produced on very fragile paper. There were paper shortages at this time, and so copies were produced on tissue-thin fragments. Many of ours were filed at the time, in bulky bundles, held tightly in one vulnerable corner by a brass split pin, which has long since rusted in position. The papers now need to be removed, but this risks further damage in the process.

Tissue thin paper, in a bundle of letters from May 1945

Other issues surround the manner in which documents were produced at the time, and items such as glue, sticky tape and paper clips can themselves damage any papers to which they are attached.

A photograph of Thelma Willoughby, in the photograph album she kept of her years at Newton Park. The album was passed to the university after her sudden death in a bookshop a few years ago. The album contains a wonderful record of the years 1949-1951.
But what shall we do with that paperclip, rusting away in the corner?

Ancient sticky tape? The cutting is from 1915, but it was taped into this scrapbook much later. Removal will mark and possibly also damage the paper.

Some of the long college photographs are rolled so tightly, they can barely be unrolled. Doing so is an exercise in patience, as previous owners of such photographs have discovered. Some have come to us cracked and damaged, especially at the ends.

Domestic Science College photograph 1937. Like a coiled spring, it won't unroll beyond this !

Collections such as albums and scrapbooks are often best left intact, whatever their condition, since handling or dismantling will not only damage them further, but change the nature of the grouping. Two overstuffed scrapbooks exist of Principal Mary Dawson's early years at Newton Park, compiled by a good friend and supporter. They represent the challenges and triumphs of those early years in a way which is unique, so we will just handle them with care!

Mary Dawson's scrapbook, kept by her friend. A treasure trove of memorabilia from 1946 

Some documents are well beyond our scope and skills, and the 19th century parish maps which once belonged on the Gore Langton estate had to go to the expert conservators at Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre. The repaired maps look great, and one now hangs in the Main House reception at Newton Park, for everyone to enjoy.

Estate Map of Newton Park, beautifully flattened and restored - well, all the pieces that were saved over the years, anyway...

Finally, our Conservation adviser, Emma Gatehouse told us the most important rule to bear in mind when working with any kind of archive document, and one which is used by all collections, however big or small, important or humble. (Especially useful when funds, time or space are short!) 'The Three C's' - namely Caution, Compromise and Common Sense.

And now, time to tackle those rusty split pins....