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.