BSU Archive Summer Module 2015

After a few weeks' break, some of our students have returned to university, giving up part of their summer vacation to complete an extra module. Ashley, Tom and Izzy are here for three weeks, preparing for a big event which is happening at the end of August.

I'll let them tell you more:

Ash:When we returned to the archive for the summer module  there were many items that required alterations to their catalogue entries. Before we left for the summer holidays a new system had been created which inserted another sub-level into the category of ‘BSU_2’ items - the institutional documents.

As the institutional documents comprised the largest section of our collection by far, it was decided that they needed to be divided up for the sake of organisation. Six groups were devised in order to sort out the collection; BSU_2_1 for Bath College of Domestic Science,  BSU_2_2  for Newton Park College, BSU_2_3 for Bath College of Education,  BSU_2_4 for Bath Spa University College and Bath Spa University and BSU_2_5 for Bath Academy of Art. Our aim for creating these sub-categories was to ensure that individual documents and items will become easier to locate.

What this meant was that all of the catalogue entries had to be printed out (in red ink due to a shortage of black!) for the edits to be made. Whilst doing this, it was felt that two birds should be killed with one stone and we simultaneously checked for errors and omissions in the catalogue and then corrected and completed them. The end process would be a catalogue sheet that had a fuller description of the item and an updated reference number. These catalogue sheets were then tucked into the boxes where their corresponding items with were kept with a pink sticky label, ready for the final step.

After the rough alterations were made on the printed catalogue sheets they then needed to be typed out on to the catalogue entries on Google Drive on which they are stored electronically. Once this had been completed, the pink sticky label would then be marked with a tick so we knew that the box was completed. Over the course of the first week, everything was edited both physically and electronically and has now been returned to the shelf. Its a long process, but satisfying when you see the end result. Its also helped us to find the items we need for the Alumni Reunion weekend, which Tom describes below.

Tom: The paramount event of our Summer Module will be the Bath Spa University Archive exhibition at the Alumni Reunion weekend. The alumni event will be bringing back numerous former students to the Newton Park Campus; the heart of the university. The Archive has been dedicated to the preservation of our history and has been steadily accumulating a wealth of documents and artefacts from the past institutions from which we grew.The alumni presents us with a unique opportunity to interact with the human elements of our history and we hope to trigger a few memories 

The "how" of our exhibition at the Alumni event is still in the creation process. It is important remember that the guest list includes students who graduated from 2014 all the way back to 1955, and that most of the guests would have studied in now defunct institutions such as the Bath College of Domestic Science, Bath College of Higher Education and  Bath Academy of Art, which have been amalgamated into a single institution over the decades. This presents us with the challenge of trying to make our exhibition relevant to a wide range of ages and experiences. 

So far, we have found photographs, prospectuses, paintings, newspaper cuttings and more from our collection of hundreds of catalogued items and documents. The emphasis for which items we shall display will revolve around student experience rather than administrative work, so our display can resonate with the former students. 

Finally, we have also got a leaflet for our exhibition under way, currently we have been acquiring resources electronically to use for it, So far we have acquired numerous antiquated photographs to be used to improve the aesthetic qualities of our leaflet. We intend to advertise the archive (in the hope that some ex-students might want to donate any of their old items to the Archive) as well as give a brief overview of the various previous institutions which are part of our history. Above all the leaflet is designed to advertise the archive and will be geared towards welcoming the former students into a trip down memory lane. 

Izzy: Aside from our primary focus of designing the exhibition, we were able to put into practice our archiving skills by cataloguing new items under the new system. Due to the excess number of items stored under the institution, it was necessary to introduce additional codes in order to differentiate each establishment involved. The team sorted through a number of portfolios and logged photographs and documents under their new allocated codes. These particular files included material relating to the institution; namely relating to the Domestic Science College.

 A personal collection was donated also donated to us; so Ashley, Kate and I carried out a ‘scoping exercise’ in order to gain an overview of what documents and information were included. They belonged to Professor Graham Davis as part of his research into Newton Park, and will eventually be stored in ‘Personal Collections’.

 For myself in particular, a new experience arose to suddenly be advised to be mindful of insects that could potentially harm various materials throughout the archive. We experienced first hand the damage imposed by an unidentified creature, and even came across a silverfish in one of the folders.

It’s been an interesting contrast to my previous archive experience, as I had not carried out any cataloguing tasks in the second year module. The planning involved with setting up the Alumni Reunion Weekend had been the most enjoyable element, especially when coming across names of those attending whilst going through archive material. Sorting through old photographs of students and institutions is personally my favourite aspect of working in the Bath Spa University Archive.

Izzy Watkins, Ash Catt, Tom Buckingham 

3rd Year History students

The 'Hippy Scene': Bath College of Domestic Science in the Seventies

While editing cover sheets for interviews in the Archive recently, I came across an interview that we did last year with Jane Hill. Jane studied at Bath College of Domestic Science in the early seventies, training to become a teacher of domestic science subjects. Her student accommodation was in Somerset Place; strangely to students of my generation they had a matron, who was very strict, and they had to 'smuggle' boys into their all-female flat! In contrast to what otherwise seems to have been a rather austere atmosphere- petrol was rationed at this time, for example, and foods such as pasta (which we think of as being basic) weren't readily available- all their meals were provided, and they were given sliced white bread and jam everyday. This was, in Jane's words, 'the height of luxury in those days!'

Somerset Place, Bath

Reading Jane’s interview again what comes through to me is the contrast of things that, too us, seem old fashioned- such as having a matron and ‘no boys allowed’ mottoes - alongside life-changing innovations such as the introduction of the pill, and the way that it was made widely available. Similarly, reading what Jane said about the fashions of the day really evoked the era of the early Seventies: she mentioned for example,unbleached calico, Laura Ashley floral prints, Scholl sandals, maxi dresses and long dyed hair, which she described as being “bright yellow” and “probably unwashed”.  Jane also mentioned her dad’s reaction to her clothes; “My father thought I was pregnant because I had this big smock over these loons…”. As often happens with oral history interviews, it was hearing someone talk about their personal experiences of nation-wide trends in this way that really brings the story alive:

Laura Ashley's early 1970s dresses, of the kind recalled by Jane. This image is from a recent retrospective exhibition by the Fashion Museum, held at the Assembly Rooms in Bath

" we were quite the Seventies hippy types....what happened was Laura Ashley, who I love still, opened her shop in Bath, which is still there, and she sold rolls of dress fabric material, and we used to go and buy this material, and knock something up in an afternoon... well because it was maxi dresses they were long dresses,flounces on the bottom a bit like Diana’s first wedding dress, that sort of thing, with the big puff sleeves - and they were a damn nuisance to be honest, because when you’re walking down one hill and up the other... we used to tuck them in our knickers..."

Guest Post by third year student Alice Meigh

Giddy moments in the archive!

At the archive office at Corsham Court, we are currently a team of four. Each person brings their own personality to the work, and its fun to see our characteristics on display. Today is a good example....

We have acquired a new set of shelving, which enables us to get a lot of the recently delivered material off the floor and properly arranged. A lot of this is awaiting the cataloguing process, but meanwhile, Hayley in particular wants an orderly arrangement! Nothing makes her happier than a properly arranged, uniform and neat shelf.

Meanwhile, Alice stands by, agreeing wholeheartedly with Hayley, as they jointly line up the handles on all the boxes, and check that all the number labels are aligned.

Lest you believe that we harbour acute OCD sufferers in the archive, remember that we are engaged in archive work, which of course means that this behaviour comes under the heading of 'key skills' and is entirely normal...(we hope!)

Kate and Carol then proceed with the opening the newly delivered trunk - the latest in a series of goodies being sent over by the Newton Park library. Every trunk-full is a surprise, and we've discovered all sorts of things. Today, Kate is rather overwhelmed at the sight of a pile of 100 year old samplers. They were sent from a former Domestic Science student to the College Principal in 1966, and date from her own student days in 1913 - 1916. She writes 'It was fifty years ago this July I sat for my Needlework Diploma, and now, both I and my samplers a Museum Piece!!!'

Samplers - drawn thread work, embroidery and scalloped edging, and an example of boning in a miniature bodice

This former student was sitting her final exam in July 1916 and meanwhile in France, the Battle of the Somme was just beginning. In England, people would have been anxiously reading the casualty lists for news of men at the Front. Just seeing the date evokes all these images...

In the same box, hidden in the folds of tissue paper, we find a bee. Carol particularly enjoys all these little surprises - the random finds and the added puzzles. The bee in the tissue paper; an old pencil in a wartime file; the marginalia and other added information, jotted onto the side of another document. These little things add even more layers to the story of the past; they are tiny pieces of the personal, the accidental and sometimes, the downright odd.

A 1960s bee. How did it get there?

Another trunk arrives from the library next week - I wonder what else we will find?

The Great British Bake Off is back?

Later tonight, the third episode of the new series of 'The Great British Bake Off' will be screened.

Readers and followers of this blog will recall a mention of this programme, and particularly one of its main attractions - our former student, Mary Berry.

Mary attended Bath College of Domestic Science, and it happens that we've been cataloguing some of the college's early papers here over the past few weeks.

The college began in Bath in 1892, and its first head was Miss Lawrie. The handwritten copy of her own recipe book (Receipt Book) makes fascinating reading, although the assorted 19th century handwriting can be a challenge. Two further copies were made of her book, as presentation volumes, on her retirement in 1907. These are less tricky to read, although the inks are fading.

The recipes cover all meals, occasions, budgets and requirements. How about these two:

'For Bronchitis

1 desertsp. of Glycerine

1 desertsp. of Brandy

well mixed together, take every four hours'

'Suet Plaister

Melt some fresh suet at the fire, spread it on a piece of strong brown paper, and put it on the chest. This is good in cases of bronchitis, or any cold on the chest.'

Miss Lawrie's book of Receipts (later altered to 'Recipes')

A recipe for Cold Cabinet Pudding

Anyone heard of 'Eloise Pudding'?

One of the recipes, typed out in 1907. 'Sudden Death' for dinner?

Digital Archives versus Real Life

In a recent blog I talked about scanning, and how the digitisation of archive materials has changed the world of research. (Take another look! http://bsuarchive.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/scanning-scanning-and-more-scanning.html) 

There is a good deal of dispute, amongst researchers, historians and in the archive world, about whether online or real access is 'better'. But as with many other areas of life, there are pros and cons to both access routes.

A digitizing challenge: this scrapbook charts the early years of Newton Park Teacher Training college, and was the property of Principal Mary Dawson. All of the items are glued in, and the whole book is rather fragile.

There is more material available to view online with each day that passes. Recent developments have seen the digitisation of Queen Victoria's diaries, as well as Blitz maps of London, made widely available for the first time. As well as offering these resources to a far, far greater number of people, it is also the means to protect the original documents from over-handling.

As a researcher, returning to university as a mature student just four years ago, I was staggered at the sheer number of easily accessible resources available through the university library. Here was a gold mine of information, to be found at my fingertips, via the computer. I read ancient books, opened Georgian newspapers and looked at famous and obscure paintings right down to the smallest brush strokes.

Domestic Science College students, 1916. This photograph is very evocative  of the era, with women students reflecting masculine styles of dress and stance. The image is also stained with dirty fingermarks and battered at the edges

A visit to a 'real archive' and the handling of real documents naturally takes this fascination onto an even more thrilling level, but for me, this initial online access prepared the way, enhancing my interest in primary sources.

I had already fallen under the spell of archive materials via technology when I was given the opportunity for a placement in a real archive. And there, in the search room of the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in Chippenham, Wiltshire, I fell under the spell of old documents completely. The feel, and above all the intoxicating smell of them, can transport you to an entirely new level of appreciation of the past. I'll never forget the letter from a First World War soldier and the pressed flowers which fell out as I unfolded it.

The placement with Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, and everything I learned there, has informed the work we do here at BSU Archive. The ongoing digitisation of our documents will mean access for all those who wish to know more about the history of the university. This in turn will lead to greater research into the many aspects of the past, as yet uncovered. It will also mean that more people could have the opportunity to handle the real documents and, through oral history testimony, to listen to the real people who have experienced life in these places over the years.

Group photograph of Domestic Science students, 1937. This image has been stored, rolled, for many years, and  is difficult to unroll. Another challenge to come...

The first Newton Park students, 1946. Those who have been interviewed from the late 1940s  recall  the simpler pleasures they enjoyed, and a feeling of unity having lived through the deprivation of the war years. 

Want to find out more about the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre? Website available at  http://wshc.eu/our-services/archives.html 

Scanning, scanning and more scanning

One of the great truths of the BSU Archive is that two of our main tasks are repetitive and time consuming. Scanning documents and transcribing oral history interviews take a very long time.

Yet for those of us involved, these tasks mean that you spend concentrated time with the real words of the past, with the pieces of paper and the recorded voices.

Here in the archive office, scanning occurs in a little corner of the corridor, which at this time of year is rather cold. We are beginning to suspect that in summer, it will be too hot. As is usual with forms of technology, the scanning process is simple, except when it isn't....knowledge of which button to press, in which order, is naturally important. But additionally useful is knowing which tone of voice to use to cajole the machine into cooperating. Or perhaps this is just paranoia...

Our relationship with the scanner is clearly getting too personal.

Documents come in all shapes and sizes, and making sure that the scans don't miss anything, is important. When looking at scanned papers online, I love to see the edges, and although you're a big step away from the real thing, a complete image gives a sense of it. Well-thumbed corners, damaged pages, finger prints and broken spines all add to the sensory experience of archives, even when witnessed remotely. A Historian friend recently posted a twitter image of a medieval manuscript, complete with the inky paw prints of the chronicler's cat - very atmospheric!

Next time you engage with a digital archive, spare a thought for the process which got it online. As well as time, funding, IT support and great documents, it has also been someone's task to stand by the machine, carefully feeding the papers one by one. Maybe their corner is chilly, too.

The opportunities for archive engagement have grown massively in the digital age. The ability to make so much more available online has opened a world of possibility. Especially for those researchers, who can access so much from their own homes. And once you're hooked on digital resources, stepping into a real one is another level of experience altogether.

But more of that, in another blog...

Hayley and Richard make friends with the scanner!

A morning with Professor Michael Pennie

One of the privileges of working on the BSU Archive is meeting a wide range of people, and hearing their stories and memories. Everyone we meet during our research has had a long, interesting and varied life, despite sometimes believing that the opposite is true. And everyone we talk to can illuminate the past for us, in a way that a historical document can never do.

Professor Michael Pennie

This week I have had the honour of meeting Professor Michael Pennie, who has observed artistic life here for half a century. First at Corsham Court in the 1960s, and then at Sion Hill in the 80s and 90s, and more recently back at Corsham Court, he has been teaching and practising the art of sculpture over five decades of change and development.

Michael talked to me about his work and about life at the Court during the Bath Academy of Art days. We also discussed his personal memoir of a life in art, which he is currently writing, and the possibility of adding this memoir to the BSU Archive when it is completed.

Michael's memoir, in preparation

This work, entitled 'Michael Pennie: Sculpture - Making and Teaching' takes the form of a treasure box of individual memories, written about his work, his exhibitions, former students and colleagues, all of which are gathered alongside rich images of artists and their work. Digital technologies also offer the potential for wider audience engagement, and this also formed part of our discussion today.

I was then taken to see Michael's studio in the basement of Corsham Court, where he described the discipline of daily creativity; even at the weekend he spends every morning in the studio, surrounded by his work and tools, drawings and sculptures. In fact his work is dotted all over Corsham Court, in public rooms, in the gallery, and in the grounds. I have walked past them many times, appreciating the art, without realising that the artist was in our midst.

The Basement Gallery, inside Michael's studio and an example of his sculpture

It was a fascinating morning, and yet another reminder of the rich seam of creativity which exists at our university.
I hope to continue mining this seam for some time - who knows what will be discovered next?

Bath Technical Schools

Following last week's blog about Mary Berry and her training at the Bath School of Domestic Science, this week at the BSU Archive office I decided to delve into the box marked 'Bath College of Domestic Science, Old Prospectuses'. What a treat!

Bath Technical Schools main building, at the Guildhall

The prospectuses are A5 booklets, usually no more than 6 or 8 pages in length. They date from the establishment of the Domestic Science department of Bath Technical School, in 1893. Technical Schools were part of the nineteenth century expansion of education, and provided practical classes with the aim of increasing the skills level of a community.

Technical Schools prospectus, 1913-14

Local Authorities set up these schools, which included secondary, evening and adult classes, according to the skills required in the area. A sample of the learning supplied by the City of Bath Council in 1913 includes commerce, languages, maths, book keeping and clerical skills. A large department fulfilled the city's need for engineering knowledge and there is provision to learn engineering drawing, design, and technical skills as well as coach building, carpentry and plumbing. A combination of skills to suit a city concerned about its economy, perhaps?

Since its 18th century heyday, Bath had struggled with the image it displayed to the world and the reality of the life in its streets. In the later 19th century, the city fathers continued to emphasise its gentility, yet industry did thrive here, in the form of engineering works, and car manufacture grew out of the coach building businesses. The technical schools' prospectuses give a fuller picture of a city looking to the future.

Two of Bath Spa University's founding colleges have their origins in this move towards increased public education and training; the School of Art, and the Domestic Science College. These early prospectuses demonstrate the way that 19th century thinking, democratisation and a more diverse economy laid our foundation stones.

The Domestic Science school altered its course when an early student, Adela Heygate, asked to be trained as a teacher of Domestic subjects. She went on to become the Principal of the College, and later, a school inspector.

Cookery and Domestic Sciences prospectus 1914-15

Early classes feature in illustrations in the prospectuses, as well as course descriptions. The courses are very practical, as indicated by early lessons in 'range building', and early student memoirs attest to the resourcefulness they learned. Such skills stood them in good stead when they entered the teaching profession  between the wars, when many school premises were still quite basic.

Range building?

'Care of the Drains' and 'The Danger of Flies' - crucial in an era long before domestic refrigeration! 

Domestic Science students in 1900 wore a uniform consisting of  'a long black serge skirt, ankle length. A scarlet cashmere shirt and black tie for winter, white blouse and red tie for summer, worn with stiff white collar and cuffs. White linen aprons, skirt length with bibs and shoulder straps. A white muslin cap with scarlet ribbon'. (Memoir of student M. S. Toller, written in 1953)

The uniform made them very conspicuous, and earned them the local nick-name of 'Scarlet Runners'.

An anonymous student, also reminiscing in 1953 (the College's Jubilee) recalled that 

'In 1911, the militant suffragette movement was at its height, and Annie Kenney came to Bath and hurled a brick through the GPO window to arouse attention and interest - we students all there in the seething crowd - but alas the scarlet blouses were noticed and we were reported to the head'.