Kingston research - Kingston University

18 Collaborations Collaborations
19
Hampton Court Palace
A history of visiting
Royal connections
Kingston University has undertaken a number of
successful collaborative projects with Historic Royal
Palaces, a charity responsible for the Tower of
London, the Banqueting House, Kensington Palace,
Kew Palace and also Hampton Court Palace, which
is located close to Kingston upon Thames.
Recently, researchers helped to update Hampton
Court’s presentations on King Henry VIII as part of
the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of his
accession to the throne in 1509. Their work helped
to increase the numbers of visitors to the Palace
and consequently its income.
In 2006, Kingston University was awarded
funding for a three-year Knowledge
Transfer Partnership (KTP) by the Arts
and Humanities Research Council
(AHRC) to employ KTP Associate Susannah
Lipscombe as a research curator based
at Hampton Court Palace. Susannah’s
research drew on literary historian Professor
Thomas Betteridge’s research on the
Tudor court, and was supervised by
Senior Lecturer in English Literature Erica
Longfellow, both of whom have worked
closely with the Palace.
The KTP project aimed to redesign the
way that visitors experience the Tudor
sections of Hampton Court. The new
interpretation was titled ‘Henry VIII: Heads
and Hearts’. Lipscombe wrote text for a
range of media to immerse visitors in
Henry’s world, and included displays,
publications, audio guides, a website and
a Twitter feed, ‘I am Henry VIII’. She also
designed new visitor costumes and Tudorinspired
warders’ uniforms, and briefed
staff and volunteers on the latest research
findings. For example, she explained how
the Privy Council worked, who was present
and what they discussed, which enabled
the Council Chamber to be opened to the
public (for the first time) with an innovative
multimedia display that immerses visitors in
key debates of the time.
In addition, Lipscombe implemented a
strategy to build links with the research
community. She set up an interdisciplinary
Research Advisory Panel and organised a
successful conference on Henry VIII, cosponsored
by the University, and a series of
public talks. She published a book, 1536:
The year that changed Henry VIII; is coediting
Henry VIII and the Tudor Court with
Betteridge, and wrote a paper on her
experience of bringing history to the public
for The Public Historian.
These initiatives contributed to a
significant increase in Hampton Court’s
income. Between April and September
2009, there were an additional 115,287
visitors to the palace, up 43 per cent on the
same period in the previous year, compared
with a 12.8 per cent increase in visitors to
other comparable attractions. Importantly,
the number of domestic visitors increased
sharply; local and domestic repeat visitors
are considered crucial for community
engagement and stabilising income
streams.
Dr Lucy Worsley, Chief Curator for
Historic Royal Palaces, said the innovative
KTP with Kingston University, and the
resulting exhibition, had been “...a huge
success economically and culturally. It has
helped to boost our visitor numbers to the
highest level for a decade, and that income
is crucial to ensuring Hampton Court Palace
is looked after and kept open for people all
over the world to visit.”
The project was funded by the AHRC for
£170,502. ◆
Dr Julia Parker recently completed
an AHRC-funded collaborative
doctoral research project which
revealed the fascinating history of
Hampton Court Palace’s first 100 years
as a visitor attraction.
From 1838–1938, Hampton Court
Palace was transformed from a
building in which to present the
paintings of the royal collection into a
historic environment in its own right.
Parker’s thesis, ‘Reinvention and
continuity in the making of an historic
visitor attraction: control, access and
display at Hampton Court Palace,
1838–1938’, enhanced understanding
not just of the Palace, but also of
historical and contemporary discourses
of heritage, architectural conservation,
preservation, display and museology.
This research has enabled Hampton
Court to become more aware of its
curatorial practice and to determine
how best to present the Palace as
visitors’ needs change. The project
also strengthened the University’s
partnership with Hampton Court,
increased staff expertise, and provided
a model for future collaborative
doctoral projects.
Parker was attached to the curatorial
team at Hampton Court and
supervised by Dr Trevor Keeble, an
associate director of the Modern
Interiors Research Centre (MIRC);
Professor Fran Lloyd, Director of the
Visual and Material Culture Research
Centre (VMCRC); and Dr Lucy Worsley,
Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces.
The project was funded by the
AHRC (£57,489). ◆