NODEM 2014 Proceedings

Authenticity and Authorship: The Chocolate
Kitchens at Hampton Court Palace
Aileen Peirce and Polly Putnam
Historic Royal Palaces, United Kingdom
http://www.hrp.org.uk/HamptonCourtPalace/stories/palacehighlights/chocolate-kitchen
Abstract: In this paper we use the example of the Chocolate Kitchens at Hampton Court Palace to explore issues of authenticity
and authorship in re-creating historic interiors.
In February 2014, Historic Royal Palaces opened a suite of three rooms associated with chocolate making. One is an almost
perfectly preserved Chocolate Kitchen with 18 th century fixtures and fittings. The second, badly fire damaged, had little surviving
historic building fabric. The third, the Chocolate Room, was empty apart from badly broken 18 th century ironmongery in
the fireplace and the scars of historic shelving on the walls. In the surviving Chocolate Kitchen, we took the unusual step of using
projection-mapping technology, avoiding physical interventions in this sensitive space. The blank space next door gave us
the opportunity for experimental archaeology, making chocolate using historic equipment and recipes. In the Chocolate Room,
where the final touches were put to the chocolate, we decided to re-create the historic interior.
Unlike many restorations, none of the original contents survived but research uncovered detailed inventories, archaeological
fragments and extant examples from other collections. In the Chocolate Room we have mixed real objects and carefully researched
re-creations with our guiding purpose being that the space must feel inhabited. We have also used the latest projection
mapping techniques to create an animated diagram, using 18 th century illustrative styles, to bring the abandoned Chocolate
Kitchen to life.
We make the argument that it is possible to produce an “authentic re-creation”. Research has shown that this was the actual Chocolate
Room. While its contents are not original, the authenticity of the experience lies in the archaeological and technological accuracy
involved in the re-creation of each item. Nonetheless, the question must be asked, have we created an elaborate fake?
Visitors expect historic interiors to provide the authentic “history where it happened” experience. Our visitors tell us that they want
to “step back in time”, “walk in the footsteps of kings and queens”. In the Chocolate Room, we have pushed the boundaries of authenticity,
creating a world where visitors are transported to a moment in history – they are complicit in this process. Re-creation
only becomes fakery when we lie to our audience. By presenting our process on site via our multimedia guide and offsite via our
website, we create dialogues about materials and historic craft techniques. Visitor research shows that the process of reconstruction
is something that visitors find every bit as fascinating as the experience of the room itself. The re-creation of the Chocolate
Room becomes an authentic 18 th century experience using historic craft skills, but one that is explicitly authored in 2014 using
digital media.
Keywords: chocolate, restoration, authenticity, interpretation,
Introduction
Hampton Court Palace is renowned as the favourite palace of Henry VIII – the iconic view is the Tudor West
Front with its Great Gatehouse and intricate brick chimneys. It is less well known as a baroque palace. In 1689,
William III and Mary II decided to demolish Henry’s great Tudor palace in favour of a new design by Sir Christopher
Wren. The ambitious design proved too expensive and a compromise was reached with a new baroque
palace attached to the existing Tudor state apartments. Following a multi-year programme of conservation
and re-presentation of the Tudor parts of the palace, Historic Royal Palaces has more recently turned its atten-
NODEM 2014 Conference & Expo
27