'Dark, dusty rooms' - by Chandler Goddard
In our second guest blog post this week, another visiting researcher from Exeter Penryn Campus, Chandler Goddard to tell us his experiences of working in archives, and how Historical Pageantry connects to his own interest in amateur dramatics and ideas of public history.
As an undergraduate student studying history, this week has introduced me to my first experience working within an archive and as part of a public history project. Both of which have been not only academically interesting but also vastly different from what I expected. Upon entering either the British Library or the London Metropolitan Archive any pre-existing notions of searching dark, dusty rooms on your own are completely swept away. The ability to simply request documents with the help of the online catalogue or through the staff, ensures you are able to carefully access the documents you require which are then handed to you over the counter.
Above: The suspiciously modern looking London Metropolitan Archives
Public history is something I have been challenged to think about during my first year at university and the questions surrounding accessibility and exactly what qualifies as ‘public’ are certainly present whilst working on a project such as The Historical Pageants in Britain.
My placement with the project focuses on researching The History of Nursing Pageants from 1932 and 1937. Being someone who has taken part in theatre for many years, I have been interested so far in perhaps what could be described as the more general stage production and ‘behind the scenes’ information that I have gathered. Questions such as how much to charge for tickets, where to perform and the financial struggles that come with any production certainly have not changed in today's world of theatre and, by considering these pageants under the umbrella of Amateur Dramatics, it has been intriguing to compare these specific examples to my own experiences.
Despite these similarities, the question, and arguably a concern, that I will look to explore further is one that I have found appearing within many discussions of public history. With these pageants, and other forms of entertainment that use historical individuals and events, it is important to consider the potential inaccuracies and perhaps elaborations that have been used for dramatic effect. The most important part to focus on is to what extent the audience is aware of any fictitious characters or events and what impact this may have on historical remembrance.
Chandler Goddard