A clear view: crowdsourcing conservation needs in historic houses using visitor-led photo surveys

ABSTRACT

In order to investigate visitor perceptions of dust, dirt and cleaning in historic houses, visitors were invited to be a ‘researcher’ for the day at an historic house and photograph what they felt to be a conservation need. This self-directed photo survey provided a useful communication tool between visitors, researchers, conservators and collection care staff. The method generated specific and actionable feedback about the focus of visitors’ attention, their perception of risk in the historic environment and the impact of conservation plans on the visitor experience. Although the non-expert nature of visitors’ observations was clear, there was new insight into what visitors find attractive, alarming or anomalous in a historic house environment. This accessible and inclusive method is potentially easily conducted by staff and volunteers involved in collections care. The results could be used to inform training, prioritisation, presentation and interpretation, as well as conservation.

KEYWORDS:

• Conservation
• collections management
• photo survey
• visitor engagement
• visual methods
• decision making

Acknowledgements

With thanks to Flavia Ravaioli, Cathy Tully, Graeme MacArthur and Julia Tubman for assisting in data collection. Thanks also to the staff and volunteers at Attingham Park and Chastleton House for accommodating this research and generously giving their time to assist with data collection, analysis and evaluation, particularly Catriona Hughes, Samantha Taylor, Melangell Penrhys, Sebastian Conway, Saraid Jones and Helen Rowse. Coming Clean (2013–17) was funded by UCL Qatar, and led by Dr S. Golfomitsou, in partnership with UCL’s Institute of Archaeology, the National Trust, Cologne University of Applied Sciences and the Museum of Islamic Arts, Doha.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Cath Dillon completed this work while an Honorary Research Associate at University College London (UCL) Qatar and now works as an independent research consultant. Cath has a background in psychology and social research, completing her first degree at UCL in 1997 and her PhD at Goldsmiths College (University of London) in 2007. Cath has conducted research in academic, public, third and commercial sector settings, specialising in user centred assessment of needs, priorities and values. Recently this experience has been applied in heritage science and conservation projects, including the public engagement elements of the AHRC/EPSRC funded Collections Demography and Mind the Gap projects at UCL’s Institute for Sustainable Heritage, the Coming Clean and Materiality projects at UCL Qatar, and at ICCROM on a study of effective research collaboration and impact.

Stavroula Golfomitsou (BA, PhD, FIIC) is a Senior Lecturer in Conservation at the Department of Conservation, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Prior to this she was a lecturer at UCL Qatar and Coordinator of the MSc in Conservation Studies. She set up the MSc in Conservation Studies as a student-led, inquiry- and research-based degree. She is the coordinator of the Coming Clean research project investigating decision-making processes in conservation and the factors that affect them. She was also principal investigator in the Materiality and Preservation in Islamic Contexts project (2015–2017). Stavroula holds a PhD in Conservation of Metals from UCL and a BA in Heritage Conservation from Athens University of Applied Sciences. She is a Fellow of the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC), a Trustee and member of the IIC Council.

Cymbeline Storey gained her MA in Principles of Conservation (2008) and MSc in Conservation for Archaeology and Museums (2010) from University College London. Cym is currently working as a conservator for Colchester and Ipswich museums.

Katy Lithgow obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Wall Paintings Conservation from the Courtauld Institute of Art, London in 1988, having studied Archaeology, Anthropology and History of Art at Cambridge. Following an internship at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, she taught at the Courtauld before joining the National Trust in 1991 as a preventive conservator, specializing in storage and protecting collections during building works. In 1995 she became the Trust’s Wall Painting Conservation Adviser and in 2002 Conservation Advisers Manager, before being appointed Head Conservator in 2005. She has published and lectured widely on conservation, and participated in national and international research projects, including Coming Clean. Katy is an Accredited Conservator-Restorer (ACR), a Fellow of the International Institute of Conservation (FIIC) and a Trustee of the National Heritage Science Forum.

ORCID

S. Golfomitsou http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2168-3715

Notes

1. www.comingcleanucl.com

2. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/attingham-park/features/the-re-discovered-project

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by University College London Qatar.