Research Day

Yesterday we all went to Calke Abbey to look through the research document the National Trust held about the house. We wanted to gather information that would help us accumulate ideas for our final exhibition.


We arrived at Calke Abbey at 10am, and the National Trust workers assisted us to the back room where all the research documents were stored. We were all grateful for these resources they had provided, and the knowledge they personally shared about the house. It was very informative and, most of all, interesting. There was an overwhelming amount of research in the archive at Calke Abbey, so it was difficult to know where to start, and what direct everyone was going to take. Everyone spent most of the morning sifting through research notes, from the detailed timeline of the family members the estate was inherited by to the building’s architecture and the delayed/gradual modernisation of the building and the life within it.

Research Day 

Everyone gained an insight into the lives of the people who had lived at Calke in the past. Also, it was particularly useful reading the inventories of each room. The inventories showed the spaces and objects we will be working with/around in the way they will be when the house is open to the public.


Emily and Helen were particularly interested in Henry Harpur Crewe ('The Isolated Baronet), who married Nanette Hawkins (The Lady's maid), as well as Sir Vauncey Harpur Crewe. They were interested in these two due to the unsociable personalities these men had.


Helen predominantly found the collections of newspaper articles useful, when finding out further information into the life of Nanette Hawkins.


Bryony and Ruth also focused their research mainly on the character of Sir Vauncey Harpur Crewe. They also concentrated on the Schoolroom and the objects within it. They discovered that the schoolroom was a bedroom for George Crewe and then also became a Schoolroom for Sir Vauncey and his children as well. What was fascinating about this room was the surrounding walls had Newspaper backing the wallpaper.

Bryony’s research led her further, when she read about Sir Vauncey through the servant’s accounts. She discovered that he would refuse to see the servants in person and he would communicate to them through letters and notes. Sir Vauncey would also sack the servants for ridiculous things like letting the fire get too hot or cold.

They both wanted to look at the history of the Schoolroom further. They have decided to collaborate and create a sculptural approach focusing on the Armies occupying the space at Calke and focus it within the Schoolroom. Within the room is a Doll’s house, which they aim to use as their main source of inspiration and possibly using it as a representation of the house itself.


Opposite, Jayne was keen to create a response to the various fashions of wallpaper; the distinctively different patterns of the age and the various means by which the papers would have been made. There was little information available about the precise wallpaper history but she found it interesting how the wallpaper depicts a living experience through time, from the 18th century through to 1960's. Jayne also found that each time the National Trust started to conserve and fireproof the walls hidden treasures were uncovered. In the drawing room for example, various colour schemes were uncovered behind the mirrors and the gold and white Pugin style wall covering that can be seen today. 

This trip to Calke Abbey helped us decide the direction we are all planning to take, for example; investing further into a particular character or theme. I thought it was a privilege to be looking through all the collected research the members of the national trust have gathered.

Chloé