

Secret Life of Old Houses 2: Domestic Life
01 October 2016
This is a Heritage Explorers Activity
Pre-Book only
Book online or call Bookings on 0121 520 8054.
Secret Life of Old Houses 2: Domestic Life
01 October 2016
A day investigating how people lived in and used houses in the past and how this can be interpreted in Museums.
It will use the Museum site and collections, with a strong focus on material objects, to explore a range of themes, including the role of home spaces, ranges and cooking, historic lighting, keeping clean and warm, and leisure time.
This is a Heritage Explorers Activity
Maximum Places: 20
Cost: £15 per person includes lunch & refreshments
Pre-Book only
Book online or call Bookings on 0121 520 8054.
Find out about Part 1 Construction (17 Sep) and Part 3 Researching the Past (5 Nov)
We have a whole range of Heritage courses and talks - Find out more about at IgnitEd
Programme of the day
9.00am Arrival, tea and coffee
9.30am Title tbc: Opening Lecture
10.15am Case Study 1: Interpreting Domestic Interiors
Helen Taylor, Curator Domestic & Cultural Life, BCLM
Focusing on the following buildings:
- Rear Back to Back set in 1880s
- Jerushah set in 1912
- Cast Iron House set in 1943
11.00am Break
11.30am Guided Tour of Museum
Jessica Lambert, Assistant Curator BCLM
- Opportunity to see domestic interiors case studied in previous lecture
- Washing - Jerushah Brew’us
- Cooking - Pitt’s Cott
- Bedrooms - Toll House
- Gas Lighting - Front Back to Back
1.00pm LUNCH
1.30pm Case Study 2: Living Back to Back
Clive Katz, National Trust
2.15pm Case Study 3: “Domestic Soldiers”- The Housewife and War on the domestic Front in World War Two
Elspeth King, University of Worcester
The phrase ‘domestic soldiers’ taken from Jennifer Purcell’s book of the same title epitomises the attitude the government sought to pervade the home front and domestic sphere during the Second World War. The home front was promoted and portrayed as another battlefront with housewives at the fore. This position was constantly reinforced by posters, radio, magazines and newspapers, a version of ‘soft propaganda’ promoted by the British government. The mechanics of rationing, the ration books, coupons and points system are well documented. This case study will look at both food and clothing and examine some of the reality behind the popular images and rhetoric. How did housewives cope and what were the tactics available to them in times of ever increasing challenges and tensions?
Elspeth King is a doctoral student at the University of Worcester. She is particularly interested in twentieth century British history, especially the Second World War and is currently researching class and identity through the lens of rationing and consumption on the home front in World War Two.
3.00pm Break
3.30pm Closing Lecture: Croome Estate during the Great War
Sue Atkins
4.15pm Questions
4.45pm Finish