The Colonel & The Party Palace: Life at Herstmonceux Castle in the Roaring ’20s
Project Lead: Dr Claire Kennan (Research Coordinator, Lecturer in History).
The ‘Roaring ’20s’ conjures images of exuberance, partying and glamour. Whether it’s the Great Gatsby or Downton Abbey, the 1920s has captured the popular imagination and it’s easy to see why – it was an age of transformation as the world emerged from one of the greatest conflicts in history.
With the centenary of the 1920s upon us this is the perfect opportunity to explore what life was like at Herstmonceux Castle 100 years ago. Particularly as this is a period in the castle’s history that we know very little about.
This student-led research project ran from 2021 – 2023 and resulted in a brand new digital exhibition focussing on the themes of people, place and parties. The latest research output from this project was a recording of the Verily Anderson play Making Moonshine! which is a fictionalised account of events during the 1920s at Herstmonceux Castle.
Ecology and Land Stewardship at Herstmonceux Castle
Project Leads: Dr Simon Coppard (Science Coordinator, Senior Lecturer in Biology)
This is a series of research projects which focus on the environment in and around the castle grounds. For 2022 – 2023 research has focussed on the biodiversity of the estate and the science of beekeeping. Later this year a brand new project Twittering Trees will be set up which will allow us to measure growth rates, water retention and the effects of climate change.
Environments of Change: Digitising Nature, History & Human Experience in Late Medieval Sussex
Project Lead: Professor Steven Bednarski (University of Waterloo).
Environments of Change is an interdisciplinary research project supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The project explores, from multiple perspectives, the environmental history of late medieval Sussex using emerging digital tools. It aims to understand better the reciprocal relationship between humans and nature in the past and, in so doing, to apply these frameworks to present situations and contexts. It develops digital tools and resources that allow individuals to understand the complex and dynamic relationship between societies and the natural world. These tools will have application in educational, academic, policy, and tourist settings.
More information about the Environments of Change Project can be found here.
GuideTags: A New App for Exploring the Herstmonceux Castle Estate
Project Leads: Dr David Brown (Brock University) & Anthony Montagano (Brock University).
GuideTags is a mobile phone and web-based app which allows users to choose how they navigate and interpret a site using their digital device. The app contains various thematic point-of-interest (POI) pages containing interpretive content like images of key features, GPS coordinates, and an interactive map to create an accessible, interpretive resource for users.
GuideTags offers users different modes to navigate a destination. TOUR mode allows users to follow a pre-determined linear route with accompanying narrative through the destination. DISCOVER mode is more unstructured, and allows users visit any points-of-interest nearby in any order they prefer. Providing visitors with these options allows them greater flexibility with how they engage with this content, which can develop user appreciation of the importance of heritage in education.
This research project is part of Environments of Change
