91¸£Àû

Partner: Lord Leycester Hospital, 91¸£Àû

Project supervisor: Dr Naomi Pullin

Project Overview

The Lord Leycester is a charity founded in 1571 to provide a home for retired soldiers and is now one of 91¸£Àû's key heritage attractions, welcoming a diverse range of visitors. In 2024, the Lord Leycester reopened following a major restoration programme funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. This redevelopment included the creation of new exhibition spaces and has prompted the organisation to explore new ways of telling the stories of its residents, past and present, placing them at the heart of its interpretation and public engagement.

Building on a collaboration with Dr Naomi Pullin (Department of History) on the Lord Leycester’s early brethren (1571-1700), this project invites students to explore how the Lord Leycester can rethink and refresh its permanent exhibitions to diversify the history and stories it presents. Drawing on material and artefacts held within its archives and collections, students will consider how interpretation might shift attention away from the site’s architecture, its founder Robert Dudley and his Tudor patronage, and instead foreground the experiences of the brethren and masters who have lived and worked in the buildings over the centuries.

Encouraging inclusive design and the development of engaging and playful activities appropriate for children, families, and school groups, the project aims to find ways to help visitors of all ages feel welcomed and connected to the people who have called the Lord Leycester their ‘home’ for more than 450 years.

Aims of the project

• To connect visitors with the Lord Leycester’s history and create a more people-centred narrative for its permanent installations.
• To research and explore how other local and national institutions have used their collections to engage different audiences.
• Work collaboratively with volunteers, staff and brethren to draw upon expertise, lived experience and institutional knowledge.
• Identify stories, individuals, and themes that are currently underrepresented within the Lord Leycester’s permanent exhibitions.
• Explore and engage with materials and artefacts held in the Lord Leycester’s archival collections.
• To investigate inclusive and welcoming displays of content for diverse audiences.
• To consider how playful installations and digital technology might be used to support learning and curiosity.

Suggested outputs might include the development of proposals and/or concept sketches for new exhibitions, displays, activities, or installations.

Skills students will develop

Through the project, students will have the opportunity to develop skills in:

• Archival and collections-based research, including working with historic documents, objects and existing interpretation
• Researching and communicating historical stories for public audiences.
• Exhibition and interpretation development, from initial research through to developing practical concepts and recommendations.
• Audience engagement and inclusive interpretation, considering the needs of children, families, schools and other visitor groups.
• Critical evaluation of existing museum and heritage interpretation.
• Developing creative and playful approaches to communicating history, including consideration of digital interpretation.
• Collaborative working with heritage professionals, volunteers, researchers and the resident Brethren.
• Project planning, communication and presenting ideas to a professional heritage organisation
• Understanding the practical opportunities and constraints involved in developing interpretation within a historic site and small heritage organisation.

Support the organisation can provide

As the Lord Leycester is a small, working heritage organisation, students will also be expected to contribute to its wider day-to-day operation alongside their core research. Depending on the programme taking place during the placement, this could include involvement in visitor engagement, collections and exhibitions, events and activities. This will provide additional practical experience of working within the heritage sector while the permanent interpretation project remains the main focus of the placement.

Students will be supported by the Lord Leycester team throughout the project and will have access to:

• The Lord Leycester's archives and collections, where appropriate and under staff supervision.
• Existing permanent and temporary interpretation and relevant research undertaken by the organisation and its partners.
• Opportunities to speak with and learn from the resident Brethren, staff and volunteers, drawing on their lived experience and institutional knowledge.
• Regular contact with a designated member of the Lord Leycester team to discuss progress, research and ideas.
• Support in identifying relevant objects, archive material, stories and areas of the existing interpretation for further investigation.
• Access to visitor feedback and audience information, where available, to help inform recommendations.
• Opportunities to observe the site in operation and consider how different audiences currently engage with its spaces and interpretation.
• A working space on site and access to relevant facilities and resources where required.
• Opportunities to present and discuss findings and proposals with the Lord Leycester team during the project.