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Inspired by Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species, a Brighton Herald editorial of 27 March 1863 turned its attention to the ‘Extinction of Species’ — in this case, the Great Auk.
This flightless bird became extinct in the mid-19th century, but you can still see a stuffed example at the Booth Museum of Natural History.
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Britain may have been embroiled in the First World War, but local artist Clem Lambert and Brighton Museum curator Herbert Toms found time to announce an unusual discovery.
While sketching the famous ‘Goldstone’ in Hove Park, Lambert noticed from his sketches that the rock bears a striking likeness to a human face. Reported in the Brighton Graphic of 27 March 1915, the phenomenon was dubbed the ‘Rockerfeller’, after the American oil tycoon John D Rockerfeller.
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An editorial from the Brighton Herald marks the end of the First Boer War in South Africa. The British had been fighting Boer settlers in its colony for almost four months, but a treaty signed on 23 March had granted self-government to the Boers in the Transvaal.
From the Brighton Herald, 26 March 1881.
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Proving that fair trade and ethical retail have a long history, this advertisement from the New Golden Boots shoe shop promises more than just comfortable shoes. Railing against ‘cheap shops’ that squeeze their producers from an honest wage, this shop in North Street promises to provide ‘Justice for the Poor’.
From the Brighton Herald 26 March 1836.
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The magnificent gateway at the northern entrance to the Royal Pavilion dates from 1832 and is an often overlooked and underappreciated Brighton building.
The North Gate in 2017
As with the south gate, we don’t know exactly how it looked in the late 18th and early 19th century, during the early years of the Royal Pavilion. In architect John Nash’s ground plan from 1826 both gates are called ‘lodges’ and are marked as small square brick structures, perhaps in the style of sentry boxes.
Nash ground plan, 1826, detail
As the North Gate is so much in keeping with the oriental style of the Royal Pavilion itself, you may think it is also by Nash and was commissioned by George IV, but the inscription tells a different story. This is the work of the architect and surveyor Joseph Henry Good, built in the early years of the short reign of George’s successor, his brother William IV. We have a fine portrait in oil by an unknown artist of Good (currently not on display), painted in c.1830, around the time he started working here.
Joseph Henry Good, English School, c1830
William IV had great plans for the Royal Pavilion and engaged Good to not only survey the entire estate but also add numerous buildings, including splendid gates at the north and south entrance. It was reported that John Nash met with William IV on his first visit to Brighton as King in 1830, and was seen marking illustrations in the gravel with his stick, so he may have had some influence on the designs. Good’s South Gate, complete with servants’ rooms and link corridors to the main building and the servants’ dormitories, does not survive.
Good produced no fewer than 46 drawings and proposals for the North Gate alone, the earliest dated September 1830. His architectural plans survive and show how he played with a number of ideas, including cladding part of the gate in blue and white tiles (as seen in plan no. 82, although it is also possible that the blue and white colouring was used to indicate different types of stone), or perspective views with alternative inscriptions to the ones that were eventually included (for example no. 87, where the text reads ‘The Pavilion became a Royal Palace AD MDCCCXXX’). Here are just some examples of these plans, all dating from 1830 to 1832:
The version that was eventually built (as seen here in an 1885 watercolour by R Rust) is a well-proportioned, grand symmetrical gate with a central arch, minarets and a copper dome which has turned a shimmering green.
The North Gate of the Royal Pavilion, 1885, R Rust (fl 1885)
It is a proud building that for many Brighton visitors approaching the town from the north would have been one of the first glimpses of the Pavilion estate. On the occasion of Queen Victoria’s first visit to Brighton in October 1837, an amphitheatre with a triumphal arch was erected to the north of the North Gate, through which Victoria entered the estate, as illustrated in this print from the same year:
Amphitheatre and triumphal arch erected north of the North Gate on Queen Victoria’s first visit to Brighton as queen.
The gate is still the first structure you see when you come to Brighton by bus from the Lewes area or by car from the London Road, and looks attractive at any time of the day and year. Quite appropriately, the building now houses the offices of the estate’s Head Gardener and his numerous volunteers.
Alexandra Loske, Curator (Royal Pavilion Archives), with thanks to Jo Essex, researcher and volunteer at the Royal Pavilion.
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Do you fancy an other-worldly experience? Join us for Angel Day on Saturday 10th February 2018 at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery.
There will be singing workshops, the Interfaith Choir, live music, poetry, angel-related objects from the collection, art and craft activities, talks and storytelling. Drop-in for free.
The Glorification of the Virgin, c1515, by Albert Cornelis. Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
But why angels?
It was the idea of the Interfaith Contact Group of Brighton & Hove (IFCG) who work to bring people of faith and non-faith together in harmony. The group are planning events throughout 2018 to emphasise similarities between faiths by using the common link of angels. There is a long history of angelic messengers or saviours appearing in different mythologies and cultures, such as ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman, or in faiths such as Christianity, Baha’i, Islam and Judaism.
Angels are even name-checked in the natural world. My Natural Science colleague, Grace, introduced me to the adorable angel sea-slug.
To misquote Robbie Williams, I’m loving angel sea-slugs instead
The IFCG will be launching their Angels in Our City competition and an Angel Trail at the museum on February 10th.
Early 20th century postcard that belonged
to the Stanford family of Preston Manor, Brighton. Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
The trail will offer sightings of the celestial beings in Brighton and Hove in the form of stained-glass windows in churches, such as St Michael & All Angels, murals, statues and art works. But can any be found in Brighton Museum & Art Gallery?
The Guardian Angel, print, c1805, by James Gillray. Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
There must be an angel…
As a Collection Assistant I often source objects from our collections for events and talks but I doubted that there would be many suitable examples for Angel Day. Paintings and prints were the most obvious areas but surprisingly I found over 100 references to the winged-ones in our collections – and it was a very mixed assortment indeed!
Some of these objects will be putting in a celestial appearance on Angel Day, upstairs in Museum Lab.
An angel watches over Queen Victoria’s royal children while they sleep. Earthenware figure group from the Willett collection, 1845.Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
I also discovered that we have seven angel-themed objects on long-term display in Brighton Museum. These will be highlighted for a children’s trail on the day. There are three 19th century Staffordshire figurines in the Willett Gallery, a Minton flask, 1876, in the 20th Century gallery (well, it is decorated with Cupid, who almost counts as an angel) the Arctic print in the World Art gallery, Angel in Town, 2008, by Suvinai Ashoona, and two paintings, The Glorification of the Virgin, c1515, Albert Cornelis, on the staircase; and Angel of the Annunciation, 1925, in the Glyn Philpot display in the Fine Art gallery. Jenny Lund, Curator of Fine Art, will be giving a bite-size talk about this work on the day, between 12.30 and 1pm.
Angel of the Annunciation,1925, by Glyn Philpot. Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
See if you can find any more angels at Brighton Museum and beyond!
Lucy Faithful, Collection Assistant. With thanks to Rev Anthea Ballam, Interfaith Minister, for information.
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(c) Alex Lake www.twoshortdays.com
Do You Vote? Their Fight Our Future
On the 6 February 1918, eight million women, out of an electorate of twenty one, were given the opportunity to vote. Only women over the age of 30 with educational & property qualifications were allowed to do so.
100 years later, on Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 2018, pop into Brighton Museum for Their Fight Our Future from 2pm to find out more about local Suffragette and Social Reformer, Minnie Turner, who was arrested three times for her suffrage activities!
Also explore how changing women’s fashions throughout the 20th Century reflected social change, from a bodice skirt and bloomers from the 1890s to a Mary Quant mini-skirt. Even try on a replica corset! Share your views about voting today with our Learning Assistant, Karen Antoni, in character as Minnie Turner or through our secret ballot box…
Minnie Turner 1867-1948
In the early years of the last century number 13 & 14 Victoria Road, Brighton, known as “Sea View” were first leased and then purchased by Minnie Sara Turner, a local resident well known for her involvement in the Women’s Suffrage movement. She ran her home as a guest house which attracted mainly professional women visitors. For twelve years she was the honourable secretary of the Hove ward of the Brighton & Hove Women’s Liberal association, but left the Liberal Party because of its lack of support for women’s suffrage. In 1908 she joined The Women’s Social & Political Union (W.S.P.U) and turned to militarism.
By 1913, 13 Victoria Road had quite a reputation locally as a militant suffragette boarding house. Her guests included, Mrs Pankhurst and several of her family, Lady Constance Lytton, Lady Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence , Emily Wilding Davison, Annie Kenney, Mrs Drummond and many others. The guest house was often full, and extra accommodation was arranged in the form of a wooden hut in the garden of No 13 and even a potting shed-type annexe to the back of No 12, next door. Minnie kept a small library of books on the social position of women for her guests to enjoy.
Minnie believed passionately in suffrage and social justice. She was hard working and had a strong sense of responsibility to the community.
Minnie Turner outside Sea View boarding house
She was a member of the Clifton Road Congregational Church and was elected to the Brighton Board of Guardians soon after the First World War. For seven years she committed to improving the conditions in the Brighton workhouse on Elm Grove. She valued education, peace and fellowship. When she died in 1948 many of the organisations sent representatives to her funeral at the Downs Crematorium. There were representatives from the Suffragette Fellowship, the Women’s Freedom League, and the Women’s International League. Many of her possessions are in the Museum of London.
On the centenary of the Representation of the People Act, 1918 we will be displaying The Holloway Brooch worn with the sash awarded to Minnie and other ex-prisoners to honour their sacrifice. In 2015 a relative of Minnie Turner donated them to the Royal Pavilion and Museums.
The Suffrage Movement and the First World War
Some historians say that the highly skilled and dangerous work done by women during the war is why they were awarded the vote, as a token of gratitude for their war work. Others have argued that the emphasis placed on women’s economic contribution to the war does not take into account the groundwork done by the pre-war suffrage campaign. Some have even said that the war actually postponed the vote for women. It has been suggested that the vote was about to be granted just before the war broke out. The hard work of both the Suffragists & Suffragettes during the war ended the militant methods that had been used. It conferred respectability on the suffrage cause. It was thought that the women involved in the suffrage movement had shown themselves to be responsible and mature beings who were more than capable of taking part in a democracy which they defended.
WSPU (Women Social & Political Union) Suffragettes
The WSPU lead the way in patriotism. When war was declared in 1914 the WSPU suspended suffrage activities. Both Mrs E Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel Pankhurst adopted an extremely nationalistic position. The outbreak of the war enabled the WSPU and its members to abandon their violent methods, and demonstrate their patriotic loyalty and ultimately their deservedness of the vote. Within a few days of the war being declared, the party threw itself into a vigorous campaign, in which the defeat of Germany took priority over women’s suffrage. The WSPU placed its organisation and its funds at the disposal of the Government, who by 1915 needed labour.
2 million men had joined the armed forces at a time of increased demand for munition production. To encourage women to join the workforce, Lloyd George, now Minister of Munitions liaised with the WSPU. The Suffragettes’ renamed their paper, “Britannia” to express their commitment to the British Empire, and in 1917 the name of the WSPU was changed to the Women’s Party. Emmaline & Christabel Pankhurst were great assets in promoting the war effort world-wide. They launched a campaign to urge Russian women to encourage their men to keep fighting. They toured America & Canada to speak to women about war service. At home they called for military conscription for men, industrial conscription for women, and the abolition of Trade Unions. Any young man in civilian clothes, who was unfortunate to encounter Mrs Pankhurst and her supporters would have been handed a white feather as a symbol of cowardice. The WSPU demanded that conscientious objectors, alongside those of the enemy race living in Britain, to be interned. Not all members agreed with Emmaline Pankhurst and her use of the party’s funds to promote the war effort.
The National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWWSS) Suffragists
The NUWSS were bitterly divided over the war. Some members wholly supported the war effort; there were some who were ambivalent and still others who were unwilling to support it at all. Millicent Fawcett was against the white feathers! She had signed an appeal for peace at the beginning of the war, she changed her mind a few days later and said “women your country needs you”. She believed war was the gravest crisis facing Britain, for if Germany won, it would destroy the democratic institution of Parliament. Whatever their attitude was towards the war, almost all suffragists were active in wartime relief work. They established a registry of voluntary workers who would in turn find the unemployed work. Lots of industries such as dressmaking, which employed lots of women, collapsed as richer women cut back on luxury goods. In response to high female unemployment, members of the NUWSS set to work organising the unemployed and soon became the main focus of relief work. Workrooms opened where garments were made for war relief dining rooms, for pregnant and nursing mothers as well as establishing women’s patrol to “protect the honour of young girls” and guard against prostitution. One of the most important things that the NUWSS did was to set up and finance Scottish Women’s Hospital Units. These units employed all-female teams of doctors, nurses and ambulance drivers to work on the front lines of the war in some of the worst fighting zones.
Unlike the WSPU the NUWSS remained committed to Women’s Suffrage and left its organisational structure in place, enabling it to recommence suffrage activities when the time was right.
Karen Antoni, Learning Assistant
‘Behind the Scenes’, MuseumLab, 2-5pm, Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 February 2018.
Part of our 1918-2018: 100 years Remembrance Season
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Paula Wrightson’s latest blog post on the surprising history of Preston Manor looks at its role during the Cold War. How would this elegant Edwardian house have been used in the event of a nuclear attack?
Brighton in 1966 was a town ready to embrace the new youthful age of the Swinging Sixties. Memories of the Second World War, now 20 years past, might remain vivid in the heads of the older population who had lived through the conflict but for those born post-war, the first generation ‘Baby Boomers,’ war was ancient history. However, at Preston Manor the spectre of nuclear war loomed vivid.
Brighton postcard, mid-1960s
In the mid-1960s peace was on most people’s minds and with near full employment in Britain, especially for the young, residents of sunny Brighton had much cause for optimism. The seaside town retained all the pleasures of a traditional bucket-and-spade seaside holiday resort and yet exciting new cultural directions were being taken. The first Brighton Festival was held in 1967 launching an event now famed as one of Europe’s leading arts festivals. Half a century on it is easy to picture the optimism of the age. Harder maybe to feel the concerns, thankfully unrealised, that nuclear war or similar catastrophe might strike at any minute.
On 25 July 1966 Miss Margery Roberts, Preston Manor’s Honorary Curator, received a letter from Mr. James B. Adnams, the County Borough of Brighton’s Civil Defence Officer.
Based at the Civil Defence Headquarters in Edward Street Mr Adnams informs Miss Roberts of the suitability of basement rooms at Preston Manor for becoming a Sector Post of Brighton’s Civil Defence Control Organisation. A week prior to writing he’d made a visit to the house and approved the location for his needs.
‘I anticipate that access would only be needed some 8 to 10 times per year for a very limited number of people’ he writes ‘we should, of course, confirm to any of your security requirements.’
25 July 1966 letter from Mr. James B. Adnams
The tone of the surviving letters between three correspondents (Mr Adnams; W. O. Dodd, Town Clerk & Clerk of the Peace; and Miss Margery Roberts) is both sombre and brisk – the language not dissimilar to that used by Margery’s late father, Mr Henry Roberts, during the Second World War when Preston Manor was closed as a museum and used for civil defence purposes. Reading the 1966 letters, war seems to draw close again.
In Britain the Civil Defence Corps was established in 1948, three years after the end of the Second World War, and administered by local councils under the authority of the Home Office. The County Borough of Brighton (now Brighton & Hove City Council) had a Civil Defence Division staffed by officers under Mr Adnams. There is no Council department of this name today. The purpose of Civil Defence in peacetime was to be prepared for war – and during the height of the Cold War this meant nuclear attack. No adult in 1966 would forget the Cuban Missile Crisis of four years previous, when the United States and the Soviet Union came close to launching nuclear missile strikes.
A letter dated 7 September 1966 from Mr Dodd, the Town Clerk, to Mr Councillor P. E. W Best, Chairman of the Preston Manor Sub-Committee gives us more detail on how the house was to be used in anticipation of crisis.
‘Mr Adnams, the Civil Defence Officer, has been in touch with Miss Roberts about then possibility of using a very small area in the basement of the Manor, some 200 sq.ft., for a Sector Post as part of the civil defence control organisation in the town…Civil Defence would install at their expense an independent telephone and provide some simple furniture..’
Given the potentail devastation of a nucler war, one wonders quite how effective these basic facilities might be.
Every county in the UK was a Corps Authority within which subdivisions or sections existed to oversee a wide range of actions in the event of hostile attack: the Headquarters Section, Warden Section, Rescue Section and Ambulance & First Aid Section and Welfare Section. The Welfare Section was responsible for the welfare of people made homeless including evacuation of the town’s population, provision of new accommodation for displaced persons, food, clothing, sanitation and medical care. When one considers the attack was presumed to be nuclear, and Brighton was a heavily populated area, the scale of the task would be huge.
During a parliamentary debate regarding staff levels at Bevendean Hospital on 22 April 1966 the Minister for Health, Mr Kenneth Robinson, quoted the population of Brighton and surrounding district as 290,000 with hospital bed provision for 1,600.
The Ambulance & First Aid Section of the Corps Authority were detailed to take injured persons to emergency field hospitals or Forward Medical Aid Units (FMAU) since hospitals would be swamped. The total number arriving at hospitals in a single civil defence area was estimated in 1959 as between 7,000 and 14,000.
To ensure efficiency, large-scale nuclear attack exercise scenarios were carried out in major cities in the UK in the 1950s and 1960s with hundreds of volunteers acting as casualties. Striking names for these manoeuvres included ‘Exercise Bull-Ring’ (1956), ‘Exercise Battledore’ (1959) and, chillingly, ‘Exercise Gory’ (1960) which attracted 700 cadets on bicycles attending an FMAU to assist the medics.
In a letter to the Town Clerk dated 6 September 1966 and headed ‘Plan 6’, Mr Adnams makes clear his preference for Preston Manor as a suitable Sector Post (along with Moulescoomb Place, then housing Brighton Corporation’s Parks and Recreation Department and now part of the University of Brighton).
‘Preston Manor fulfils all the requirements most adequately as it was used for the County Borough Control during the war.’
Steps to cellars used for civil defence on the Second World War
Indeed, remnants of the former civil defence control room can be seen in one of the cellars. The space was reinforced with iron girders to withstand bomb damage and air vents added. Fascinatingly a piece of graffiti drawn in chalk can be seen on one of the upright girders. The drawing, of no known date, shows an image popular in the 1940s and known as ‘Chad’ or ‘Mr Chad’ or ‘Kilroy was here’. The exact origins of Chad are unknown but he is associated with American servicemen, or GIs. The character is a bald-headed man with a prominent nose peeping over a wall. He would often appear with the slogan ‘Wot, no bananas’ or similar grumbles associated with wartime shortages. In the British army Chad went by the name Private Snoops.
Wartime graffiti in Preston Manor cellar (unknown date)
There are three large cellars at Preston Manor: one for coal, and two storage cellars for provisions such as wine. They would have made excellent bomb shelters in the Second World War. Thankfully they were never tested as nuclear bunkers
A heavy bomb raid on 9 March 1941 narrowly missed Preston Manor. Resident curator, Henry Roberts described the night in a letter dated 18 April 1941:
‘The blast came down the chimney, set the soot on fire, and threw it all over the floor. The noise was appalling, the lights went out…we had nearly fifty windows broken, some of the sashes were blown out, but no damage was done to the contents of the house, although the roofs and some walls suffered.’
In her 1998 memoir, A Time Remembered, Henry’s daughter Margery writes of the night:
‘The entrance hall of the Manor was turned into a Casualty Clearing Station… I can still see Dr John Thwaites who had bravely been helping in the rescue work, coming through the hall doorway carrying in his arms the dead body of the five-year old son of the Preston butcher.’
This image, clear in her head nearly 60 years later, explains Margery’s keenness to assist Brighton’s Civil Defence Division in 1966.
Damage to Preston Road viaduct, 1943
In his July letter Mr Adnams writes:
‘Dear Miss Roberts, I am very grateful for all the time and trouble you took when I called at Preston Manor last week. I only wish that everyone was as co-operative as yourself.’
The room deemed suitable by Mr Adnams is unknown today so we must look for clues in his letters to Miss Roberts. The room is described as in the basement: ‘the one with the logs in would appear the most suitable’.
In the 1960s open fires were still in use in Preston Manor, although not in the part of the house open as a museum. The West Wing housed Margery’s apartment on the second floor and the custodian’s family rooms in the basement. There was also a staff room used by the museum warders and the night watchmen. All these quarters relied on open fires for heating. Coal and logs were delivered to Preston Manor. We know the coal was emptied into the coal cellar via a coalhole, the metal cover of which can still be seen today. But where were the logs stored?
Until the 1980s, none of the basement rooms were open to the public. The restored Victorian servants’ quarters so popular with visitors today were boarded up and used as storerooms. A plan of the house drawn up in 1959 shows the present day Victorian kitchen and the Servants’ Hall both marked as stores. At that time the toilets put in during the wartime were still in use: the two cubicle ladies’ toilet. taking up half of the Servants’ Hall, and the one gents’ in the lobby outside the present day Butler’s Pantry, which was also listed as a store in 1959. The present day Boot Hall is shown as a coke store (coke is a solid fuel made from coal and similar in appearance). In the 1950s and 1960s coke was used to fire hot-water and other domestic boilers and, indeed, there is a nearby boiler room shown on the 1959 house plan.
1943 fuel licence for three tons of coke
Huge quantities of solid fuel were required to keep Preston Manor warm. A Licence to Acquire Fuel permit for the summer months of 1943 shows that three tons of coke alone was delivered by Rickett Smith & Co. of 30 Ship Street, Brighton. It is extraordinary to think that in the cellars beneath this precious historic house many tons of highly combustible fuel was stored, but this was usual practice in all houses before gas fired central heating.
Most basement rooms could be the 1966 log store in question. However, logs being heavy, they were likely not carried far into the house. A possible location therefore would be the Victorian kitchen as it lies just off the tradesman’s entrance, the door of which is underneath the main house steps. I am discounting the many west wing basement rooms as a site for the Sector Post as these were the custodian’s living quarters.
To support the hypothesis that the chosen room was the present Victorian kitchen, Mr Adnams states his department will ‘arrange partitioning so that you still had access to the other parts of the basement’, which indicates that the room in question was on a thoroughfare, and not tucked away.
I have found no evidence that the Sector Post was created at Preston Manor. Indeed the Civil Defence Corps was disbanded in Britain in 1968. Huge numbers of Civil Defence volunteers were stood down. In 1964 they had numbered 122,000 in the Civil Defence Corps and 14,000 in the Auxiliary Fire Service.
From 1968 the British government focused on the creation of public information films, pamphlets and pre-scripted radio broadcasts that would be made public should Britain suffer nuclear attack. The now infamous ‘Protect and Survive’ pamphlet was produced in the mid-1970s but came to prominence in 1980 when it was released due to public interest. Government advice in the event of nuclear attack was to stay at home in a specially prepared room stocked with enough food and water for 14 days. Families were told not to re-locate as only their local home town authority would help them. The optimism of this statement suggests the personnel of Civil Defence sector posts, such as that planned for Preston Manor, would step in and provide rapid assistance and restoration of civic order. Criticism of the ‘Protect and Survive’ advice came from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) who took issue with the suggestion that nuclear war could be survived, thereby advancing nuclear armament.
Items relating to Civil Defence in Brighton in the 1950s and 1960s can be accessed at The Keep, Falmer. Now classified as open documents these once-restricted papers include 15 volumes dated 1961-1966 of The Buckler, the journal of the Brighton Civil Defence Division, a 1954 Welfare Section basic training manual and a set of correspondence from September 1966 to August 1967 concerning the appointment of various emergency officers, reports on civil defence exercises and staff redundancy on the cessation of funding for Civil Defence.
This last set of documents appears to answer the question of whether or not the Sector Post was installed at Preston Manor. Until the autumn of 1966 plans were agreed and in place, the proposal having gone through various municipal channels.
In a letter dated 14 September 1966, Town Clerk Mr. Dodd informs Civil Defence Officer, Mr. Adnams, that Mr. Councillor Best, Chairman of the Preston Manor Sub-Committee ’has agreed to your proposal to use the small area in the basement for the ‘provision of Sector Posts.’
All appears set for use of the basement room – and money no object, as Mr. Adnams confidently informs Margery Roberts in his July 1966 letter:
‘We would like to install at our expense an independent telephone…if necessary we would pay a suitable rent.’
Indeed, on 17 October 1966 the Borough Valuer suggested a rent of ‘£10.0.0 per annum inclusive of rates and water rates.’
October 1966 letter from the Borough Valuer and Estates Manager
This is the last letter on file at Preston Manor regarding Civil Defence plans. 1967 was drawing near and it appears from records held at The Keep that funding for civil defence in Brighton was ended sometime during the Summer of Love.
I don’t know what happened to Mr James B. Adnams, Civil Defence Officer for the County Borough of Brighton. With the cessation of funding and staff redundancy I hope he found alternative employment suited to his expertise.
Paula Wrightson, Venue Officer, Preston Manor
![Crocheted torch-cover/carrier made of pre-dyed wool-synthetic mix yarn. Made in Camp 5, Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand and collected by Sandra Dudley in 1997. [Museum number: WA508116]](https://brightonmuseums.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Crocheted-torch-cover-carrier-made-of-pre-dyed-wool-synthetic-mix-yarn.-rotated.jpg)
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The World Art collection at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery includes a small group of textiles made by women living in refugee camps near the Thailand/Myanmar border, in the Mae Hong Son area.
Most of these women identified with the Karenni ethnic identity, having been displaced by conflict from Karenni (Kayah) State in Myanmar. The textiles were collected in 1997 by a British anthropologist, Sandra Dudley. Tragically, no-one could have imagined then that, two decades later, 99,946 individuals (as at December 2017, figure published by The Border Consortium) would still be living in these camps, unable to return to Myanmar but prevented from integrating into Thai society.
Karenni-style skirt-cloth made on a non-automated frame loom in a weaving centre in Camp 3, Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand and collected by Sandra Dudley in 1997. [Museum number: WA508065]
Since its independence from British rule in 1948, Myanmar has experienced near-constant political turbulence and conflict. Much of this has been fuelled by disagreements between political representatives of the majority ethnic group – Burmans – who have held long periods of influence, and the country’s many ethnic minorities. Many minorities are based in the border areas and consider themselves to have distinctive cultural traditions including language. While most Burmans are Buddhist, many of the ethnic minorities are Christian, having had contact with European missionaries. Many minorities believe that the Myanmar government is engaged in a long-term campaign to ‘Burmanize’ the country, and report widespread discrimination.
The Karenni – a term which covers a wide and shifting number of sub-groups – form part of the wider Karen ethno-linguistic family. This family is divided into three main Karen groups: Pwo, Sgaw and Karen. Karenni political interests have been served by the Karenni National Progressive Party which has been involved in long periods of conflict with the Myanmar government and its armed forces. From the late 1980s this conflict has been a ‘push’ factor, driving refugees across the border into refugee camps in Thailand. Thailand is not a party to the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees nor its 1967 Protocol. As such asylum-seekers are considered illegal migrants and are not able to access government health care or education or to work legally within Thailand.
The camps are run by the Karenni community, with the support of international non-governmental organisations. There is some health and educational provision but it is limited. Camps are overcrowded and the Thai government restricts camp residents’ movement. With the installation of a nominally civilian Myanmar government in 2011 and the promise of reform has come a decrease in humanitarian aid and conditions in the camps are growing increasingly precarious.
Crocheted torch-cover/carrier made of pre-dyed wool-synthetic mix yarn. Made in Camp 5, Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand and collected by Sandra Dudley in 1997. [Museum number: WA508116]
Helen Mears, Keeper of World Art
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Introduction.
The Royal Pavilion and Museums holds a diverse, designated collection of natural history specimens in a dedicated building – the Booth Museum. In the 1960s, a dedicated team, including a taxidermist, were based at the Booth. The museum acquired specimens from a range of sources, including from zoos, who donated rarer animals which had died under their care. these specimens were processed rapidly and entered the collections, usually as flat skins and osteology.
Barrels containing skins
The financial cuts of the 1980s began to see staffing levels fall, with the loss of admin staff and a curator. This reduced the capacity to work on taxidermy. To free up freezer space, large specimens were skinned, and the skins placed into barrels of liquid preservative. This was envisaged as a temporary measure which would enable them to be completed at a later date.
More recently, further cuts forced many museums to transfer their natural history collections to Brighton, as the Booth was one of the few regional museums with dedicated natural science curators. This again reduced the capacity to work on new specimens whilst staff cared for existing collections. The preserved skins were left until time or money could be found to process them.
STAGE 1: BIRTH OF AN IDEA
Image of the Big Draw life drawing event in partnership with the Drawing Circus © Brekespere 2015
In the autumn of 2015 the Booth Museum held a life drawing event with ‘The Drawing Circus’ as part of that year’s The Big Draw. This was aimed at diversifying the audience at the Booth, as well as host a drawing event for an adult audience. The event was a great success, and was recognised at the Big Draw awards, where it won first prize of £750 for Museums and Galleries. The money was awarded in the understanding it would go towards a future public event involving arts, craft and public engagement.
Additionally, the Booth was involved in the publicity for a Kate Mosse book, and at the launch event we reconnected with Jazmine Miles Long, a consultant to the author on taxidermy. Jazmine had originally volunteered at the Booth Museum and this reconnection lead to a number of collaborative events and workshops with her.
As the barrels had some specimens of considerable rarity, It was decided that the museum should move forward on a project with Jazmine to complete the skinning process and to create a mounted specimen for eventual display.
STAGE 2: SETTLING AND FUNDING THE PROJECT
The cheetah was chosen as the subject to focus on as it was felt it would be the most engaging to the public, and would support the work of other departments, such as the learning team.
The project would also have an element of community engagement, both in order to make the local audience feel more ownership for the specimen, as well as to generate income to fund the project.
Because of the age of the skin, the experimental nature, and the community engagement element of the project, it was also felt that this might be a suitable project to seek external funding for. Unfortunately, as the skin had spent so long in liquid preservative and the work was not guaranteed to be a success, the application was rejected as too much of a risk.
Thankfully, with the existing prize awarded from the Big Draw, along with projected sell-out income of £1250-1500 from a proposed ‘Late’ event to be held at the museum, we determined we could cover the cost. If successful, it would give the foundation for processing the other skins at a future date.
STAGE 3: BEGINNING THE PROCESS:
To begin this process, a survey of the skin was carried out. The cheetah was removed from the preservative and the fur, skin and features such as nose and claws were tested to see if they appeared firmly attached. As the skin appeared viable at this stage, the next step was to determine the chemical composition of the preservative. Studying a variety of publications on preserving specimens in liquid from the museum’s archives gave a variety of possible solutions, and these were presented to the now retired curator who had originally preserved the skins. He narrowed it down to a 40% Formalin solution.
Jazmine then garnered expert opinions on processing a large mammalian skin from a preservative. The advice received proved quite disheartening and suggested a very difficult if not impossible process. All consensus appeared to be that the skin would either shed its fur, be very faded in colour or be too stiff to work after removal from the preservative.
The preformed mannequin (A) and Jazmine working on the cheetah mount (B)
Undaunted by this information, Jazmine researched how to remove the formalin from the skin. No advice was found in the case of animal skins so she followed the procedure of removing formalin from human tissue. She proceeded to rinse the skin with water then soak it in 99% denatured alcohol. This was followed by multiple baths of water until the water was clean. After this, it was pared down in the same way a freshly prepared and pickled taxidermy skin would be. The skin was then washed with specialist detergent, and tanned. The skin came through the process successfully, though the fur was slightly coarser and duller than would be expected for a cheetah. This, however, may be due to the old age and illness of the cheetah in life rather than from the formalin solution.
Usually Jazmine would build the taxidermy form using the traditional bind-up method studying and copying the anatomy of the animal. However, in this case the body of the cheetah had been disposed of in the 1980s and measurements had not been recorded. Instead, a pre-formed body was purchased. This involved measuring the skin instead of the muscular anatomical structure of the animal and buying a pre made generic cheetah form that fits the skin. This is then carved to fit the skin. We also identified the cheetah’s skeleton in the collection, so glass eyes were purchased to fit using measurements from the skull.
STAGE 4: PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
A Late Stitch Up at the Booth Museum
One of our main aims was to make this project more of a community effort. We had previously held late events which had proved popular, and as we were keen for a more adult audience to attend, we thought this would be the most suitable event for promoting the project.
The main event – the cheetah taxidermy – would host 30 people at a time over 5 sessions throughout the evening, allowing all visitors to see the cheetah and hear about its creation, as well as get a chance to be involved. The idea was to allow those attending the event to put a few stitches into the mount in order for them to have hands on involvement in the production of the piece. All of those who attended the late would also have their names displayed alongside the finished piece to demonstrate it was only made possible by our visitors. However, this also relied on the gamble that not everyone would want to try stitching up the cheetah. Thankfully this was borne out with only a few people in each session opting to have a go, with most of the audience happy to ask questions and listen instead.
The main event was supported by smaller activities, including a series of small talks, a ‘Mr Booth puppet show’, mini writing workshops, and a magic lantern show of old glass plate slides. These were mostly delivered by staff or friends of the museum on a lieu time or voluntary basis. We also provided a bar (covered by a TEN notice) and behind the scenes tours at additional cost, in order to increase our income. In all, the evening proved to be a great success – All 150 tickets sold, mostly to non-members, bringing us close to the £1500 predicted income. Bar sales and tours also brought in a further income after all costs of almost £400. This income, along with the Big Draw money covered both Jazmine’s costs and the costs involved in putting on the late event.
Members of the public get a chance to sew up some of the cheetah mount during the museum late event © MilesLong 2017
FINAL STAGE: COMPLETION AND DISPLAY
Due to the nature of the event and the numbers involved, the cheetah only ended up having one leg stitched up, so Jazmine continued the creation of the mount in the weeks following the event. The skin was mounted and fitted to the form using hide glue and the seams were matched and sewn together. The face was sculpted with clay and the ears and feet were formed using two part epoxy resin. One problem was that the skin was more rigid than a fresh taxidermy skin would usually be, but with the use of pins it was held close to the form whilst it dried. Areas of the skin that were missing due to infection were patched using excess fur. Once the skin dried the nose, around the eyes and pads of the feet were built up using two part epoxy clay and then painted.
Following the completion of the mount, there are a few more aspects to complete prior to the specimen going on public display. The first part is to mount the cheetah onto a more attractive and relevant base. This base is perceived to resemble a patch of rocky savannah with the cheetah’s front legs perched upon a rock as if surveying the plains for prey. This pose is an unfortunate side effect of taking a shortcut of buying a preformed body, as the pose was predetermined.
Marwell Zoo, who originally donated the cheetah to us were contacted and provided us with the information they have on file for the animal. Though there is no recorded name, she was their F1 female (the first female cheetah they kept). She had been born in Poole Children’s Zoo in 1969, and had been given to Marwell Zoo in May 1970. She died on the 4th November 1980. The day prior to her euthanasia, she had been seen by the veterinary surgery and was determined to have the following age-related problems – ‘loss of condition and weight, an abscess in her mouth, several dental issues and some hair loss/patches of baldness’. There was also a large, fly-blown wound over the base of her spine, with some muscle and tissue damage. They have no record as to how this wound occurred. Her official reason for euthanasia is listed as ‘increasing signs of senility and wound on spine’.
This information, as well as how long she has taken to be processed and become part of the collections has been used in the interpretation of the specimen, alongside a panel listing all those involved in the creation of the specimen. The cheetah was revealed at a launch event in September.
Lee Ismail, Curator of Natural Sciences and Jazmine Miles-Long