Development Fund Projects 1996-2003
RESTORATION
Down House and Gardens
The award winning Down House was opened to the public in 1998 after a successful £3.2m appeal to restore the house where Charles Darwin lived for forty years. It was here, in his study, where Charles Darwin worked on his scientific theories that first scandalised then revolutionised the Victorian world and where he wrote his most famous work, On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection. The house has been restored to look as it would have done in Darwin’s time, offering a historical experience for visitors and an interactive one for children.
Work at Down House continued with a five year project to restore the gardens, woods, walks and meadows as they were in Darwin’s time. His constant observations of nature were an important inspiration and many of Darwin’s experiments were carried out in these gardens. Restoration has allowed the gardens to be an educational resource for children and students and enabled them to study his experiments and re-experience his observations on wildlife.
The Albert Memorial
In the 1980s, when a piece of lead fell from the Albert Memorial, the monument was officially declared unsafe. By 1994, the monument was near collapse. In 1998, after the completion of an £11.2 million restoration project, resourced with the help of voluntary donations, the Albert Memorial was unveiled to the public in all its splendour. Built to commemorate Queen Victoria’s consort, Prince Albert, and regarded by the World Monuments Fund as being of exceptional international importance, the Albert Memorial is considered as a masterpiece of gothic revival, combining architecture in a unique structure embodying the spirit of the Victorian era.
WORKS OF ART
Eltham Palace
Eltham PalaceOne painting and a series of compositions have returned to familiar walls thanks to the help of donations and legacies received from our supporters. English Heritage recently purchased two important works, which had formerly hung in Brodsworth Hall and Eltham Palace. The paintings are now back on display having undergone conservation work. The Lime Kiln by John Crome (1768-1821) has been returned to the dining room at Eltham Palace. In the 1930s, Stephen Courtauld had the interiors of the house designed to specific themes with his collection in mind.
Brodsworth Hall
Returned to Brodsworth Hall are the Four Seasons, a quartet of paintings in oil on metal, attributed to the circle of Louis de Caullery, active in Antwerp from 1590 to 1620. The paintings had been donated by a member of the Grant-Dalton family of Brodsworth Hall to the Giggleswick School Chapel Appeal and it was to further fund this appeal that the series was recently put up for sale by the school and purchased by English Heritage.
FURNISHINGS
Eltham Palace
The Development Fund helped English Heritage to acquire original furniture for both Eltham Palace and Osborne House. The Eltham Palace Dining Room suite exemplifies the sophisticated 'Moderne' style, and the table and chairs were designed by Peter Malacrida (1889-c.1980) while working for White Allom in 1935. The pieces illustrate English tastes and a way of manufacture at a time of considerable change. The Dining Room suite, acquired for Eltham Palace with the help of the Development Fund, is of the greatest importance and interest to the study of the re-building of Eltham Palace in 1934-6 by Major Steven and Virginia Courtauld. Furthermore, despite the importance of Malacrida as a designer no furniture designed by him is known to be in British museum collections.
Osborne House
John Lockwood Kipling (1837-1911) became curator of the Central Museum of Lahore and a Principal of the new Mayo School of Industrial Art in 1875. His student and master-craftsman at Lahore, Bhai Ram Singh, designed the Durbar Room under his supervision when the two men were commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1890. The collaboration of the two men embraced all aspects of the Durbar Room, and the chairs were integral to the room. The room now contains one original chair and eight replicas to sit on and compare visually with the original, four of which were supplied via the Development Fund.
EXHIBITIONS, EDUCATION AND OUTREACH
Dover Castle
Dover Castle has benefited from the help of the Development Fund, in an exhibition of artwork (based on archaeological excavations) by Simon Callery at the Officer’s Mess. The 'Segsbury Project' is a result of Simon Callery’s direct experience of archaeology.
Citizenship
Thanks to income from our valuable supporters, English Heritage was able to deliver a Citizenship project which is helping to educate new generations about issues surrounding the built environment. English Heritage is working directly with schools on a regional basis and, with your help, publishing teaching materials to be sent to schools nationwide in order to involve pupils in learning about, and participating in, the historic environment in which they live.
Historic Properties Online
The Historic Properties Online Project was able to complete Phase I of its objectives with the help of the Development Fund. Historic Properties Online is a programme designed to increase intellectual access and interpretation across English Heritage properties. Phase I covers the creation of five micro-sties for Whitby Abbey, Eltham Palace, Kenilworth Castle, Old Sarum and Battle Abbey.
H.E.L.P
The Development Fund has also contributed to the community arts project 'Memory Block', which forms part of The Historic Environment of Liverpool Project. H.E.L.P aims to give the public an opportunity to express how they see the future of the city and to gain a detailed understanding of the city’s historic environment. As part of this initiative, the ‘Memory Block’ project aims to find out what history means to people in Liverpool through discussion and art. The perspex boxes in which members of the community were asked to construct their memories were put on display for three months at the Blackie, a large community arts centre in Liverpool.
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