A Diverse Heritage and England's Heritage
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‘That’s not who I was the last time I was here.’ A diverse heritage and England’s heritage: mutual partners or mutually exclusive? by DAVID IAN CALLAGHAN A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Ironbridge International Institute for Cultural Heritage School of History and Cultures College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham September 2015 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT This thesis explores what impact thirteen years of Britain’s New Labour government’s (1997-2010) social exclusion policy agenda had on the representation of non-white communities within England’s authorised heritage narrative, told through the places, objects and ‘things’ given heritage value by ‘experts’. This thesis finds that certain mainstream heritage organisations in England perceive there to be an ‘established’ heritage that is agreed, therefore cannot be challenged even as we uncover more about the diverse realities of the county’s past. Two ways are considered by which to understand the hegemony of this heritage and how it might be ‘used’ to the benefit of a more diverse national narrative: the first by accepting Laurajane Smith’s assertion that there is an authorised heritage discourse (AHD) in England and seek ways to harness it rather than subvert it. The second follows on from the first in proposing how communities of interest might participate equally in the process of heritage making. The first way is drawn out through an interrogation of heritage sector policy and practice – from organisations such as the Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage, national museums, amongst others – to decipher the meaning of heritage in England and who it is for, according to those mainstream organisations that create and manage it. The second utilises case studies of major heritage projects in England that have sought to engage with non-white audiences to understand the methods mainstream heritage organisations have used to do so. It is concluded that the model for heritage making in England acts as a barrier to a diverse heritage. Using the work of Rodney Harrison, an alternative ‘dialogic’ heritage is suggested that encourages it to be seen as fluid and contested and challenge the notion of any heritage being perceived as ‘established.’ i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people have helped to make a research idea I had five years ago into this thesis. Firstly, thanks must go to Barbara Willis-Brown who hired me to run SCAWDI’s community heritage projects that first introduced me to the ‘hidden histories’ of England. The volunteers who supported these projects I am also indebted to, without whom the work could not have been completed. Malcolm Dick, Director of the Centre for West Midlands History was also a great supporter of this work and has continued to offer advice during the course of this research. Others who have provided guidance, information and their time include: Ian Grosvenor, Henrietta Lockhart, Rachel Hasted. Andrew Hann, Heather Smith, Ruth Hecht, Shawn Sobers, Nick Draper, Sajida Carr and Tracy-Ann Smith. Their input has provided the body to this work and led me to ask questions and seek out information that has been integral to its completion. I am indebted to all the heritage sector staff and volunteers who kindly gave up their time to provide an insight into their world, in particular, Aretha George of the Heritage Lottery Fund who responded patiently to my many enquiries. My supervisor, John Carman, has my upmost gratitude. He has provided a great deal of sound direction both in regards to my research and my academic pursuits in general. My family have been there throughout this process. They have persevered with me and supported me in more ways than I can mention. Although all the Callaghans and McCarricks have played their part, final thanks must go to my wife, without whom, with no degree of exaggeration, I never would be writing these words. ii AUTHOR’S DECLARATION This thesis is based upon original work and research, and as such, responsibility for any errors is entirely my own. While some aspects of this work have been presented as part of conference papers, the majority of the data analysis, discussions and conclusions are presented here for the first time. iii CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1: The origins of this research 1 1.2: Terminology 7 1.3: The objectives of this research 11 1.4: The ‘uses’ of heritage 14 1.5: Why England? 16 1.6: The structure and findings of this thesis 17 CHAPTER 2: THE RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES 23 2.1: Research methodologies of this thesis 23 2.2: Review of policy documents and conference proceedings 24 2.3.1: Case studies 28 2.3.2: Choosing the case studies 29 2.4: Self-reflexivity in the research 34 2.5: Semi-structured interviews 37 2.6.1: Online survey 40 2.6.2: BMAG survey 41 2.7: Conclusion 43 PART 1 – ‘TO BE OR NOT TO BE’ HERITAGE CHAPTER 3: THE CONTESTED HERITAGE. LITERATURE REVIEW 45 3.1: Introduction 45 iv 3.2.1: Defining heritage 47 3.2.2: When was heritage?: the monument as culture in England 50 3.2.3: Defining heritage on a global scale 52 3.2.4: Establishing the national heritage of England 54 3.3.1: Dissonant heritage 56 3.3.2: Identity in cultural theory 59 3.3.3: Plural heritage 62 3.3.4: Intangible heritage 62 3.3.5: The discourse of heritage 64 3.3.6: The dialogic heritage 67 3.4.1: Interpreting heritage 68 3.4.2: Representation and meaning 68 3.4.3: Narrative 69 3.4.4: Methods of interpretation 71 3.5: Heritage and diversity in the literature 73 3.6: ‘Official’ and ‘Unofficial’ heritage 77 3.7: ‘Critical’ heritage 79 3.8: Conclusion 82 PART 2 – HERITAGE POLICY AND PRACTICE IN ENGLAND 1997- 2013 CHAPTER 4: THE RHETORICAL HERITAGE: HERITAGE AND THE STATE 85 4.1: Introduction 85 4.2.1: Social exclusion as a political policy 87 4.2.2: Social exclusion policy and ‘the heritage’ 88 v 4.3.1: A brief history of multiculturalism in Britain 90 4.3.2: Debating the place of visible communities in ‘the heritage’ 93 4.4.1: Social exclusion policy and cultural built heritage: the 95 parameters of the debate 4.4.2: Social exclusion policy at DCMS and English Heritage 97 4.4.3: The Heritage Protection Review and Heritage Counts 103 4.4.4: The end of the HPR 110 4.4.5: Beyond the HPR: The Conservation Principles 111 4.4.6: Beyond the HPR: Heritage Counts 116 4.4.7: Raising participation: evidence based policy 117 4.5: The 2010 Equality Act 120 4.6: From New Labour to Coalition government: the 2010 general 121 election 4.7: The National Heritage Protection Plan 122 4.8: Summary: EH, now and in the future 126 4.9.1: The Heritage Lottery Fund 127 4.9.2: The HLF and heritage making in England 128 4.9.3: The HLF and visible community heritage 132 4.9.4: The HLF 2013-2018 Strategic Review 133 4.10.1: Initial responses from museums to social exclusion policy 136 4.10.2: Understanding the Value of Museums 145 4.10.3: Revisiting Collections 148 4.10.4: Renaissance in the Regions: phase two 150 4.10.5: Museums and social inclusion: summary 155 4.11: Conclusion 156 CHAPTER 5: THE SELECTED HERITAGE: HERITAGE IN THE WIDER ENGLISH CONTEXT 158 5.1: Introduction 158 vi 5.2.1: The National Trust 158 5.2.2: The Public Value of Heritage 161 5.2.3: ‘For ever, for everyone’ and ‘Going Local’ 164 5.3.1: London Mayor’s Commission on African and Asian Heritage 166 5.3.2: The background of the commission 166 5.3.3: The findings of the commission 168 5.3.4: Embedding Shared Heritage 171 5.3.5: The MCAAH: summary 176 5.4.1: Debating the success of an ‘inclusive’ heritage 177 5.4.2: Capturing the Public Value of Heritage 177 5.4.3: From the Margins to the Core? 180 5.4.4: Whose Cake is it anyway? 182 5.5: Conclusion 184 PART 3 – DIVERSITY IN PRACTICE CHAPTER 6: THE EXPERIMENTAL HERITAGE. THE NATIONAL TRUST, ‘HIDDEN HISTORIES’ AND THE WHOSE STORY? PROJECT. 188 6.1: Introduction 188 6.2: The rural, visible communities and cultural built heritage in 190 England 6.3.1: Audience development strategy at the National Trust 194 6.3.2: Engaging with visible communities at the National Trust: 198 The Untold Story 6.3.3: Engaging with visible communities at the National Trust: 200 London Voices 6.4.1: Case study: Whose Story? 204 6.4.2: Whose Story?: phase one 205 vii 6.4.3: Whose Story?: phase two 207 6.4.4: ‘This is Britain!’ 210 6.4.5: ‘And Tigers Mingle’ at Wightwick Manor 211 6.4.6: ‘The Journey Home’ at Charlecote Park 213 6.4.7: Summary: diversity work at Charlecote and Wightwick 214 6.5: The legacy of Whose Story? at the National Trust 216 6.6: Conclusion 222 CHAPTER 7: THE COMPROMISED HERITAGE.