Bath Assembly Rooms
Placement Details
Location: Remote, with potential requirement to visit archives in Bath or elsewhere, plus the opportunity to visit Bath Assembly Rooms for an on-site session.
Website: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bath-assembly-rooms
Duration: 3 months full time/ 6 months part time
Start Date: Flexible, to be decided between the student and the placement host. The placement would be carried out ideally between June - December 2022.
Deadline for Expressions of Interest: 19 June 2022
Placement Description:
Do you like researching people and stories? Are you interested in societies and cultural exchange? Are you looking to gain insight into how academic research can translate into exhibitions and interpretation for wider audiences?
The National Trust are offering an exciting opportunity for students who wish to gain real-life experience in heritage, exhibition-making and interpretation.
In March 2023 the National Trust are taking on the management of the Bath Assembly Rooms, with the aim of creating an immersive experiential visitor offer exploring the social importance of the Rooms in the Georgian era: sharing the highs and lows, the chances and opportunities, the Balls and entertainments of the Rooms offered. We want the experience to reflect our audiences, including the many domestic and international tourists Bath receives today, much like it did in the eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries.
We are looking for someone interested in people, history and culture to research the international tourists and migrants to Bath in the Georgian period and to the Rooms c.1770 – 1830s. The research will consider not only how and why these people came to Bath and the Rooms, and what they did there, but also what influence they had on the local society and culture, both as individuals and as collective communities.
You will be working with our Project Curator, sharing knowledge whilst writing up your findings into research packs for future development into public-facing interpretation. You will need to use your initiative in your research, gleaning information from a wide range of academic and primary sources, and writing it up to share.
The role is best suited for those with an understanding and interest in Georgian society, but there will be opportunities to learn more about Georgian Bath, the ambitions for the Rooms and the potential methods for interpretation and sharing of histories with our audiences.
Skills, knowledge or experience needed:
This placement would suit someone in the humanities sphere, but we welcome anyone with experience of independent historical and archival research, with an interest in heritage and culture.
All applicants should possess the following skills:
- An MA or higher qualification in a humanities or social sciences or other related discipline, or significant professional experience.
- An ability to research independently, utilising a variety of sources
- Good writing and communication skills
- A commitment to uncovering and sharing historic stories, characters and narratives
- An ability to digest and summarise research efficiently, whilst making good judgement on relevancy
- An understanding of the Georgian period with a keenness to learn more.
We are committed to equality of opportunity and building a culturally diverse workforce and therefore encourage applications from groups that are underrepresented within the heritage sector, such as in relation to ethnicity, disability, or socio-economic background.
To apply:
To express interest in this placement, please email your CV and a brief supporting statement to training@oocdtp.ac.uk by Sunday 19 June 2022. Within your application, please state whether you would be looking to carry out a full time or part time placement, and your preferred time frame for completion.
