April 8, 2025, by Arts Placements
Behind the Ropes from Poet to Peer
What Newstead Abbey Taught Me About Heritage
Isobel Anderson, second year Classical Civilisation, looks back on her experience of the Placement Module and her time on placement.
From the get-go
When I chose to apply for the placement module in my second year, I had no idea I would end up working in one of the most beautiful, historically rich, and immersive heritage sites in the country. I hoped to develop my employability skills by working in the heritage sector and get some experience in the field. I expected to be dusting off a few artefacts, directing people to the gift shop, and chatting with visitors, but I was getting myself into much more than that!
From the first day, I jumped in at the deep end. Armed with nothing more than a little red notebook I’d covered in stickers and some excited nerves, I began my placement.
Day-to-day roles
Before I knew it, I’d been introduced to all the lead volunteers and equipped with my very own radio. Yep, the house is so big that we needed radios to find each other. The work day began before the house opened to the public, and on my first, I had a tour of all the different rooms. This included Byron’s study, the great hall, the Japanese room, the library, the salon (my favourite room) and everywhere in between.
After finding my feet, no two days were the same as far as my role went. I didn’t spend hours standing in the same musty artefact room as I prepared for. Instead, I was off around the gardens, doing ghost tours, and helping with children’s creative writing workshops inspired by Byron’s historic stories. I also explored the behind the scenes archives of the house and I even started my own projects!
I worked with the curatorial team on their cloister project making the medieval parts of the house more accessible and intriguing to the public. To make the house’s history more accessible to children, I created a game of priory snap, providing quick but informative learning centred play. My game had images and brief descriptions of the different roles held in a medieval priory. I enjoyed the project so much and impressed the team leader with my product so he gave me another task. I then made a poster on the Nottingham alabasters to also display in the cloisters. This took me even further than the placement itinerary….
A day at the castle
Because Newstead Abbey is in partnership with Nottingham Castle, Wollaton Hall and Greens Windmill Trust, I was able to work a day of my placement at the Castle. Here, I worked as a castle volunteer: on gallery watch, back marking cave tours, talking to visitors and educating myself on the castle’s history. I also conducted some behind the scenes alabaster research for my poster! By getting involved and putting my all into my placement, I had the opportunity to experience another environment. Even if you don’t get the role you put as your number one, you never know where your allocated position could take you.
Final thoughts
The placement at the abbey was unpaid, and believe me, the commute there, sometimes twice a week, got a little old. But I gained a genuine wealth of knowledge, experience and information from working there over the 8 weeks. I now know that I have a genuine passion for working in a heritage site and that the work will be varied and rewarding. I have gained transferrable skills I never expected to attain. For instance; catering for a party of 80 people or knowledge of caring for historic gardens and working with young people. It was an amazing opportunity provided by the university, and I would honestly recommend it to anyone.
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