My Castle wish-list: German edition

In my last castle wish-list I focussed on France, and I thought that was as good as it's going to get. Until...I discovered some German castles on Pinterest!

These are the absolute dream castles. Trust me they're not photoshopped! It's too much for a girl to handle.

Lichtenstein Castle, Baden-Württemberg:

Situated on a cliff, this castle reminds me of the one at the start of Beauty and the Beast and it is absolutely stunning. There has been a castle on the site since 1200, but it fell to ruin as it was destroyed in several wars. In 1802 the land was bought by King Fredrick I who built a hunting lodge, and his son built the castle afterwards in 1840. It is now open to the public and is owned by the "Dukes of Urach". Anyone else up for a hostile takeover?

Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria:

It's unlikely you'll ever be able to get directions to this place, due to the name being unpronounceable, but there isn't much I wouldn't do to get a glimpse of this one! King Ludwig II of Bavaria built this as a place he could hide away in, but it was donated to the public after his death in 1886. Apparently it was the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty Castle too! You can see why, as it houses an amazing Throne Hall and lots of bedrooms (although all of the intended bedrooms weren't completed).

Eltz Castle, Trier:

A beauty of a medieval Castle! It's unusual as most medieval Castles in Europe are demolished then built on, so this is a complete novelty. The same family from right back in the 12th century still lives there! The Castle is nestled in the hills, and is even more unique as it was divided into sections so that every son in the family had a place to live and the family was able to afford it, rather than relying on the head of the family. It almost looks like a combination of the previous two!

Linderhof Palace, Southwest Bavaria:

Sorry about the caption here....

I can't begin to explain how excited I got about finding this one. It was the inspiration for the palace of Versailles, but the interior also houses....AN INDOOR LAGOON!! (known as the Venus Grotto) This little Grotto has a boat you could sit in and relax and is decorated beautifully. I want to live here! The interior also has a Hall of Mirrors and other functioning rooms, but the rest is apparently quite private and homely. Interesting fact: It was built by King Maximilian of Bavaria, who apparently used to have several place settings made up at dinner, as he used to imagine he was speaking to famous people at the time such as Marie Antoinette.....

Mespelbrunn Castle, near Frankfurt:

Mespelbrunn is known as a "water Castle", which means it is surrounded by a moat/looks like it is floating! Only the round tower has survived from the original medieval castle, and the family still in a wing of the castle. Why this hasn't been featured in every single episode of Game of Thrones I don't know...

Rheinstein Castle, Rhineland:

There are just so many! Rheinstein is perched on a cliff, overlooking a river. Originally, the site was built on in 1316, but was officially made into this beautiful Castle in the 19th century. Heartbreakingly, it's not open to the public but is private for the family. Booo!

There were a few more, but my eyes couldn't take so much envy!

I promise another one soon, as Europe has SO much to offer by way of Castles and history. Let me know in the comments if there is anywhere you would like to see.

Apsley House

Despite this bank holiday being a rainy, miserable one, a friend and I decided to go historic house hunting in London. We came across the English Heritage-owned Apsley House:

Now be warned, the pictures I took are shocking, but I have ordered a fancy new "blog camera" that should be on it's way soon! Roll on the photography!

History:

Sometimes known as the Wellington Museum or Number One London, Apsley House was the residence of the first Duke of Wellington and his successors (who was famous for defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo). It is one of the last remaining aristocratic houses of its time, and it is right opposite Hyde Park and the appropriately named Wellington Arch.

The House was originally made for the Chancellor in the 1770's, Lord Apsley, and was part of a row of great houses on Piccadilly. It was the first house visitors would pass on their journey into the city, after the toll gates at Knightsbridge (glad to say they no longer exist!)

After a few changing hands, the Duke of Wellington purchased the house and reworked almost all of the interiors, including the large art collection he had accumulated.

The 7th Duke of Wellington donated the House and it's collections to the nation in 1947, but there are still apartments that belong to the family within the second floor of the house. I tried to find these, but with little success!

Review:

We entered into the entrance hall from the rain outside, and it certainly felt welcoming. Rather than most historic houses which feel very imposing, this entrance felt like a grand home. The tickets for an adult cost £6.20, and you get a fancy audio guide with it.

As you amble along (the audio guide means you go quite slowly), you can see some of the rather interesting things they have on display:

Finally, you reach this beauty of a room:

If like me you have a bit of an obsession with vintage teacups and china, then this room is like heaven. It's appropriately titled "the porcelain room" and is full of tea services and other fancy dinner party pieces you would never use in your wildest dreams! 

Punch anyone?

Not dinner knives....

Nearly all of them were gifted to the Duke, but I took a particular fancy to the Egyptian set. Napoleon's (ex) wife the Empress Josephine and was designed to reflect the Egyptian style she was so fond of. However, when it arrived she hated it and so it was given to the Duke of Wellington by Louis XVIII (brother of Louis XVI). In the middle is a centerpiece designed to go with the set: mini Egyptian temples! Considering my dinner party guests are lucky if they get a half-used candle as a centerpiece, I was very jealous:

You are then taken to the staircase area, where you are confronted by a very raunchy statue of Napoleon:

I was confused as to why the Duke of Wellington would buy a massive statue of the person he fought against, and I have to say the audio guide did not make it very clear. His reasoning remains a mystery! 

Smoulder

Upstairs, we have a series of entertainment/parlour rooms:

The staff were a bit against photos, so I had to take far fewer than I would have liked, but hopefully you get the gist! Also worth a look were some of the objects on display, such as hair from the horse that the Duke rode in Battle and diary entries by his wife.

Each room is a little bit different, and throughout are incredible gifts the Duke was given by admirers of his military career. My favourite room had to be the gallery, which had an incredible display of art:

Fine photography!

Again, I couldn't take many photos, but the audio guide explains the paintings as you go. For those of you who have seen the film Goya's Ghosts (a personal favourite), there is a painting of the Duke by the man himself! Very exciting. Also on display are pictures of Mary I, Charles I and other European royalty.

I also loved the dining room.

It was set up around the most amazing centerpiece, featuring silver-plated figures  where the food no doubt would have been served. 

After all of this, it was possible to go downstairs into the basement and see some more memorabilia (spooky death masks) relating to Napoleon and the Duke:

Verdict:

I did love the interiors of this house. It was amazing to think that in Central London there is a little slice of aristocracy that we most commonly associate with the countryside and big stately homes. However, I felt that for the price it cost there weren't as many rooms open as there could have been. The audio guide was somewhat lacking, as I was left with lots of questions. What were the other Dukes of Wellington like? What kind of dinner parties did the Duke of Wellington have? And most importantly, what is the deal with the massive semi-naked statue of Napoleon?! 

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/apsley-house/ 

The Museum Industry - Getting a Job

The Museum industry.

The holy grail for most History or Archeology students. Most will consider it, but then likely move on to a more realistic career. But for the precious few, we keep on persevering towards it!

It's not been an easy path for me to get to the stage I'm at. Having done History at University, I dabbled in PR thinking that it would be the best way to get into the business side of Museums. Predictably, I hated it and have been doing internships in Museums/organisations ever since!

Through all of this, I've learnt a lot and I wanted to share what I see as the positives and negatives of the Museum industry. These are really important to bear in mind if you're trying to break into it:

The Positives:

1. There is a genuine community.

And it's not an elitist one! In terms of the business side of Museums, everyone is very close but this particularly applies to Curators and exhibition teams. The connections you make throughout a particular project stay with you, and Curators appear to know each other really well as they are so specialised.

2. The 'stuff' is awesome.

There is no doubt that any history lover would dream at handling genuine historical artefacts all day. Having searched for jobs in every corner of the industry, I can tell you that there is SO much out there. If you have a particular expertise in ceramic doll-faces, there's something for you. Done a PhD on dog paintings? No problem. There are ongoing exhibition projects all the time that cater to every kind of collections you can imagine.

4. Almost everyone works their way up.

Unlike most other job markets, any Linkedin account of someone who works in a Museum shows they worked their way up. There is very little of the 'connections' malarky, just genuine honest people who started out going through the collections databases. Or doing a degree!

5. The difficulty of getting a job in a Museum means that everyone is very understanding.

If you email someone asking a question, they will answer! My experience has been wonderful with everyone who already has a job in the industry. People are always very sympathetic, and I think this is due to the sheer difficulty of securing a paid position.

The Negatives:

1. Internships and volunteering is expected.

Sadly, this is why it is so hard to get into the industry. I have done two internships now, and I can tell you now, there is no job at the end. With government cuts hitting the heritage sector hard, if they can get free labour, they will use it. It is all good experience, but you need to go into these programmes prepared and with realistic expectations. I have had to grit my teeth at many a family gathering where you hear the usual "Have they offered you a job yet?"

2. Education is more highly regarded than experience.

This point came as the biggest shock to me. We are told over and over again that without experience, a job isn't possible. But in trying to become a Curator, I have now resolved to go back to University to do either Museum Studies, Public History or Medieval History, as they are the very basic requirement of most jobs. These degrees are good, as part of it involves a placement within a Museum, and you get an understanding of the theory behind it all. A professor I recently spoke to explained that most of her students have noticed a dramatic improvement in the number of interviews they get once they have a Masters degree on their CV. However, it is expensive and time consuming when you just want to hit the career ladder.

3. Pay

It's always an awkward topic, and when you're fresh out of University it doesn't seem like it matters so long as you have your dream job, right? But taking the above into account, you will put yourself in more debt whilst those around you progress and earn money. It's just worth bearing this in mind, as even in the higher up jobs, pay is scarce. This is a particular problem in regional museums.

4. Rigid structures

In the big Museums, it is apparent that branding is everything. Whilst exhibitions and collections management are really important, the main focus is on how it matches to the Museum's branding and how much money it will bring in. This is completely understandable, as the government money 'pool' is quickly shrinking. If Museums are to survive, they need to keep focussed on generating money. It does make for a very rigid organisational structure though, which some people have really struggled working with.

5. An ageing workforce means less frequent job postings

The workforce in Curator-ville stands still for many years. It's simply because most Museum staff stay with that institution for years as they are either very specialised or just enjoy it. What this results in is people like us getting rejections often, and the jobs we've always dreamed of remaining out of reach. Now I'm not criticising older workers (far from it!), but this is important when applying for jobs, as it will become obvious that other industries have jobs left, right and centre.

So I hope that helps a little. The key thing is to keep going, keep your dream in front of you and ignore negative comments people might say to you. Anything that involves working with history (if you love it) is worth getting out of bed for, even if it takes years to get there.

My top job sites:

Leicester Museum Studies Jobs Desk - Updated every Thursday, this is where I find the majority of my internships as they are all posted on here.
Guardian Jobs Arts and Heritage Section - Very good for areas of the industry you weren't aware of and it is updated every day.
National Museum Directors Council - Again, updated frequently.
Museum Jobs - This doesn't have as many postings, so use it alongside any of the above.
Museums Association - Worth a look now and then (not amazing with the amount posted on here).
Arts and Media Jobs - You have to hunt, but Museum jobs are often posted on here.

Two sites where you need to look directly:
Historic Royal Palaces
The Royal Household/Royal Collections Trust

Finally, give me a shout if you want any more advice. I would love to hear your experiences!

x

Birds nests

Is there anything more beautiful? I'm pretty inspired by birds nests at the moment.

Did you know The Natural History Museum has a whole collection of birds nests at their sister site in Tring, Hertfordshire?

Tring is where the majority of their bird collections are held. Sadly I didn't take a picture of their nest collection, which was beautiful and contained some nests from birds which are now extinct. I did however take a quick picture of some Toucans I asked to see when I had a look at the Museum's collections:

Nice.

Anyway, here are some birds nest inspired finds from Etsy that I've got my eye on:

Nest in a vintage teacup  

         

A recycled birds nest as a decoration

A silver birds nest

Birds nest in a bottle

Place Markings for summer

More lovely decorations for the home

A beautiful vintage page

And don't forget to visit Tring if you get the chance! One of the curators might even give you a tour....

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/tring/ 

My world heritage wish list: French fairytale edition

If you're planning a historical themed trip, it's always worth checking out UNESCO (united nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) heritage sites. It's like a badge of honour for the best historical sites in the world, and grants them special protection and rights to be preserved! 

I have a bit of an obsession with castles.... to the point that I will have no money for the majority of my life until I've seen them all. In the meantime, here is my French edition of what I hope to be a regular 'world heritage wish list' feature!

Be warned, your own house will seem like a hovel after these....

Carcassonne:

This is an amazing village in the South of France that was famous for the medieval heretical sect that had a Crusade launched against them (the Cathars). The City is entirely fortified and includes its very own Castle with a drawbridge. The walls have 53 towers in total that were used to prevent attacks, and one of them is still known as the “Inquisition Tower” due to the Catholic Church using it for torturing heretics. Despite sounding a bit grim, the city was saved from being demolished during Napoleon’s reign and is now perfectly preserved. It towers over the surrounding areas and looks amazing for a history-filled day trip.

Chateaux d’Azay-le-Rideau:

Sitting in the Loire Valley on the stretch of the Loire river that is famous for its vineyard, this Chateau is a romantic’s dream. The Valley itself is UNESCO, but as there is so much to see I thought I would focus on this Chateux, although there are many more. It is set on an island in the Indre river and fell in and out of repairs throughout the centuries, until it was restored entirely in 1518. Its design means it literally looks like it is floating on the water, which is very unique. Although relatively small, the Chateau does have a courtyard, gardens and Italian renaissance style interiors. This is absolutely top of my list to see, next to…

The Palace of Versailles:

Quite an obvious one, but this Palace is unparalleled anywhere in Europe. It was the residence of the last three King Louis’ of France, and holds the infamous ‘Hall of Mirrors’. As a place to visit, it is easy enough as it is just outside of Paris, but I have heard horror-stories of coach trips ruining the experience. So make sure you pick the right time of year to go, and hopefully it can be seen in its full glory. The Palace’s gardens themselves are a sight to behold, and are filled with fountains (that the Kings of France had to turn off when they ran out of money). Just don’t mention eating cake.

Mont Saint-Michel:

Despite looking like a Castle, Mont Saint-Michel, in Normandy, was actually a separate island community with a large monastery. It currently has a population of just 44, and was originally designed to reflect feudal society (God on top, then the monastery, then the Great Halls, stores and housing and then outside the walls fishermen and farmer’s housing.) It becomes inaccessible when the tide is out, and meant it remained unconquered during the Hundred Years’ War. Apparently it is a very well-known landmark, which upsets me because we certainly weren’t shown it on any of our miserable school trips to Normandy.

Fontainebleu Palace:

This is another commune and is also in the Paris region of France. The Fontainbleu Chateau was a royal residence, and like Versailles was expanded and developed by each French monarch. Now, it is home to a school of art, architecture and music for students from the US. It was also used in the music video for Lana Del Rey’s Born to Die. I’m hoping it is still available to look round, as it seems to resemble the other royal palaces that France has to offer.

That’s it for my French Castle edition of wishlists. Keep your eyes peeled for another one soon!

(All these photos were from the UNESCO world heritage website, and were taken by the best photographer on the planet, Jean-Jacques Gelbert)

Pinning a Tea Party

My aunt is due to have a 'Vintage style tea party' in June, so I thought I'd share with you the inspiration I've been gathering for her from Pinterest. It's the perfect place for photography you'll never be able to take:

Teacups, Vintage flowers and more flowers

Sugar doilies and cocktails in teacups

Mini fruit jars, blueberry jam cupcakes, meringues on a stick

Edible flower lollipops and Alice in Wonderland inspired fancies

My aunt is an expert at these sort of parties, but I think they are so history inspired! Make it perfect without seeming old fashioned by combining lots of different china tea cups, or using them in innovative ways, such as for cocktails. 

Flowers can also look more 'country' rather than eclectic by putting them at different heights and together in odd numbers. 

These are the ideas I'm sticking to so far. Hopefully Pinterest will continue to give me inspiration!

English Heritage events in June

June is an awesome time for going out and about. The weather gets better, we pretend we’re still children and have time off work and walking becomes a realistic option. As a little preview, I thought I would write my list of upcoming events in June from English Heritage, that are worth a look at:

(N.B. Don’t forget – it’s Father’s Day in June!!)

Camillas and Croquet – Battle of Hastings Abbey and Battlefield, East Sussex (21^st-22^nd June):

Although I’m not entirely sure why there are Victorians hanging around a place that is famous for 1066, I thought this event looked like a good one. You get to meet some Victorians, indulge in garden games and have an afternoon tea. Which means, you guessed it… CAKE!!!

(Free for members, £7.20 for non-members)

Classic Cars – Audley End House and Gardens, Essex (15^th June):

An amazing idea for Father’s Day! There will be a display of classic cars at Audley End, which begins at 10am and ends at 6pm.

(Free by the looks of things!)

Clash of Knights– Bolsover Castle, Derbyshire (31^st May-1^st June):

Ok, so a battle reenactment looks super-nerdy. I get it. But trust me, these days are actually really fun if you take a picnic, meet up with some friends and just enjoy the show. It’s not usual to have a medieval reenactment either, so you might get a surprise!

(Free for members, £8.60 for non-members)

Broadsworth at War: Brothers in Arms – Broadsworth Hall and Gardens, South Yorkshire (21^st – 22^nd June):

Actors are due to bring to life the story of the Broadsworth brothers, Charles and Stuart, and their role in wartime. There are lots of planes to sit in and artefacts to have a look at. Worth a day out!

(Free for members, £10 for non-members)

Meet the Medieval Surgeon – Conisbrough Castle, South Yorkshire (5^th-6^th June):

If you thought I could resist this one, then you’re mad. Meet a real medieval surgeon who will give you advice on all your ailments. Hilarity guaranteed.

(Free for members, £4.20 for non-members)

Sadly these are just a few of the events that caught my eye, but go onto the website and you will see the full list of what’s near you!

What do you think? Have any English Heritage events I’ve missed?

(All the photos are from the English Heritage website!)