1. Experimental: The world’s first Children’s Country House, Sudbury Hall
National Trust property Sudbury Hall and The Museum of Childhood in Derbyshire are being transformed into the world’s first Children’s Country House. The move is a response to the quickly growing numbers of families visiting the place in recent years – no doubt due to the presence of the Museum of Childhood.
The team were moved to think deeply about how children experience historic country houses, and what they could do to make the experience more engaging for children and to appeal to new, more diverse families. They asked themselves: ‘How can we make this a place where every child feels comfortable, welcome and can lead their own visit?’ The answer? Well, that’s up to their 90-strong group of child ambassadors.
The goal is to create a completely new heritage experience with children’s needs and desires at its heart – while at the same time safeguarding Sudbury Hall’s fragile and precious objects. The new approach will be adopted in the Hall, Museum and Gardens. We can’t wait to see the results when the property reopens in early 2022.
2. Sustainability: Superbloom at the Tower of London
The Tower of London is just one of several visitor attractions currently re-developing their open spaces to support wildlife and the environment, in the wake of the growing awareness and urgency around climate change. The Natural History Museum’s Urban Nature Project also springs to mind.
This summer, the Tower’s famous moat will be transformed into a sea of flowers for Superbloom as the 20 million+ seeds that HRP is planting around the Tower start to grow and flourish. The planting scheme is designed to attract pollinators, seed-eating birds and provide a biodiverse space for wildlife in the heart of the city. As the year progresses, different patterns and colours will emerge, meaning that the project will also be very easy on the eye.
Superbloom will be both the first step in transforming the moat into a new natural landscape and a permanent legacy of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Interestingly, it’s nothing new for the Tower’s moat to be repurposed in such a way. In the past, it has been a medieval orchard, grazing ground for Victorian livestock, allotments during World War II, and the setting for major art installations, such as 2014’s Poppies.
3. Launch: The Shakespeare North Playhouse
After years of build-up, The Shakespeare North Playhouse looks set to open its doors in Prescot in summer 2022. The Playhouse manages to be both a modern cultural asset for the north of England and the embodiment of the area’s remarkable historical connections to Shakespeare and Elizabethan theatre. The Earls of Derby were known for their theatrical patronage, setting the scene for the Bard’s links to the area. The Sixth Earl’s big brother, Lord Strange, maintained the Strange’s Men – and five of the Strange’s Men’s six leading players went on to become members of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, Shakespeare’s Company at The Globe. Prescot was also the location of the only purpose-built Elizabethan playhouse outside London; it was located at the far end of Prescot’s High Street (now Eccleston Street), towards the end of the 16th century.
The new playhouse is a thoroughly modern building housing a 350-seat theatre modelled on the cockpit-in-court design of the Elizabethan era. Apparently, it will even be lit by candles.
When it opens, The Shakespeare North Playhouse will complete the UK’s Shakespearean Triangle, with London and Stratford-upon-Avon. We’re keen to see how many visitors, domestic and international, will aim to see all three corners. Expect a ripple effect of regeneration across the local area and communities. Tourism is a powerful force.
4. Diversity: Legacies - London Transport’s Caribbean Workforce
London Transport Museum’s upcoming exhibition offers a more inclusive take on our history than that offered by the schoolbooks most Brits likely studied. Legacies: London Transport’s Caribbean Workforce (11 February 2022 – summer 2024) uses personal oral histories, new films, striking archive photography, historic advertising posters and never-before-displayed objects to help bring to life the individual experiences and struggles as workers and their families journeyed from the Caribbean and settled into their new lives in the city, following a recruitment drive by London Transport during the 1950s.
Racism, homesickness and the cold weather often made the lives of the migrants difficult. The exhibition also focuses on the continuing influence of Caribbean culture and art on the capital and beyond and celebrates the huge contribution that people of Caribbean heritage have made to the capital’s transport ever since.
5. Collaboration: Beatrix Potter - Drawn to Nature, V&A, London
The V&A and National Trust are collaborating to create the first exhibition telling the complete story of Beatrix Potter. This coming-together of two of the world’s largest Beatrix Potter collections is bound to draw fans from around the world.
Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature (12 February 2022 – 8 January 2023) will show that there’s more to the popular children’s author than cute animal illustrations and gentle stories. As well as writing stories that captured the imaginations of people of all ages, Potter was a natural scientist, award-winning sheep farmer and a conservationist. In short, she was an extraordinary human being and this playful and interactive exhibition at the V&A will allow visitors to get to know her more deeply. The exhibition will make use of interactives, trails, immersive experiences and more than 240 personal objects including letters, family photographs, animal sketches and scientific drawings.