My work with Seaton Delaval Hall can be divided into two parts. The first is my recording of oral histories and the second is my design of the Research Room at the Hall during my three month placement in the summer of 2022. From these two activities I learnt the opportunities and obstacles of recording and using oral histories within the particular setting of Seaton Delaval Hall. My presence at the Hall led the staff to become more familiar with oral history and the wicked problem that surrounds it. They also helped me in my work and I helped them with theirs, from unloading easter eggs to digitising cassettes to advising on copyright (OHD_SSH_0309).
I recorded my interviews under Newcastle University. Initially this was because that seemed the most logical option. I learnt later that if I had recorded them under the National Trust I would have had to deal with a different set of ethical and particular conundrums, including the fact that the IT office did not want WAV files on SharePoint because they are too big and therefore carbon heavy, while the Data Protection Office would insist on keeping the recordings on SharePoint for reasons of data safety.
Once I recorded my interviews I would create a detailed summary which I would send to the participant for them to check over. I did twelve recordings and spent most of the time sorting the copyright, which was not easy.
This first obstacle in obtaining copyright was creating the appropriate copyright form. I had been given permission from the oral history archivist at the British Library to donate my recordings to the local Northumberland Archives. However, this meant I could not use the National Trust’s standard copyright form because this hands copyright over to the British Library and the Trust. I therefore needed to make my own copyright form and as I was not an expert on oral history or archival copyright I used existing forms as inspiration (OHD_FRM_0226). I then sent my first draft of the agreement to the archivist at Northumberland Archives and attempted to seek contact with the head of copyright at the Trust. The former approved while the latter, after my Trust supervision emailed them multiple times, replied that this was not the kind of copyright they dealt with.
The second obstacle was getting people to sign the copyright, something many oral historians experience. Luckily I had help from the Hall’s team, specifically the Volunteering Officer, who was absolutely essential in obtaining copyright.
SDH.005To round off the recording part of my work I did a listening session at the Hall one evening in the summer. Various volunteers and staff members, some who I had recorded and some who I had not, came to listen to audio extracts and have a discussion about the content. It was very lovely and had a surprisingly high turnout. I made the audience members write on why they came and what they took from it (OHD_PST_0289).
Before the listening session I had also put together a sound walk with the recordings which I shared with my Trust supervisors as a way to help them imagine what they can make with them. Many of the same extracts I used for the listening session (OHD_AUD_0295).
The final archiving process entailed me donating the audio to Northumberland Archives and uploading my files to the Seaton Delaval Hall SharePoint. When doing this I made sure the Hall received MP3 and WAV versions of the recordings, and that the indexing spreadsheet adhered to the British Library one. This was in case the Hall decides that they do want a copy at the British Library and setting up this way would make transferring it a lot easier.
I was tasked with designing the Research Room. This was a space in the hall that would allow people to access the vast amounts of stuff (not in the collection) which had been accumulated over the years. In many ways I had to start from scratch, first working out what would go into the Research Room, what kind of spaces there would be and then creating the forms and processes to make everything work.
Because I was working from scratch I used design fictions to help myself imagine the process of donating and using the Research Room. This way I could identify what I had to construct.
From this design fiction I made various iterations of a flowchart which allowed me to map the different items that people could donate and the accompanying paperwork and processes that would allow the donated item to be made accessible in the Research Room.
From these flowcharts I was then able to create prototype forms for the staff and volunteers to use. This included donation agreements, copyright assignment, and researcher agreements. Once I had shared and gotten feedback on the drafts I was able to finalise the forms with a design similar to the Trust’s existing acquisition forms.
Finally, I created a guide to the Research Room leaving certain areas blank as I felt I did not have the right authority to decide what should or should not happen.
Near the end of my project I set up a final workshop with the staff at Seaton Delaval Hall. The aim of the workshop was to see how the staff would proceed with oral history once I had finished my PhD. I created a slideshow based on the various stages of oral history recording which I had identified over my studies. The attendees were asked during the workshop to fill in the blank spaces to create the foundations of a plan. Naturally things did not go as planned but I did produce a final oral history strategy for the Hall, which hopefully will make recording and using oral history easier.
The overall aim of the strategy is to embed oral history practices into the Hall’s existing research activities to create an ongoing process of collecting, interpreting, and sharing oral histories.
2 . Roles
2.1 Core Oral History Team
The core oral history team consists of the General Manager, the Collections and House Manager, and the Volunteer and Community Officer. These members of staff already lead and support the volunteer Research Group. Their added responsibilities will encompass:
setting up designated oral history training for volunteers and staff;
organising the recording of new oral histories;
recruiting volunteers for the recording and processing of oral histories;
offering emotional support and guidance to the interviewers and transcribers.
In addition, this group will make up the reviewing team in charge of checking sensitive content in both the archived and newly recorded oral histories. They will also lead the oral history review which will take place annually during a Research Group meeting.
2.2 Supporting Site Staff
Although the Senior Communication and Marketing Officer is not part of the core oral history team, their contribution is essential for the successful implementation of the strategy. They will advise the core oral history team in matters related to the Hall’s reputation and data protection issues.
2.3 Supporting regional NT staff
Identifying and recruiting candidates for oral history interviews will require drawing on the expertise of regional National Trust staff, such as people business partners, estate managers and cultural heritage curators in, for example, archaeology.
2.4 Volunteers
Conducting interviews, managing data, and transcribing or summarising new oral histories will to a large extent be executed by NT volunteers. Equally, they will play a vital role in the researching of the archived oral history recordings.
3. Collecting oral histories
3.1 Scope and Focus
There are two forms of oral history which the Hall is aiming to collect:
institutional memory
histories of the cultural fabric of the Hall and the surrounding area
The recording accounts on the maintenance, restoration, and management of the site will help the Hall build an institutional memory. Collecting this information will create a collection of recordings which demonstrate the wide and diverse range of work done to preserve the site, its collection, and its history. It also avoids the loss of knowledge that occurs when an individual leaves the Hall. Histories of Seaton Delaval Hall’s cultural fabric will include recording information and stories about the collection, the hall, the gardens, and the surrounding area etc.
3.2 Pro-active Collection
The oral history is to be collected in a pro-active fashion, fully into the Hall’s knowledge gathering practices. Moments for potential collection are, for example, when a new item is acquired; as part of a research project; after restoration work; or when a significant person visits the Hall. More moments of collection will emerge as oral history gathering becomes a common practice on site.
4. Recording and processing oral histories
4.1 Training
A handful of staff and volunteers can be trained in oral history interview techniques, processing the recordings, and analysing the oral history material. Training sessions should be arranged at regular intervals, e.g., every three years. An analysis of training needs and requirements will be reviewed annually during a Research Group meeting. The training can be done through the oral history society or through Northumberland Archives.
4.2 Interim Storage
An interim storage solution needs to be arranged with the IT Department and Data Protection Office. Both have specific requirements for digital devices and Microsoft SharePoint.[1] In addition, there are restrictions on what external devices can and cannot be connected to Trust computers. Until a solution has been arranged, it is best to follow two main principles of digital storage: keep the recordings in three different locations and ensure those locations follow data protection law.
4.2.1 List of stored material
All material listed here contains personal information.
Audio files (a WAV copy and a MP3 copy)
Interviewee data sheets
Recording permission forms
Copyright and reuse forms
Summaries and/or transcripts
The Seaton Delaval Hall oral history catalogue
4.3 Ethics
4.3.1 Paperwork
There are two ethics forms necessary to collect and archive an oral history recording:
a Recording Permission Form
a Copyright and Reuse Form
The Permission Form must be signed before the recording device is switched on. The Copyright and Reuse Form is signed after the interviewee has read the transcript/summary of their recording or has listening back to the audio. The Copyright and Reuse Form allows the interviewee to close all or part of the recording for a set amount of time. Note that both forms contain personal information and therefore need to be stored in adherence with data protection law.
4.3.2 Sensitivity checks
Sensitivity checks are the responsibility of the core oral history team. They will read or listen to the oral histories and assess whether there is any sensitive content. Sensitive content comes in two forms:
information the interviewee might not want out in the public domain
information that could upset the listener of the recording
If the former is flagged by the core oral history team because they believe the interviewee might not want to share particularly information publicly, they should mention this to the interviewee before they sign the Copyright and Reuse Form. This may result in the interviewee wanting to close a particular section of the recording. If the team finds material which fits the latter, any sensitivity warnings should be added to the index.
4.3 Indexing
The spreadsheet created for indexing the Hall’s oral history recordings allows for easy tracking of progress and searching. It is also compatible with the British Library’s method of cataloguing in case the recordings are at some point donated to the British Library. The index contains personal information and therefore needs to be stored according to data protection law.
4.4 Transcripts and Summaries
The strategic aim is to create both a transcript and a summary for each oral history recording. Transcripts are essential if the audio file is lost or is corrupted. Interview summaries allow for content to be described in more searchable terms.
5. Archiving
Oral history recordings can be archived at Northumberland Archives. However, backup copies should be kept at the Hall in case the recording is also archived at the British Library. This is especially crucial since Northumberland Archives only excepts MP3 files and the British Library requires WAV files.
6. Reusing oral histories
In connection with the Hall and the collection, oral history can be used in interpretations and exhibitions. In addition, new staff or contractors can access the hall’s institutional memory and learn about their predecessors and their work by listening to the stories shared. The overall objective is for oral history to be a fully integrated and accessible resource, equally available for consultation as any item in the collection.
[1] For example, the IT department does not want WAV files to be put on SharePoint because they are very large, while the Data Protection Office requires all personal data to be stored on SharePoint.
