I work as a National Trust Collection Assistant AMA

[antiquebarbie]

I work as a collections assistant (think museum assistant) in a National Trust house- I'm not going to say which one but it is medium side, Victorian gothic style, quite popular, open all year to the public. And I figured ask me anything- members of the public always seem to ask what I'm up to when working around the house so if you have any questions hit me with them!

What are your thoughts on this?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2d5867e61go.amp

I recently visited Stourhead. Absolutely beautiful gardens but the house was a total disappointment. Why are some houses only half open but others only include a few rooms? How do you decide when an item/object needs renovation? Love NT and I’m a member.

I've just started volunteering in a house and collections team. Such a physically demanding job! I won't need a gym membership for ages!! We were textile cleaning yesterday!

As someone on the inside, do you think the accusations from the right that the NT is 'woke' are fair, or is the NT rightly helping visitors understand contentious issues such as the use of wealth from the space trade funding the splendour of some of our great houses?

Ooh it depends! Sometimes family still live in the houses and only let the public in certain areas. Sometimes certain objects need protecting more than others. In terms of repairing and renovation usually there is always something that needs fixing (lol) so it’s just a roulette/team preference to what goes off and when- also budget plays a big factor

Yes! Way more physical than most people see/imagine!

I think it’s bollocks, of course we should discuss contentious issues it’s like slavery and colonization it’s a massive factor in loads of properties and very important for history! I also think we should be welcoming everyone to properties it’s not just for people wanting scones and a delicate walk in the countryside. We should 100% be discussing how these properties and areas came to be around and what factors influenced their history

What qualifications does the job require? How did you get into it? What do you do in a typical day/week?

Honestly members of the public touching stuff is a bloody nightmare, I don’t really care about the reasoning behind it, if it makes that teams job easier to remove it so they don’t have to deal with complaints or contention from either side of the public I stand by that

Just the reply I hoped for. Thank-you. It's really noticeable that there's a far more diverse range of visitors to an NT venue near me over the last few years, a tribute to the trust's drive to attract new visitors. I've just spotted the typo 'space' for 'slave' 😒

Have you ever caught or heard of anyone having sex or doing drugs in a corner or some kind of hiding place? Or something else outrageous?

What's the worst accident/damage you've seen happening to the house or artefacts. And what caused it?

How much do you get paid and is a contracted job or casual?

What's the silliest question anyone's ever asked you?

Thank you! X

It didn’t actually require qualifications I had to do a quiz/ recruitment questionnaire thing and was offered an interview based on that. I had no idea I would like it so much when I applied, the hours looked good so I went for it!

Typical day:
Cleaning- hoovering, dry mopping and dusting 8:30-10:30
Volunteer welcome/break/open property: 10:30-11
Annual clean/moving objects/preservation tasks whatever is on the calendar 11-3:30
Dusting/closing 3:30-4:30

No sex or drugs as of yet! Although, my property has several hidden areas/small spaces I think would work if you wanted to have a quick snog or something lol
Incidents mostly occur outside: a guy pooped in a hedge once (assume he was desperate) and a few kids have fallen into the fountain/ponds

Several people have stolen stuff (always things I think wtf are you taking that for, at least grab something better)
Children have taken the silver cutlery and had a mini sword fight, Coca Cola is a fucker for ruining floors. Occasional peeling or ripping pieces of leather/wallpaper/material off items.

Contracted job within the trust, pay is £13.50 an hour (I believe, it’s just gone up a bit)

Hmm not many silly questions but I do like dispensing stupid or weird facts about our property that are not in the guide book- think- this sculpture is meant to be the lady of the house but is actually the artists mistress… type facts

Have you been affected by the recent redundancies reported?

In recent years I think the NT seem to spend all their money on the big showstopper houses like Tyntesfield and other properties like Clevedon Court, Montecute or Lytes Cary Manor are barely open or left to deteriorate.

Is this a deliberate thing or is there just not enough money?

Thank you. Interesting! X

Whilst I know light levels have to be managed to protect the property light levels in some houses are so low as to be dangerous (Stourhead) or so that you can't see the other side of the room (Tyntesfield). The guides at Stourhead walk round with torches! It really spoils the experience and has got much worse in recent years. Any thoughts on how to manage this differently?

Light levels are a bloody nightmare! There are several reasons for this:

1. most new lighting for specific stuff has to be approved by NT lighting team (who are extremely limited on time) we can’t just add in new lights ourselves
2. Light levels we can’t go above a certain level because it can jeopardize our museum accreditation and protection of objects which is potentially really bad
3. blinds and uv protection are really bloody expensive and it’s a balancing act between adding new blinds that could let more light in while offering protection vs the entire budget

So it’s a bit of a loosing battle really, i can only recommend going on a bright but cloudy day (i realise not helpful at all…)

Every property has a ranking which does mean certain properties get more funding: the highest is discovery properties- usually these have a particular collection of something. I think the lowest is ‘little gems’ and there’s a few more rankings in between. So yes and no- it does depend on the property rank but also there isn’t enough money for everything.
Although some properties it depends on their focus- like nature recovery is another big area which receives funding although this wouldn’t affect the collection this would go to the grounds (but boost the ranking of the whole property if that makes sense)

Slightly but also not sure yet, luckily someone from our team left just before the announcement which helped… so nobody lost their job but we also cant replace the person who left…

If you could choose one of the NT properties, which would be your dream to live in and why?

Are there ever any unexplained / spooky happenings at your property?

Now this is fun! Have you seen BBC ghosts? I feel like most NT properties would resemble this setup. In mine I think the old owner (who did not give a shit about antiques) would be walking around following us and yelling about how the dining table was her potting area, and that she used to eat yogurt off the expensive plates we now have to wear gloves to handle. I also think there’s probably some WW1 and 2 soldiers walking around because it was used as a hospital during that period.

It is the least haunted place I’ve been inside when it comes to scary though! Every morning we walk around turning all the lights on and opening the blinds which I assumed would be the creepiest bit but actually it’s not haunted at all, closest I’ve come is someone left a radio on in the house which let out an eerie low battery beep one morning lol

Im not sure about living in one though! Think I’d need to visit some more to decide- I can tell you which ones I wouldn’t work in though- one down in Devon ‘Greenway’ Agatha Christie’s house has SOO many items I would hate to be dusting those and Lanhydrock in Cornwall way too many staircases to hoover for my liking lol

How did you get that job. My daughter is desperate to get into an archivist/collections job - she is volunteering at local places and doing a fine art degree..any other suggestions?

And thank you!! 😀

I work for the NT, I used to be a Collections Assistant many moons ago but still have a good knowledge of conservation/preservation but in other areas now.
It’s such an interesting role, and plays such a huge part of helping ensure the long term preservation of these wonderful and varied properties.
My question is what’s the most favourite part of your job? Is it the physical part or the engaging with the visitors?