National Museums Liverpool Blog - sudley house

Below, James tells us all about his work experience with our Decorative Arts department. Over to James…

“I’m James and I’m a Year 10 student at King David High School in Liverpool. I spent a week on work experience at NML, in the Decorative Art department, and it has been brilliant. I came here not knowing what to expect and ended up having a great time. I found that my enjoyment for history, which I’m studying for my GCSE, helped greatly. I most enjoyed handling the objects and being able to connect with them. I documented information I had collected on the toys and costume and where I had re stored them. I also enjoyed going to the Walker Art Gallery and Sudley House as I had never been to these places before. I realised that I was interested in silver and ceramics even though I’d never had a chance to look at them closely before. I particularly enjoyed sorting the toys and moving them about. I found all the collections really interesting and stimulating.

I would like to thank everyone in the Dec. Arts department for giving their time to show me what they do and give me a great experience. I also felt that everyone else was really nice and friendly. I am sad to leave and hope to come back again for some volunteering in the future. Thanks to my experience I hope to work in museums when I an older.

Hope to come back soon.
James”

James enjoying his work experience.

Press assisitant Jo Vickers has been taking a look at what the box of delights that is Sudley House has to offer during the Easter break:

Young visitors enjoy playing with our traditional toys.

Sudley House is having a fashion frenzy this Easter! Budding fashionistas can get crafty and create their own works of art based on the ‘Costume Drama’ exhibition at two free family-friendly events.

With Ladies Day at the races only a couple of weeks away, why not get into the spirit by making your own stylish headwear to take away with you? At ‘Beautiful Bonnets’ from 1-4pm on Wednesday 4 April, you can explore the beautiful costumes in our collection before using a range of collage materials to create your own gorgeous hat!

On Thursday 12 April, be inspired by the stunning exhibition of clothes and accessories from the Jane Austen era to create your very own works of art at ‘Fabulous Fashions’ from 1-4pm.

Both events are suitable for children aged five and over and are absolutely free!

And there’s plenty more to keep the little ones entertained at Sudley House over Easter. Come and explore the Childhood room and find out about children’s toys of the past. There are lots of toys, books and jigsaws to play with, as well!

The exhibition 'Costume Drama: Fashion from 1790 to 1850' runs until 17 June.

John Moran, demonstrator from World Museum's planetarium, on an exciting event taking place this Friday 23 March at Sudley House:

Sudley House's uninterrupted view of horizon offers good platform for stargazing.

One night, several different types of telescope, binoculars and the whole night sky to explore. Sound good? Then come and join us for an evening of celestial fun.

Staff at the planetarium will be running this event in conjunction with Dark Sky Discovery who have awarded us a grant of £1500, which is nice of them, with the aim of increasing people’s awareness of the night sky.

We have decided to run this event at Sudley House as there are uninterrupted views to the horizon, much less light pollution and if it's clear gives us the scope (no pun intended) to see more of the sky then we would normally have from the level 5 balcony at World Museum.

By the way, we will be utilising the terrace and rose garden area of the grounds so please don’t wear your best Jimmy Choo’s or your Louboutins, that includes the guys. Please wear suitable footwear and dress warm.

We will have a wide range of telescopes for your viewing pleasure and to give you some idea of the difference between a reflecting and refracting telescope. It gives us so called experts the chance to show off our knowledge of the night sky because as well as telescopes and binoculars to look through we will also be doing some naked eye observing and giving you some tips on how to find your way around the constellations. Don’t worry its not as daunting as you think, plus we'll be putting out some information sheets to take home with you!

There will also be some simple crafts like badge making and colouring in for the little ones and there will also be limited access to Sudley House so you can get yourself a cuppa and a sandwich if you like.

The event is open to the public but, working with the Communities team, we are also hoping to bring in groups from across the city.

So if you fancy close-up views of Jupiter, Venus and Mars as well as a whole array of celestial treasures join us from 6.30pm-8.00pm on Friday 23rd March at Sudley House and grounds; I bet we can amaze you!

In the event of bad weather we will have to postpone the event until the following Friday (30th March) when we will hold it from 7.30-9.30pm. Please keep an eye on the website for updates.

Here's one of our Education Demonstrators, Angelica Vanasse, to tell us about some of the fun family events that have been happening at Sudley House...

A Noah's Ark wall mural made during the event.

Sudley House came alive with children and families and toys galore on last month with our 'Toy Stories' event.  Members of the education, communities and visitors teams from the Walker Art Gallery and Sudley House were on hand to deliver a fantastic range of toy-tastic activities inspired by the Victorian toys in the Sudley House collection.  

We made a Noah’s Ark wall mural (the only toy that Victorian children could play with on a Sunday) with creatures great and small, along with peg dolls and colourful spinning tops.  We also had some larger-than-life games to play with (Connect Four, anyone?) and plenty of toy-rific tales being told by our storyteller in residence, Ros. Later, everyone went on the lookout for runaway toys during a delightfully interactive toy hunt.  

The huge dining room table downstairs was laid out for colouring and was quite a grand setting for getting creative! We saw lots of families come in on the day and get involved and everyone left with a crafty little collection of handmade toys.  Thanks to all who attended and helped to make this day such a great success! 

For info on other upcoming events be sure to check our what's on listings.

Retro fashion and dinosaurs go together on William Brown Street!

Starting on William Brown Street, channel your inner supermodel in the Big Booth at the Walker Art Gallery on 15, 16 & 17 February 2012.  Grab your flares and strike a pose because the photo booth, big enough for the whole family, will be kitted out in a retro style with costumes and props, to celebrate 'Feathercuts and Flares' the Walker’s display of 70s fashion.

Down the hill at World Museum visitors can have a close encounter with beasts of a prehistoric kind in the exhibition 'Age of the Dinosaur' featuring six life-size dinosaurs set in a Jurassic forest of 65 million years ago. Open daily, the admission charges are £6 adults, £3 children and concessions, under 5s free or £14 families. Avoid the queues and book online (no booking fees).

Also look out for the new daily show, 'Chronicle of a Journey to Earth' in the newly refurbished planetarium.

At the Albert Dock and waterfront holiday fun continues with craft activities inspired by the most famous ship of them all, the Titanic, at the Merseyside Maritime Museum (14 & 15 February). While the International Slavery Museum is celebrating the half term with a free showing of Disney’s The Frog Princess (16 February).

From 14-17 February the wonderful new Museum of Liverpool is the place to be for any budding Indiana Joneses. The History Detectives will be exploring the archaeology of Merseyside from the Ice Age right through to the present day, injecting jokes and the occasional tune to help delve into the museum’s archaeological collections.

Out of town, Sudley House is hosting a craft event for children with an eye for style on 16 February. Inspired by the exhibition Costume Drama families can design their own colourful outfits.

At the Lady Lever Art Gallery Chinese New Year celebrations continue with a free performance of the Pagoda Chinese Youth Orchestra on 15 February.

For more free things to see and do check the website for details.

Sudley House in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, was the home of Victorian shipowner George Holt who amassed a huge fortune as one of the proprietors of Lamport & Holt.

Despite his wealth, he was a modest man who did not go in for lavish entertainment. He was married with one daughter and the family were not ones to splash the cash on themselves.

In fact, they were among Liverpool’s greatest philanthropists and gave away most of what they acquired – including Sudley House.

George’s daughter Emma handed it over with its amazing art collection including paintings by Gainsborough, Millais, Holman Hunt and Turner.

Her stunningly generous gift ensured that the only art collection by a British Victorian merchant in its original domestic setting survives.

The atmosphere of historic homes is best captured when people dress in clothes reminiscent of the period.

This happened on 14 November 2011 when this crinoline dress (see my picture above) was unveiled in Sudley’s drawing room.

The Liverpool-made garment is seen in tonight’s episode of Desperate Scousewives on the E4 TV channel.

Made from synthetic human hair, it weighed 15 stone and took its toll on the model during the two hours of filming.

I am only really interested in women's clothing when a woman is wearing it, so this was a bit of a treat for me.

As my grandma May Kendrick (1868 - 1954) used to tell her friends: "Loosen your stays or you'll get the vapours."

If you go to Sudley House, you’re sure of a big surprise. This Saturday 20 August from 11am – 4pm the venue is hosting a teddy bears’ picnic.

So why not bring your favourite teddy bear, a rug and a picnic, and join staff for a day of free teddy bear themed fun.

During the day there will be craft activities including mask making, colouring and playing with Play-Doh. There will also be hourly, ticketed storytelling sessions and Katrina Riozzi from Small Stories Theatre Company will also be encouraging children to become explorers and go on a 'bear hunt' in the grounds.

Bring your teddy bear and join in the fun.

This Rainbow Flag represents a very important first in Liverpool. It was flown above Liverpool Town Hall for the first time for the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) on 17 May 2009. IDAHO marks the day in 1990 when the World Health Organisation took homosexuality off its list of mental illnesses. The flag is just one of the many objects that curators seek out to ensure contemporary issues and events in the city are represented for the future. You can see more photos of the flag on Flickr.

With so much happening at the Pride Festival on Saturday, the following day has been declared Chillout Sunday, to give you all a chance to recover. Sudley House is serving brunch and has a Chillout Sunday tour of the Costume Drama exhibition at 3pm - perfect for all you partied out divas.

Or why not pop into the Merseyside Maritime Museum to find out about gay life on the ocean wave in the Hello Sailor! display.

There’s nothing better than snuggling down to watch a film. Normally I do it on a rainy Sunday, with just a cup of tea and a bar of chocolate for company. However I am excited to hear that this Friday 5 August from 1 – 3.30pm Sense and Sensibility starring Emma Thompson will be screened at Sudley House.

Sense and Sensibility was Jane Austen’s first novel and was published 200 years ago this year. The screening of the 1995 adaptation, directed by Ang Lee, will celebrate this anniversary but also the current exhibition at Sudley House, Costume Drama: Fashion from 1790 – 1850.

The exhibition displays examples of fashionable dress from Jane Austen’s era. What better way to watch a screen adaptation of a Jane Austen novel than to be in the company of dresses from her time!

There will be screenings of the film for the duration of the exhibition, so if you can't come on Friday it will screened on, Sunday 13 November 2011 and Friday 2 March 2012 from 1- 3.30pm.

There will also be screenings with subtitles on Sunday 25 September 2011, Friday 13 January 2012 and Friday 20 April 2012 from 1-3.30pm.

Woman’s gold and white figured silk evening dress with a train, dating from 1815-20.

There’s less than week to go before Costume Drama: Fashion from 1790 to 1850 opens at Sudley House on Friday 8 July.

The exhibition displays male and female clothing and accessories that viewers of adaptations such as Pride and Prejudice written by Jane Austen and Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell may find familiar.

I had the pleasure of seeing the costumes last week before they were taken to Sudley House for the exhibition. They all looked beautiful, but my particular favourite was a yellow silk brocade evening dress, from the early 1840s.

However there are many more beautiful garments, including a man’s Court suit from the 1790s or early 1800s and a woman’s gold and white figured silk evening dress with a train, dating from 1815-20. With such a beautiful collection going on display I’m sure every visitor will have their own favourite.

Exhibition curator Pauline Rushton stands with two dresses from the exhibition.