Association for Heritage Interpretation
2007 Awards
Commendation
Staircase House
Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
Following a devastating fire in 1995, Staircase House in the heart of Stockport has been fully restored to reveal its 500 year history. The restoration and interiors are of the highest quality and this project is a key part of Stockport’s urban regeneration. The team has worked hard to engage local people in the restoration and interpretation process and has invested in good quality interpretation that enhances the sense of place, combining period room interiors, an absolute minimum of text and an emphasis on sensory exploration. Interpretation is delivered primarily through the use of an audio tour, along with simple interactives and a mix of artefacts and replicas, plus regular events and activities including living history.
While we would give the restoration and regeneration elements ten out of ten, we do feel that the house does not entirely fulfil its interpretive potential for the general visitor as yet. The decision to combine recreated interiors with an audio guide, without any supporting graphic material, is a brave one and is largely effective but, as evaluation has revealed, does not fully engage all target audiences – particularly families.
Audio tours are inevitably an individual experience and, even for adults, the House tour is rather long and could have been more effectively layered – a shorter, livelier ‘snapshot’ introduction to each room would have been more engaging with more opportunities to follow up particular topics. The dramatisations were very good but came rather late on in each section and did not always add to the insight; we would also have liked a more engaging introduction and conclusion and greater encouragement to look, smell, touch, discover and ask ourselves questions about what we were seeing.
However, the rooms are excellently laid out and the route through the house, passing inside and out by turns, is very impressive. Some particularly successful elements that provided enlightenment and inspiration include the dower chest, origins of familiar phrases like ‘sleep tight’ and the restoration wall. Less successful were some of the simple interactives, which are not always fully interpretive, e.g. what are we really learning by rubbing unidentified coins and writing with a quill, when no additional insight is provided? The team could consider the use of moveable lectern-style panels in some of the rooms for periods when there are no events or guided tours taking place, to add insight for activities, provide images and discussion points, and generally to avoid an over-reliance on the audio tour. Ideally we would like to see more live interpretation and guided tours too.
To summarise, we commend the house team on their hard work in engaging the local community and working with groups and organisations to optimise access to Staircase House and its stories. We also commend them on reacting to the feedback they have received to date and working towards making the experience more engaging for families in particular. There is still a little way to go to achieve this, however, and we hope that the team is able to maintain its momentum in responding to feedback. We are therefore recommending a commendation for Staircase House in this year’s awards.
While we would give the restoration and regeneration elements ten out of ten, we do feel that the house does not entirely fulfil its interpretive potential for the general visitor as yet. The decision to combine recreated interiors with an audio guide, without any supporting graphic material, is a brave one and is largely effective but, as evaluation has revealed, does not fully engage all target audiences – particularly families.
Audio tours are inevitably an individual experience and, even for adults, the House tour is rather long and could have been more effectively layered – a shorter, livelier ‘snapshot’ introduction to each room would have been more engaging with more opportunities to follow up particular topics. The dramatisations were very good but came rather late on in each section and did not always add to the insight; we would also have liked a more engaging introduction and conclusion and greater encouragement to look, smell, touch, discover and ask ourselves questions about what we were seeing.
However, the rooms are excellently laid out and the route through the house, passing inside and out by turns, is very impressive. Some particularly successful elements that provided enlightenment and inspiration include the dower chest, origins of familiar phrases like ‘sleep tight’ and the restoration wall. Less successful were some of the simple interactives, which are not always fully interpretive, e.g. what are we really learning by rubbing unidentified coins and writing with a quill, when no additional insight is provided? The team could consider the use of moveable lectern-style panels in some of the rooms for periods when there are no events or guided tours taking place, to add insight for activities, provide images and discussion points, and generally to avoid an over-reliance on the audio tour. Ideally we would like to see more live interpretation and guided tours too.
To summarise, we commend the house team on their hard work in engaging the local community and working with groups and organisations to optimise access to Staircase House and its stories. We also commend them on reacting to the feedback they have received to date and working towards making the experience more engaging for families in particular. There is still a little way to go to achieve this, however, and we hope that the team is able to maintain its momentum in responding to feedback. We are therefore recommending a commendation for Staircase House in this year’s awards.
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Part of the work to create period furnishings