Judging a Museum By Its Website? Cressing Temple, Essex, UK

Cressing Temple sounds, on first hearing about it, like an historical site that wouldn't need a strong sales pitch: First estate in England purchased by the Knights Templar, the crusading warrior-monks in the 14th century. Home of the world's oldest barn. Site of a Romano-British settlement. Home of the original Templars' manor house (burnt down during the Peasant's Revolt) and an 18th century manor house (burned down) Location of an attractive Tudor garden. With associations that are classical, medieval, and modern, and a fairly attractive setting, this site would seem to have it all.
Which may, in fact, be the problem.
The website sort of sucked. Judge for yourself: http://www.cressingtemple.org.uk/CTaerial.htm It was hard to feel enthusiastic about visiting on a day with no historical events. But we got a warm welcome from the staff, and enjoyed a falconry display by the resident raptors, which was the day's special event. We opted for the free audio tour, handsets that were supplied with a laminated map (for loan) indicating which numbers on the handsets we should push at which parts of the site.
The audio tour was reasonably interesting for adults, but did not really work for eight-year-old Alec. Likewise, the information posters at various points were sufficiently engaging for grown-ups, but were difficult to translate into kid-friendly language.
The larger problem is that, despite extensive archaeological digs at the site, very little of it is visually interpreted. There's an exhibition in one of the barns, which has the advantage of several life-size mannequins depicting medieval building techniques and a Knight Templar. The museum also had a real chainmail shirt to try on...if you could lift it, which we couldn't (far more instructive that way!) However, much of the museum was heavy in text, and limited in hands-on activities.
Cressing Temple is used often for meetings, sales, weddings, etc, so that a number of areas, rather jarringly, featured modern seating, or were in the process of being set up for events. This included the world's oldest barn, which was a wonderful structure. In another anachronistic touch, other barns included nineteenth century blacksmiths and wheelwright shops, and a 1920s summer house, designed to match the barn's architecture but filled with agricultural tools. Anachronism is not a problem per se, but the interpretation of this fascinating and complex site was not similarly fascinating and complex, especially for kids. It had a cobbled-together feel, one that was only partly alleviated by the audio tour.
Funds are almost certainly an issue (Cressing Temple is owned by the county of Essex), so I certainly wouldn't prescribe expensive interpretive technology. But I do hope Cressing Temple is successful in recruiting volunteers (we never saw anyone after we left the gift shop), and that perhaps the means are found to update the informational displays, as well as to develop materials for kids that clearly show the multilayered history of the site. It would also be lovely to see a display of the archaological finds.
We will be back, but on an event day. A kids' archeological dig (held Mondays and Tuesdays this summer) looks very promising.

Back in the UK

Now that Alec, my son and kid assistant, and I are back in the UK, we'll be reporting on our visits to museums and historic sites. This morning, we went to the historically-named Wat Tyler Country Park, so called in honor of the leader of the fourteenth-century Peasants' Revolt. Our visit was not history-themed, however, but rather to attend a kids' workshop on pond life.
I'm writing about it because the key to its success was the same as for historical events for kids: Knowledgeable, friendly and enthusiastic staff.
Despite jet lag, Alec thoroughly enjoyed himself at a workshop which was directed by a man who connected well with kids and knows his subject--in this case, bugs and all manner of other things that dwell in an English pond. The five kids in attendance were issued with fishing nets, and trays filled with water into which they could dump their catches for closer examination.
The man in charge answered questions well, but also knew when to stop talking and allow the kids to catch more critters. He also clearly enjoyed his subject: When one kid caught a giant silver diving beetle, the instructor and an excited colleague enthused over it with sincerity. Kids know when adults are real, and when they are faking. These guys were enthusiastic, and their enthusiasm was inspiring. The cost? A few cheap nets and plastic trays. That's all the technology you need when you have good people.
I look forward to sharing our adventures in homeschooling and museum visits live from England over the next weeks.

Book Review: Learning to See The Land ***

Annette's note: This is not a book for kids, although kids may well like the pictures and some of the text. So this rating does NOT incorporate the opinion of Alec, my son/kid assistant. I review it because it is a book that can be used with and for kids.

Burton K. Kummerow, Christine H. O'Tooler, and R. Scott Stephenson, Pennsylvania's Forbes Trail: Gateways and Getaways Along the Legendary Route From Philadelphia to Pittsburgh (2008)

I first learned how to "see" rural western Pennsylvania in 1993, in the company of Pastor Weiser, an ordained Lutheran minister who used his many personal connections in the area to take visitors beyond the tourist trail. Our group, from throughout the University of California system, had been studying Early America in Colonial Williamsburg for three months. Now, we made contact with the colonial past's tenuous survival into the present, as we travelled among the German-Americans of Lancaster County. We visited a market staffed by Amish and Mennonite farmers in their otherworldly costumes, and pondered how deep the food roots of the amazingly artificial "traditional" Whoopie Pie could possibly go. We climbed the stairs of a rural house, and met an eighty-year-old Amish bookbinder at work. We descended to a church basement for a scrumptious lunch of Pennsylvania "Dutch" grub cooked by Pennsylvania "Dutch" ladies, while a cheesy but earnest local duo sang German-American folk songs. Pastor Weiser kept us grounded, as did all the Pennsylvanians we met: These locals not quaint relics, but real and complex people who inhabited the same world as us. This tour was worth a million boring roadside "historic landmarks."

It was the memory of this day in Pennsylvania, and my realization that I have so many vivid memories of it, that piqued my interest in Pennsylvania's Forbes Trail: Gateways and Getaways Along the Legendary Route From Philadelphia to Pittsburgh.

Published to commemorate this year's 250^th anniversary of the French and Indian War, the book's timing is not altogether lucky: This is not so much a book for reading as it is a luxurious road trip guide. As I write, gas is pushing $4 a gallon, so it might actually work better as a guide for the armchair traveler.

That said, and assuming that the road trip has any future, this is an intriguing and creative approach to engaging visitors in the presence of the past.

Inviting the reader to retrace the route through western Pennsylvania taken by the British and Colonial joint forces during the French and Indian War, the book focuses on John Forbes , a Scottish officer who won military victory, brokered careful negotiations with Indian allies of the French and pacifist Quakers, and generally set about winning hearts and minds as well as battlefield victory. The creators are upfront in their hope that this story will serve as a model in an age when we have been more inclined to resort to saber-rattling and aggression than to diplomacy. Fair enough.

True, the muddy trail that Forbes, his men, and others followed has since mostly given way to asphalt. But despite dramatic changes in the landscape, the Pennsylvania of the 1750s has not vanished. Even the original unpaved road has been preserved in part, the authors tell us, and is open to the public. Some of the taverns on what is now called the Old Lancaster Road, such as the General Warren Inne in Malvern, already existed in the mid-eighteenth century. Looking for colonial survivals, and understanding that things aren't always as young (or old) as they seem is a great way for everyone to learn to think historically.

Recognizing that most vacationing families who might undertake the quest lack the obsessiveness of historians, however, the authors envision the trip as one that should be broken up with distractions. Capsule descriptions not only of historic sites and museums, but also of restaurants and even theme parks, offer plenty of advice for breaking up the journey.

While a journey through the area with this guide will encourage travelers to take a deeper interest in the environment—both built and natural—it would have been even better to have included a broader focus on the region's people, both past and present. Longer excerpts from letters and diaries (rather than indirect quotations with snippets of the original, more readable, language don't cut it) would have helped, as well would interviews with modern residents. The engaging and vivid illustrations help distract from the often ponderous text.

My question for the book's creators is whether they were interested in cultivating the broadest possible audience. Was it tested with families? If the intention was always to appeal to a niche audience of military history geeks, fair enough. But the theme and tone of the text may be offputting to anyone who doesn't fall in that group, and that's a shame.

Anyone considering writing future guides like this should think hard about producing a book that will actually have wide appeal. There is a great fear in America of dumbing down history by making it accessible, and we cut off too many people's interest in the past by limiting the scope and appeal of public history. It doesn't have to be military history to be history, nor does it have to rely on dense text. The sooner that we recognize this, the faster we can rescue historical literacy from the abyss.

Homeschoolers and teachers: Use with caution. Read through and think about this book before you hit the road, and be prepared to put in some work to use it effectively. Resist the temptation to read large portions of the dry narrative aloud to the family or your students. Instead, translate it into your own words. Plan your own narrative. This book doesn't teach kids well, but, with it as a guide, you can.

Time Travel Trips For Everyone, #1: Beamish, England

[Annette's note: This is the first in an occasional series of postings about cool history destinations in the USA and UK, drawn from my first-hand experience. I firmly believe that most of the "must see" places on American tourists' lists are actually disappointingly dull, especially for kids, to whom they rarely cater (don't even get me started on Westminster Abbey…), and that the memorable gems reward the small effort it takes to get to them, because they make an effort to attract visitors, especially families. I will be very interested in your comments: Do give me feedback about how useful and/or interesting these postings are for you. ]

Headed Up North…and Out of Time

It's 1913, the year before the First World War, in a small town in the North of England. A bleak drizzle falls from the cloudy skies, and mixes with the earthy smell of coal smoke belching from the chimneys of the houses and shops on the main street. Passengers shiver on the open upper deck of the double-decker bus. Kids just out of school visit the candy shop to buy freshly-made pear drops. Miners' wives from the nearby pit village stop in at the member-owned cooperative stores for groceries and supplies.

And you are there.

You've likely heard of Colonial Williamsburg, the world's largest living history museum, and you may have even visited it. But did you know that it's just one of many living history museums (also known as open air museums) across the world?
Beamish, The North of England Open Air Museum is the largest living history museum in Britain.
Why Visit Beamish?

Families, homeschoolers, and teachers: A visit to Beamish makes a great complement to your study of the First World War, Victorian Britain and/or America, the Industrial Revolution, and a reading of my novel, Don't Know Where, Don't Know When, which is partly set in 1915. Unlike most American living history museums, which focus on crafts, rural life, and/or the lives of the wealthy, Beamish focuses mainly on ordinary people living urban settings in the recent past. A visit to Beamish gives kids a chance to connect with a time and place that may seem at once similar yet very different from modern life in Britain and America. Situated near Durham and Newcastle, it is a good add-on to a visit to Britain that includes a rail journey between London and Scotland.

Everyone else: It's fun! Consider making it a stop on your railway journey from London to Edinburgh, for example. Allow two nights and one day in your journey. This is also your chance to mingle with Brits at a popular site that's off the American tourist trail.

Highlights (to get you excited about going)

Imagine Life as a Miner at the Colliery Village in 1913.

Put on a hardhat, and let a REAL former miner show you round a REAL coal mine (don't worry, it's not deep, but watch your head!)
Go to church: Miners' lives were unimaginably tough, and Sundays were among the few days when they could clean off the grime, put on nice clothes, and actually live: Check out the Methodist chapel, where mining families worshipped and maintained their self-respect.
Learn to Sit Up Straight and Pay Attention: Visit a Victorian elementary school, complete with desks in rows, and play with hoops and sticks in the playground.
Gatecrash a Miner's House: Enter the home of a miner and his family, and find out what it took to keep clean and respectable when coal dust was everywhere, houses were small, and families were large.

Shop in the North of England in 1913.

Don't miss the sweets! The sweet shop is always crowded, especially when school groups are visiting, so if it looks like you can squeeze in, do it, and fight your way to the counter! Most of the old-fashioned hard candies are mass-produced but still worth trying: Rhubarb and custard, lemon drops, sherbet pips, and mint humbugs are just a few of the interesting varieties available to be measured from large jars into small paper bags. In the back room, there are regular demonstrations of candy-making, with free samples. Yum.

See where Brandon served his apprenticeship as a dentist! If you have read Don't Know Where, Don't Know When, you may be surprised to learn that Mr. Gordon's home and surgery are in County Durham. I "moved" the house to Balesworth (itself a fictionalized version of Stevenage in Hertfordshire), after falling in love with it at Beamish. The building is largely as I described it, including the surgery and office on the second floor.

If you are 18 or over, have a drink in the pub. This friendly and tiny pub sells local brews, including a hard cider that is testament to Britain's love affair with the apple.

Return to 1825, and take the train.

Try State-of-the-Art Travel, 1825-style…Beamish is developing a new area depicting life in 1825. One of the first attractions is a working replica of the first-ever passenger train in the world! Nothing beats taking a ride in one of the open third-class carriages in the rain, as my son will attest...

Snoop in the Big House….At Pockerley Manor, a small manor house owned by a prosperous farmer, you might sample fresh Parkin (a kind of gingerbread) baked over the fire, watch candles being made, or find out what foods were stored in the bedrooms…

Don't Forget Beamish's Special Events…

Depending on when you show up, you may enjoy an early 19^th century country fair, or cheer on the contestants in a horse-ploughing contest. Check out Beamish's calendar of events, because you may want to time your visit to coincide with one of them.
And Finally…
Interpreters at Beamish are dressed in period costume, but they don't pretend to be characters from the past. You will find that they are very friendly and knowledgeable, often have a great sense of humor, and are eager to answer your questions without boring you to death. In fact, if you have become used to being bored and patronized by interpreters at American historical sites (more about this theme in a future posting, because it's one of my pet peeves) you will be amazed at how fun and friendly a place Beamish can be! In case there's any doubt about this, Beamish is very kid-friendly. Alec, my kid testing assistant and son, has enjoyed two wonderful visits to Beamish in 2006 and 2007, and was impressed by how the staff often spoke directly to him, and answered his questions patiently and well.
American travelers: How to make it happen
Going to the UK?
Am I mad? Haven't I heard of recession and the plummeting dollar?

Sure: But I can help my American readers get over your fear of travel abroad, give you some tips for getting off the beaten track (and to venues that families will find more entertaining than boring old sightseeing at been there/done that tourist traps), and suggest ways to save money while you do it. And –for more people than realize it—it can be done without going into debt for the rest of your life. In a future post, rather than duplicate the work of some great travel sites, I'll get you started with a listing of those sites that help you plan your trip to get the most value for money.

For now, here are some useful tips. While they are certainly practical advice, the main purpose of these is to help you envision yourself as an independent traveler in Britain.

Beamish is near Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, a major railway station on the north-south line from London's Kings Cross Station. Bus service is very affordable and frequent (but not fast!) from Newcastle to Beamish. That said, BE PREPARED with seat reservations, train times, bus times, and booked accommodation. See my upcoming posting, "How to Survive and Have Fun as an Independent American Traveler in the U.K." for web sites that let you plan easily in advance.

You should confirm details of opening times, public transport, etc, before travelling, since information may change with little or no notice.

By car: Beamish is easily accessed by car, and has plenty of parking. See the Museum website for directions and details. Some nearby hotels, such as the budget Premier Inns, may offer discount "vouchers" (coupons) for Beamish, as they did when I stayed at one near Durham in 2006: Just ask at the desk.

By public transport: Not easy, no, but certainly practical. Yes, I have done it! Take the train to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. If you're coming direct from London, you will need to spend at least one night, but there are affordable guest houses and bed and breakfasts (especially good deals for lone travelers and couples, since most are priced per person) from which you can walk to the bus station. The bus journey, while reliable, is an adventure in itself. The Beamish Museum site gives bus details, but you should also check the bus company site so you can check timetables (schedules) with their convenient journey planner. Be aware that there are two bus stations in central Newcastle, just a block apart, and that you probably need to catch the Beamish bus from the Eldon Square Bus Station, which has a lovely modern indoor waiting area: If in doubt, ask a local. To save money, make time as you walk past the Haymarket Bus Station (the one you won't be catching a bus from) to pop into the Marks and Spencers branch at 77-87 Northumberland Street, where you can pick up a picnic for lunch from their extensive range of ready-to-eat foods. As you board at Eldon Square Bus Station, ask the driver to give you a shout when you get to Beamish—He will. Here's the best part: Show your return bus ticket to the ticket office at Beamish, and you will get a huge discount that includes the cost of the bus travel.

And remember my travel advice for Americans in Britain: If in doubt, ASK. Almost everybody will be friendly and helpful, and you do speak the same language, after all. Well, sort of.

Special Note for Families & Teachers:

Stop in at the Gift Shop. Beamish Museum Shop (at the entrance) sells a wonderful and very affordable activity book, in which you affix stickers of characters from 1913 to photos from the Museum. The whole book then unfolds to make a long wall poster: It's a great souvenir!

P.S. If your travel plans don't extend to the North of England, don't despair. In future postings, I will highlight similar living history museums in other areas of England, and in the U.S.