Heritage education programme at Orleans House Gallery

Together with London's Arcadia - The Thames Landscape Strategy in Action! we are offering a programme of workshops which aim to encourage the use of local heritage sites and the historic Thames landscape as exciting and versatile resources for learning across a number of curriculum areas.

If you would like more information about any of the workshops, please contact Miranda Stearn, Heritage Education Coordinator, on 02088316485. Workshops are charged at £2 per pupil, with a minimum charge of £45 per group.

Garrick's Temple to Shakespeare also offers wonderful opportunities for inspiring school trips supporting a range of curriculum areas. For more information visit the temple website, contact Miranda as above or download the teachers' pack here (MS Word, 34KB).

Take One House KS1-3

Spanning History and Art and Design curricula, these engaging workshops use creative activities to explore the history of the Orleans House Gallery site as a case study for how the use of buildings and land changes over time, and focuses on our local area. Pupils explore the concept of time and the history of the site through images from the Borough Art Collection, then take part in site exploration, using a range of media to record their findings, which are incorporated into a collaborative work of art reflecting the site’s history. Pupils work in groups to act out key moments from the building’s history. These workshops support Art & Design across all key stages and are particularly relevant to the History KS2 local history study.

Our Landscape KS1-4

These workshops use discussion, art and a riverside walk to explore how the Arcadian Thames landscape has been shaped throughout history, why it is special to us today, and how we can keep it special. Participants have the opportunity to meet and interview someone responsible for looking after the local landscape.

Literacy in the Landscape KS1-4

These workshops explore the landscape as an inspiration for various writing, reading and speaking tasks. They explore how the Richmond river landscape has inspired writers in the past and how descriptive and persuasive writing can be used to capture and communicate the landscape’s special qualities. Workshops include a walk to the river, and a writing exercise inspired by the walk. The writers and writing tasks will be age-appropriate and may involve persuasive writing, poetry and song lyrics. The activities can be tailored to focus upon poetry or persuasive writing as desired.

Trade and Taste KS1-4

These creative workshops begin at Marble Hill House, with a follow-up activity at Orleans House Gallery. The newly-created Chinoiserie displays at Marble Hill House are used to explore the links between international trade and decorative fashions, looking at how styles from across the globe came to decorate English homes. Pupils investigate how decorative patterns work and will have the opportunity to create their own pattern book of wallpapers inspired both by the Chinese designs at Marble Hill, works in the collection and local nature observed on the walk between the sites. These workshops support Art & Design across all key stages and are particularly relevant to the History KS2 local history study and History KS3 ‘Britain 1750-1900’.

Neighbourhood Watch KS1-3

This visit introduces pupils to three riverside houses and encourages them to explore why they were built, how they characterised the local area, and how their uses have changed over time. Pupils visit Marble Hill House, look across at Ham House then visit Orleans House Gallery. They identify the three houses on maps and in historic images, then divide into groups to create artwork on the theme of ‘what if?’ imagining the river without the historic houses.

Homes and Habitats KS1-2

These workshops explore the co-existence of man and wildlife along our stretch of the Thames. Participants use maps and aerial photographs to identify green areas and discuss previous uses (eg royal hunting grounds, private estates), how these areas have been preserved as green spaces and why this is important. They then explore one habitat in the grounds of Orleans House or Marble Hill, using a checklist to record both wildlife and human activity. This information is used to create a display about these ‘residents’ of these historic properties. The focus on understanding the origins of the ‘green’ borough we now enjoy makes the workshop particularly relevant to the KS2 requirement for a local history study.

Hidden Histories KS1-3

These workshops explore social history and life ‘behind the scenes’ in local riverside properties, with a particular emphasis upon the Victorian era. Participants are encouraged to think about the many different people whose stories contribute to the history of the site, how we can find out about their lives, and how national or local events might have affected them. The workshops are based at Orleans House Gallery but may incorporate evidence from other local properties such as Marble Hill House and Ham House. Hidden Histories could be combined with a visit to Twickenham Museum, a local 18th century riverman’s cottage, to give a broader picture of life in the very different kinds of riverside home.

What has the slave trade got to do with us? KS2-4

Carnival woman with sugar cane crown. Sculpture by Carl Gabriel.

During these workshops pupils explore local links to the slave trade and abolition through looking at a range of historical sources, before taking part in a collaborative art activity thinking about the crops grown by slaves and consumed in England during the era of the Transatlantic slave trade.

Our approach

Our approach has been to take a theme or concept relating to the local heritage landscape as the starting point, and then develop a workshop that allows pupils to explore the theme in a creative, meaningful, enjoyable way, while at the same time gaining skills, knowledge and experience that contribute directly to National Curriculum programmes of study for their age group. This is what we mean by a cross-curricula programme; one which looks beyond the curriculum at the same time as responding to it to arrive at a richer exploration of issues and ideas relating to our local heritage.