Dr Richard A. Keogh’s lecture on the war memorial within the walls of the university campus looked at the personal stories behind the names on the memorial itself.  The representation of non-soldiers on the memorial created the sense that this was a more personal memorial that meant something to the people of the Digby Stuart College at the time.

This creates a  link between the war memorial and the sisters or students of the college at the time of war. With the potential to consider this further focusing on the war effort back home vs the war effort on the front. This is especially prominent when you consider the impact of St George’s Hospital with dealing with the wounded especially regarding prosthetics. There even appears to be a link to the hospital as one of the inscriptions states that a woman died due to heartbreak from the loss of her sons and due to her work in the hospital. It is refreshing to see the memorialisation of a woman present on the home front and the impact the war had on her in terms of her family and the work she undertook.

Another interesting aspect is the hidden nature of the memorial, after only recently being given listed status. The fact that the local community has very little if any interaction with the memorial diminishes its former glory and removes the function, commemoration and memorialisation of all the people present on the memorial.

When thinking about questions and aspects to potentially consider for project ideas, I would be interested in considering the relationship between the names on the memorial and their connection with the people working within the college at the time. Or potentially looking at the impact if any of the Digby Stuart College on St George’s hospital.

This lecture was led by Susan Deacy in the Adam room of Grove House. It was an interesting session as the topic linked more with my degree than some of the other lectures we have had.It was amazing to see the impact of Classics on the design and interior decoration of the Adam room along with the other examples of this type of artwork in similar houses.I was particularly interested in the temple that is currently located on Mount Clare. The fact that there was a temple that had a relief that copies part of the Parthenon frieze before the Parthenon frieze came to the UK is unbelievable. It is quite upsetting that the Temple has fallen into disrepair due to a lack of money to restore it especially because it is such a unique aspect of the architecture of Roehampton.

When thinking about project ideas, this week had me again thinking about the restoration and care of the buildings that we have on campus. We have all these wonderful buildings that no one knows about and due to this, they are falling further into disrepair. I am hoping that through my project I can hopefully spark some more people’s interest in the history of our university and more towards the conservation of the unique buildings we occupy. Also, it would be quite interesting to consider why these temples and representations of mythological stories were represented and if they had a specific link to the people that occupied the house at the time they were installed.

Below is a video of Susan Deacy giving a talk on the fireplace in the Adams room and the classical reception behind the image of Hercules at the crossroads.

Exploring the Campus with Gilly King was really interesting. I enjoyed envisioning the changes on the campus throughout its long history. The amount of historic buildings we have seems unreal, especially since you don’t even notice some of them (especially the ice house).

I really enjoyed hearing the stories of the people who lived and owned the buildings. This was especially interesting regarding the Mausoleum of the Lyne-Stephens ‘family’.

I also enjoyed learning about the restoration work which has taken place so far and what still needs restoring. Another part of today’s lecture that sparked my interest was how important Digby Stuart College was considered to the Nazi Regime. The fact that it was radio broadcasted that Elm Grove would be bombed and the reality that it was hit 4 times.

Thinking in terms of research project ideas, I think I am more interested in the personal experience of people within the colleges. So, potentially looking at a series of accounts of women that were residents and students during a specific time-period. Potentially looking at some students from the post-war period within the Digby Stuart College, considering the archive accounts.

Growhampton with current students working in the allotment and gardens of campus

This was an informative week, especially as we were inside an archive and could see the types of resources available for us to use and how to access them. The online database seems an important resource for searching for sources that will be useful for the final project, although this is only relevant when looking in Froebel’s archive as the other archives are yet to have full online access.

Children playing outside in the Froebel College

In terms of project ideas, I really enjoyed reading about the daily routine of the girls of Froebel college, and how they woke at 6am and then had to clean their rooms before breakfast. This was especially interesting when you compare the daily routines of current students with the routines of past students, with many students refusing to get up for 10am lectures let alone tidying up before heading to lecture.

The Roehampton Hockey team in a recent Facebook post

The archives allow for the presence of an individual to be seen within a larger institution. This is what interests me in terms of drawing parallels between the work of an individual within the University and the effect one person can have on a larger institution. Or reversing this and looking at the effect the institution could have on an individual.

While in the archive today I thought about the parallels between the outdoor and gardening education happening under the Froebelian framework of the 1900’s with the ongoing work of the hive and GrowHampton. Also looking at the difference in the sporting activities between the Froebelian college

The Froebel College Hockey Team

and Sport Roehampton today. All these differences and similarities have given me an idea in doing a comparative study of extra-curricular activities in the 1900’s with those of today’s university.