In this volunteer spotlight, Ellie Denton gives an insight into her experience as a recent university graduate volunteering with IGMT, and discusses how she researched for and curated a new display in the Iron Bridge Tollhouse for Black History Month.
Since I graduated from my Fine Art degree, I knew I wanted to assist in creating displays and exhibits for people, and that what I enjoyed doing most was creating something that can be shared with others and evolved into memorable experiences for many people.
I decided to pursue a postgraduate degree linked to the museum, gallery and heritage sector, and I went straight to study an MA in Curating Art at Newcastle University. Once I submitted my final dissertation in September, on a quiet Tuesday, in my family home in Telford, I felt elated but nevertheless… distraught. The safety blanket of academia had suddenly been swiped away. I knew I definitely wanted a career in museums and galleries, but unfortunately I quickly learned that landing a job in a museum or gallery straight out of university is not actually that easy.
I knew that what could help me in that moment was to volunteer. Volunteering is a fantastic tool to help get further experiences in the sector, and gain practical skills that you can take with you wherever you want to go.
Ellie Denton, a recent MA Curating Art graduate, and current volunteer in the Collections and Learning department at IGMT.
The Ironbridge Tollhouse, one of 10 sites looked after by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.
To gain more hands-on experience in the sector, I decided to volunteer at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust. Shropshire has a rich history and Ironbridge is the birthplace of industry, and I wanted to be a part of sharing this story. I was grateful to find a role perfectly suited to my interests, and I have since started as a Volunteer Interpretation Assistant where I am working with Kyla Hislop, the Interpretation Curator. I have so far been given the enriching opportunity of curating and researching my own display for Black History Month, situated in the Tollhouse on the Iron Bridge.
For this work I independently researched and hand-picked items of interest from the collections and archive database, which included letters between Darby family members outlining their involvement in the Abolitionist Movement as Quakers, a diary entry detailing a Black miner named John Peters who worked at the Madeley Wood Company, a poem written by the famous Black poet Phillis Wheatley, and a clay pipe referencing the prevalence of the tobacco slave trade at the time.
The display was centred around one main acquisition, a cast iron tobacco box depicting the commonly used Abolitionist symbol designed by English potter Josiah Wedgewood: a Black man kneeling in a begging position with his hands in chains. This symbol is controversial, as it reinforced a negative racial stereotype - that Black people are subservient - in order to appeal to a wider white audience and convert people to the Abolitionist cause.
It was important to outline that the historical objects and archive may contain these harmful, inaccurate depictions of African and African diasporic communities. However, it felt important to also balance these with more positive Black history stories, for example by displaying Phillis Wheatley’s poem and her success as a poet, and information about John Peter’s life- a rare case of a Black worker in the mines.
As well as researching items from the archive, I helped transcribe letters and diary entries and wrote the interpretation labels.
Ellie transcribed letters in the IGMT Archives, and found references to the 'Female Anti-Slavery Society' in a letter to Lucy Darby.
Ellie's grandmother after she had moved to London.
Working on a display for Black History Month has a lot of personal meaning for me. My Grandmother, fondly known as ‘Grandie’, was Cape Coloured and lived in South Africa during the Apartheid (lasting from 1948-1994). Cape Coloured people descend from a broad mixture of ethnicities: Khosian people (who lived in Western South Africa), Asian/African slaves brought to South Africa, European settlers and other African cultures.
My Grandmother fell under the ‘Coloured’ racial group during the Apartheid. Coloured people were forced to have their land confiscated, they were prohibited from voting, marrying, and having sexual relations with people from other racial groups. Many were forced to relocate to poorer areas, and had restricted movement. However, my Grandmother was lucky and managed to leave South Africa.
Grandie settled in London in the 1950s, where she was able to start a new life for herself, get married and start a family. It was then later in her life that she decided to move to Ironbridge, and most likely visited the Tollhouse herself.
The last step of making the display was the installation, which came with its own challenges. I curated and arranged the panels and objects in a way that made sense for readers, and looked visually appealing. It was the first time I saw the objects in person, which was exciting. I was responsible for handling the objects and arranging them in the display case myself, and altogether it is so great to see the whole display come together- a display that I helped make!
I hope that this new Tollhouse display will shine a light on the importance of remembering and discovering Black hidden histories. I am so grateful to the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust for allowing me to work on this important project with the Interpretation Curator, and I look forward to helping out with further work at IGMT!
Checking for any final adjustments that need to be made to the case contents.
The completed display.
This new temporary display can be viewed at the Iron Bridge Tollhouse during opening hours:
Mon - Sun, 10am - 4pm.
For more details about opening times and accessibility, please visit the Iron Bridge & Tollhouse dedicated page:
