Volunteer Forum

Many thanks to all of you that attended the volunteer forum on the 7th October in the stables. For those of you that were unable to make it, we covered the following points:

• Volunteer survey - 43 volunteers completed the survey this year. Thanks to those of you who completed the survey. The results are featured in detail above as well as in charts located at the end of the newsletter.
• Volunteer portal/website - Beth Bishop outlined the new website, which is in development with the assistance of a focus group of Palace volunteers. The website will enable volunteers to sign up to rotas, keep in touch with the latest news via a blog, and find training materials and updates.  Ultimately this will replace the volunteer newsletter.
• Staff updates - New staff were introduced.  Kate, Miranda, Lucy and Sian gave updates from their areas.  It was confirmed that Pauline McCormack’s secondment as Community Development Officer ends on 31 March 2015.  The volunteer administration will be covered by Lauren Cox, Administrator, and Sian will take over the meetings with the volunteer reps.
• Restoration - Sian outlined the next steps with our lottery bid. We will be submitting on 28 November 2014, and then next year we will hopefully be able to develop our project in more detail. The project will tackle exterior repairs to the Tudor quadrangle, provide a shop/orientation centre and exhibition space in the north wing of Tudor quadrangle, site interpretation, improved paths, tree planting, lots of talks, tours and opportunities for volunteer involvement.
• Visits to other sites - The overwhelmingly most popular option was an annual visit by coach to a site that offers a garden and historic house or visitor experience.  In the first year we’ll look at somewhere like Wisley or Great Dixter. Volunteers said they would be happy to make a nominal contribution to cover transport costs. We’ll be in touch with further information but will aim to organise a trip for May or June next year.  In addition to this staff may well organise smaller trips to London sites accessible by public transport.

Next year's Volunteer Forums have been scheduled, so please check the Calendar to RSVP. 

The Volunteers of Fulham Palace

Anne Hawkins and Karen Thorp - Visitor Reception Assistant Volunteers

Our new Visitor Reception Assistant Volunteers Anne and Karen have been volunteering together for ten years. They met at Osterley Park, and after some changes to the volunteer programme last year, they decided to resign their positions and look for a new place where they could use their experience and skills. They knew Sian from their time at Osterley, and when they discovered Fulham Palace provided the volunteering roles they were looking for they decided to apply. 

In September, they started as Visitor Reception Assistant Volunteers. Anne is a former civil servant who started volunteering when she retired, and Karen is a qualified infant teacher, although these days she is looking after her mum and has just undertaken a part time course in hand embroidery at The Royal School of Needlework. 

How often do you volunteer at Fulham Palace?

Anne: We come once a fortnight.

Karen: On a Sunday morning.

And what are your tasks as visitor reception volunteers?

Karen: We’re directing people. Welcoming people. I think it’s just giving them that nice welcome and answering the questions they do have. If we can! At the moment we haven’t done too many shifts, but basically it’s directing them to the café or the doors to the toilet. Or answering the phone.

Anne: And we were here for the Country Life Fair.

Karen: We are happy to do anything. Within reason!

What are your favourite things about Fulham Palace?

Anne: I love that Tudor Courtyard. I think that’s gorgeous.

Karen: I like the Tudor Courtyard. I think that’s a really nice entrance. But I quite like the fact that you’ve got history. If you look for it, if you know what you’re looking at, you can see how this place has developed.

Anne: History has evolved here. And the grounds are lovely.

Karen: And I quite like the fact that it is not overrun with people.

And what do you enjoy most about volunteering?

Anne: I just like it.

Karen: I think it’s the passing on knowledge and…

Anne: …talking to people. It’s just something nice to do.

Karen: And the variety. Like I said, we’ve done all sorts of things, it’s not just one thing. You get to meet different people. You never really know what is going to happen. It is always a surprise.

The Archaeological Dig

The Walled Garden Orchard Community Archaeological dig started on the 6th October for 3 weeks. This dig was to investigate the archaeology in the quadrant where the new orchard trees were being planted.

 In order to grow an orchard with horticultural promise and longevity we needed to have our apple trees grafted on a rootstock that would withstand our more extreme soil conditions.  Rootstocks are what apple varieties are grafted onto and influence the growth habit of the tree.  The semi vigorous rootstock, MM106, is the best rootstock for poorer soils.  However by using it we run a greater risk of the roots penetrating the archaeology, compared with a less vigorous rootstock such as the semi dwarf M26 or dwarf M9.  Therefore English Heritage agreed the orchard under the condition we dug 90cm deep under the supervision of qualified archaeologists, and then lined the hole with a permeable fabric but one that will not allow any adventurous roots to go any deeper into of the soil where we might find Roman remains. 

 The finds from the dig included a Roman pot lid still intact indicating possible Roman domestic activity, a Tudor coin, a blade from the Stone Age, and a Roman coin.  Thank you very much to all the archaeological volunteers that helped investigate the pits supervised by archaeologists from Pre Construct Archaeology.