A new exhibition in the Special Collections Gallery of the University’s Hartley Library will reveal aspects of daily life over the years at one of Hampshire’s greatest and best known country houses.
The exhibition entitled ‘Everybody is in admiration of it: Broadlands‚ a country house in Hampshire’ runs from Monday, 30 January to Friday, 30 March. The exhibition will feature vignettes of daily life drawn from family correspondence and the records of domestic service, horticulture and farming along with engravings and other illustrations of the estate taken from the Broadlands Archives.
The University has now completed the acquisition of the Broadlands Archives – one of the most significant manuscript collections in the UK – which have been on loan since 1989. Stored in purpose-built facilities, the collection is publicly available and has been used by researchers from around the world. With documents dating from the 16th century to the present, the Broadlands Archives shed unique light on historic events surrounding the estate, its many distinguished inhabitants, and its relationships with the local community.
The Archives were secured thanks to a major fund-raising campaign mounted by the University launched in November 2009. The campaign attracted a significant award of nearly £2m from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) with major support from a number of benefactors including Hampshire County Council and The John Hansard Trust and the generosity of members of the public. To complete the acquisition, the government has announced the allocation to the University of the papers of Earl and Countess Mountbatten of Burma, which were accepted for the nation in lieu of inheritance tax.
The exhibition, ‘Everybody is in admiration of it’ – Broadlands a country house in Hampshire, runs from Monday, 30 January to Friday, 30 March in the Special Collections Gallery, Level 4, Hartley Library, University of Southampton Highfield Campus. The exhibition is open from 10.00am to 4.00pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). Admission is free. Visitors may be asked for proof of identity by reception staff.