Historic Royal Palaces announces REVEAL, a groundbreaking heritage science data management initiative funded by UKRI AHRC
Historic Royal Palaces is pleased to announce REVEAL (REsearch Vault for hEritAge science coLlections), with thanks to funding from the newly launched Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science (RICHeS) programme, a major £80 million research and innovation investment from the UKRI Infrastructure Fund and delivered by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The RICHeS programme will unlock the potential of existing heritage collections across the UK and provide access to untapped cultural assets to safeguard and grow the UK’s £29 billion heritage sector.
Historic Royal Palaces is both an independent charity and an Independent Research Organisation that looks after six internationally significant heritage sites and their world-class collections. The REVEAL project will allow Historic Royal Palaces to transform its physical and digital storage facilities and provide an essential platform to conduct and facilitate research initiatives.
As part of REVEAL, four rooms at Hampton Court Palace adjacent to the award-winning Heritage Science Laboratory will be repurposed to provide space for scientific sample storage. The upgrade will improve environmental conditions and storage to facilitate access to over 6,000 samples including:
- paint samples from renowned artists such as Antonio Verrio, Sir James Thornhill and Sir Peter Paul Rubens;
- a unique archive of historic building materials, covering over 1,000 years of architectural history; and
- a significant textile collection, ranging from individual threads to large fragments, offering vital information for the materials and techniques used in the production of historic tapestries, furnishings and costume over a period spanning hundreds of years.
Alongside this physical archive, Historic Royal Palaces will create a comprehensive digital archive to house past and ongoing research data, analysis and digital assets. REVEAL’s project partners will offer crucial input on specialist access needs for a wide range of users, including heritage organisations, academia, industry and practitioners. The REVEAL facility will serve as an important centre for knowledge sharing, offering a range of training opportunities for staff, external users, and students.
Adrian Phillips, Palaces & Collections Director at Historic Royal Palaces, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded funding from the UKRI AHRC’s RICHeS programme to implement our REVEAL initiative. Working together, we will consolidate and enhance accessibility to Historic Royal Palaces’ substantial scientific sample collections through a dedicated physical and digital storage facility. With the REVEAL initiative, we will enhance research and foster partnerships across the heritage science community, strengthening Historic Royal Palaces’ role in advancing heritage science and conservation practices.”
Constantina Vlachou-Mogire, Heritage Science Manager at Historic Royal Palaces, said: “This generous support will enable the Heritage Science Team to undertake important work to catalogue and share our unique samples and data sets with our fellow heritage scientists, curators, academics, students, engineers to facilitate important research. Over the next eighteen months, we look forward to working with our colleagues and external partners to bring this exciting project to life.”
Notes to Editors:
For further information or images, please contact Francesca Whitting on [email protected]
Historic Royal Palaces is a team of people who love and look after six of the most wonderful palaces in the world. We create space for spirits to stir and be stirred. We want everyone to feel welcome and accepted. We tell stories about the monarchs you know and the lives you don’t. We let people explore and we set minds racing. We are a charity and your support gives the palaces a future, for everyone.
Registered charity number 1068852. For more information visit www.hrp.org.uk
About the Arts and Humanities Research Council
The UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funds internationally outstanding independent researchers across the whole range of the arts and humanities: history, archaeology, digital content, philosophy, languages and literature, design, heritage, area studies, the creative and performing arts, and much more. The quality and range of research supported by AHRC works for the good of UK society and culture and contributes both to UK economic success and to the culture and welfare of societies across the globe.
About the UKRI Infrastructure Fund programme
The UKRI Infrastructure Fund supports the facilities, equipment and resources that are essential for researchers and innovators to do ground-breaking work.
This strategic fund helps to create a long-term pipeline of research and innovation infrastructure investment priorities for the next 10 to 20 years. It supports a range of projects from new infrastructures to major upgrades, delivering a step change in infrastructure capability and capacity.
The Infrastructure Fund spans the complete disciplinary spectrum and funds infrastructures located across all of the UK’s regions and nations, and those which form part of major international collaborations.
A full list of the RICHeS Programme Projects
Collections
Material History: Hosting a cross section of National Trust properties and collections
Led by Rebecca Hellen, National Trust
Scotland’s Archaeological Human Remains Collection (SAHRC)
Led by Matthew Knight, National Museums Scotland
Ark of the North: opening up access to animal bone reference collections in northern Scotland
Led by Kate Britton, University of Aberdeen
Establishing Tate’s Conservation and Heritage Science Archive (CHSA)
Led by Louise Lawson, Tate
The Reynolds Digital Research Resource: access to rich heritage science data in its multidisciplinary context and a template for future initiatives
Led by Marika Spring, National Gallery
Biocultural Heritage Information in a Virtual Environment (Biocultural HIVE)
Led by Catriona McKenzie, University of Exeter
University of Sheffield Bioarchaeology Collections (SHEFF BIOARCH)
Led by Umberto Albarella, University of Sheffield
Reconstructing the ancient past: Digital access and visibility of the Garstang distributed collection
Led by Joanne Fitton, University of Liverpool
Advancing Access to the UCL Archaeological Reference Collections (A3RC)
Led by Kevin MacDonald, University College London
Heritage Science Collections Hub: South HSCH:S
Led by Gill Campbell, Historic England
Transforming Access to Mediterranean Cultural Heritage Science Collections
Led by Mark Jackson, Newcastle University
Empowering Safety: Hazardous Materials Awareness, Identification and Management
Led by Michelle Stoddart, Science Museum
HRP REsearch Vault for HEritAge Science CoLlections (REVEAL)
Led by Constantina Vlachou-Mogire, Historic Royal Palaces
Facilities
Coastal and Inland Waters Heritage Science Facility
Led by Fraser Sturt, University of Southampton
BIOARC-HS: Biomolecular tools for Archaeological, Conservation and Heritage Science
Led by Oliver Craig, University of York
Multiscale Heritage X-ray Imaging Centre
Led by Daniel O’Flynn, British Museum
Creating a national integrated mobile and fixed lab for collections, historic buildings and sites
Led by David Thickett, Historic England
Institute for Heritage and Environmental Science: 14CHRONO for RICHeS
Led by Patrick Gleeson, Queen’s University Belfast
Archaeology and the Environment Science Facility (AEonS)
Led by Ingrid Mainland, University of the Highlands and Islands
Retrofit Centre for Traditional Buildings
Led by David Mitchell, Historic Environment Scotland
AHRC Centre for Chemical Characterisation in Heritage Science (C3HS)
Led by Lucy Cramp, University of Bristol
NeMCAS Phase II
Led by Lisa-Marie Shillito, Newcastle University
Accessing Modern and Contemporary Art Materials Research
Led by Bronwyn Ormsbym, Tate
Oxford Collaboration in Heritage Science Research and Engagement (OCHRE)
Led by Heather Viles, University of Oxford
From Land to Sea: a facility for prospection, landscapes and people
Led by Catherine Batt, University of Bradford
Nottingham Heritage Science Gateway (NHSG)
Led by Holly Miller, University of Nottingham
BFI National Archive Moving Image Conservation Research Laboratory (MICRL)
Led by Kieron Webb, British Film Institute
The National Archives Centre for Heritage Science and Conservation Research
Led by Juergen Vervoorst, National Archives
Centre for Digital Modelling and Analysis, for Conservation and Heritage
Led by Benjamin Edwards, Manchester Metropolitan University
PERFFORM: Built Heritage for Communities and Collections
Led by Nicola Emmerson, Cardiff University
Digital Resource Service
Heritage Science Data Service (HSDS)
Led by Julian Richards, University of York
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