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The REVEAL project announced by Historic Royal Palaces

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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