Advice for Applying to Attingham Trust’s Summer School
Mok O’Keeffe is studying for his PhD in Country House Studies at Buckingham University, focusing on the country house as a place of refuge for the queer community. Mok regularly speaks in the press about royal news and LGBT history, and also hosts ‘History Out Of The Closet’ on Glitterbeam radio every Sunday. Connect with him on Instagram @gayaristo
In this post Mok offers advice for applying to the Attingham Trust’s Summer School which will run from 29th June to 14th July 2024. The closing date is 28th January 2024. The course fees include all accommodation, most meals, travel to houses via coach, and all lectures and house entry costs.
The Attingham Trust 2024 Summer School is now open for applications and, as an alumni of the 2023 programme, I wanted to share my experience with the group. It’s a 16-day residential tour of country houses, that has run for over 70 years. According to Attingham, their summer school has three main purposes:
To EXAMINE the architectural and social history of the historic house in Britain and its gardens and landscape setting.
To STUDY the contents of these buildings – their paintings, sculpture, furniture, ceramics, silver, textiles and other applied arts – as well as the planning, decorative treatment and use of the interiors.
To STIMULATE debate on problems relating to the conservation and presentation of the country house and its contents.
Firstly the application process. You can apply online and I would recommend that you think hard about what you can bring to the programme, as well as what you hope to learn. My current field of research at The University of Buckingham focusses on The Country House as a place of refuge for the Queer Community and through my social media on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube as @gayaristo, I was able to bring these two new perspectives to programme. There is intense competition for places and many people are not successful on their first attempt. The programme is expensive, but if you are concerned about the fees, Attingham do offer bursary places and many of my fellow travellers had accessed these funds.
From 1st- 16th July 2023 I was immersed into the world of the Country House. We visited 18 historic buildings, accompanied by world experts. We met owners, curators, archivists and conservationists. We had access to archive material and many spaces not open to the public. Two particular memories for me, were being on the roof at Hardwick Hall and wandering around a closed Chatsworth House, having had a tour of the private apartments from Lord Burlington. My fellow students were very international. We had curators, auction house specialists, furniture specialists and directors of historic sites in Europe and the USA. The quality of the discussion, and the safe space to ask questions and explore each other’s passions, was exceptional.
Alongside the house visits, there are a series of lectures. The list of lecturers is too long to mention, but a few highlights for me were Annabel Westman on Textiles in the Country House, Tessa Wilde on Women in the Country House, Michael Hall on the National Trust and its association with the LGBTQ+ community and British landed estates and the link to enslavement with Dr Susanne Seymour.
This is no holiday. Days are long – up to 12 hours a day, with only one evening off during the entire two weeks. I have a Sunday night radio show, so I didn’t even get an evening to rest, as I had to record this. Work and family life needs to be kept at a distance if you are going to get the most out of the experience. On returning home, delegates are asked to write a short essay on their reflection. I wrote about the need to maintain relevancy in an increasingly digital age, but the topic is entirely your own choice.
I cannot recommend The Attingham Summer School highly enough. You are cared for, educated and have a stella alumni network for life. If you have ever considered applying, I urge you to do so. You may need a holiday on your return, but you will never look at a Country House in quite the same way again.