Using historical research to increase visitor engagement at the National Trust

While working with the National Trust at Quarry Bank, Manchester's Professor Hannah Barker saw the impact that academic research had in informing interpretation of a large heritage organisation.

Professor Barker’s research changed the way the historical story of Quarry Bank is told. Previously, visitors mainly learnt about the owners of the mill and the production of cotton. Now, they are more actively invited into the lives of families who lived and worked on the estate during the Industrial Revolution. 

Identifying new partnership opportunities

Working with Barker, Dr Ben Wilcock was appointed as the Academic Engagement and Research Coordinator (KTP Associate) for the project. He worked to evaluate existing collaborations in the National Trust’s north region – identifying ways to develop new partnerships between the organisation and academics, and developing practical guidance to allow this work to be scaled up to the wider organisation.

Increased engagement with Quarry Bank

As a result of ongoing collaborations between the University and the National Trust, new spaces have been interpreted and opened to the public at Quarry Bank and other sites. The tools and guidance generated by the KTP resulted in new relationships between National Trust properties and universities across the north. 
 
The new interpretation has changed the way visitors respond to Quarry Bank. The focus on lived experience, particularly living conditions and past meanings of home and family, has strengthened visitors’ emotional engagement with the Bank’s past residents.  Visitors now spend longer there and increasingly make repeat visits to the site. 
 
Barker created detailed guidance and led training sessions for National Trust staff and volunteers, who play a key role in interpreting the site for the public. Staff and volunteers have been empowered and enthused to share this new knowledge with visitors. One staff member commented that Barker’s resources provided the “foundation of the stories that we […] tell” about the site. 
 

Securing future investment

In practical terms, the project has made a key contribution to the financial viability of the site.  Between 2015 and 2020, Quarry Bank’s visitor numbers increased by 53%, with increased onsite spending also recorded. These factors will help to fund future investment in the conservation and maintenance of this site of major historical importance.    
 
Dr Wilcock is now employed by the National Trust as their Academic Partnership Manager for the north region, where he is using the tools and framework developed during the KTP to support reinterpretation and new discoveries across the Trust’s portfolio. 
 
As a result of the tools and guidance developed through the KTP, new relationships have been established, leading to joint research and interpretation projects, Collaborative Doctoral Awards, and successful joint-funding bids to UKRI bodies.