Tool Audit Collection at Chatham Dockyard

During the month of February I was fortunate enough to secure a placement working at Chatham Historic dockyard in the Tool Audit and Collection department. The school For Fine Art and Music is located on the Dockyard so it was a brilliant opportunity to gain more knowledge about my surroundings while at the same time gaining more experience in the Art Heritage sector. I am very interested in working as an Art teacher and promoting Arts within my local community so I considered gaining more knowledge about my local community a privilege.  Many of my colleagues shared their experiences that they had working at the dockyard and even gave me an insight into how their relatives and close families once worked at the dockyard during the War. 

My role was varied it included assisting with collection data reporting with hand tools collection, enhancing the museums database, writing accurate object descriptions  and photography. Assisting with the careful moving and handling of historic objects and the completion of condition reports for collection items. All of this preparation and documentation of the tools was in preparation of upcoming exhibitions.

Condition Reporting

A picture of me writing a condition report about a caulking mallet .A caulking mallet was used to drive a caulking iron into ships. The caulking irons were used by caulkers in order to seal gaps between timbers in order to make ships water tight.

All the historic items were historically specific to Chatham Dockyard. I had to write a condition report in order to document the condition of the objects in order to record if they were fit for exhibition. Some of the objects had been donated by former admirals or family members so often prior owners were unaware of the value of such items and as a result of age and negligence some objects had rotted, rusted or been badly damaged. Once I had finished a condition report I had to file it away in order to create a uncatalogued so that it was organised and easy to access. I was also had to archive the objects away in the store room. All the objects had to be handled with care I had to handle all items with specialist gloves so that the oil from my fingers didn’t contribute to the erosion or chemical wear of the various objects.  I learnt a lot from my peers they  were very helpful in advising me how to identify various tools correctly. I also referred to several reference books entitled: Identifying tool- Encyclopedia Handbook.

 

Objects stored away after been condition reported, they  archived away in a logic and orderly manner and packaged in order to protect the item from the elements and pests.

 Tools  have been processed and  are boxed away and stored on specific shelves.

This is an example of a condition report. As you can see above it is a detailed process that included not only identifying the object but also being specific about its physical appearance, the materials it is made from, dimensions and its archival location.

Objects in boxes on the floor are objects that were donated by members of the public and needed to be condition reported, photographed, organised and stored away on the correct shelf.

Tools such a magnifying glass enabled me to pick up specific details, designs, marking, scratches makers marks or initials that were branded on engraved on the tools. The various brushes were used in order to remove heavy dust or flaking rust so that the tool could be inspected closely.

The ultraviolet light revealed pitting, scratches or staining that I was unable to inspect otherwise.

 Business Archiving

I also learnt a lot about conservation it is a vital process that is implemented in order to slow down the process of  aging relic materials, documentation and items. Not only did I have to handle objects with gloves as part of conservation but I had to write using a pencil. This was because the chemicals in pen ink can wear way and damage relics. The store rooms also had to be temperature controlled in order to stop pests breeding which could contaminate the collection.

With regards to the business archiving I had to sort through secular files such as menus from the Colonel House business lunches and dinners.I  filed away the menus into chronological order and removed irrelevant papers and documents such as multiple copies of the menus.

Myself filing and cataloguing business files. The menus had to put in chronological order so that the contemporary chef and businesses could refer to the documents.

Store House of business documents we all had to work as a team in order to each organise a box of business documents.

Library Archiving

The library is a public reading space at the Dockyard that can only be viewed by  appointment. All the books in stock are maritime based and are based on topics such as: whaling, boat engineering and maritime Art. I wrote condition reports on historic bound newspapers entitled: Medway and Chatham Gillingham times.  The newspapers were all in various conditions some were ripped, had cases of mould, scuffed pages, folds and scratches. I also photographed this in order to increase the accuracy of information on the database.

Condition reports for bound volume newspaper articles.Colleague carefully handling and inspecting the bound newspapers.

 A closer look at a condition report for bound newspaper articles.

            

Making a database inserting data from condition reports onto and

xcel spreadsheet.

The spreadsheet.

Photographs of the library.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the role.It was really interesting discovering elements of the past and then trying to make connections with things in the present. Similarly, one of my  colleagues studied Fine Art and gained experience while on her course which helped her to secure a role working in conservation in the business  archiving department.Gaining insight into the progress of how to gain a role within Arts Heritage was really  insightful.I also did my best to be proactive and keep busy so that I able to gain the most skills from the placement.I gained deeper analytical, contextual knowledge and a greater attention to detail. I found the whole experience extremely beneficial and having the bursary scheme was really helpful in making sure that I was able to  secure the role for a specific set of time.Therefore,I would highly recommend the scheme to other students.