Project title: 'Interpreting Penrhyn: How can podcasts be used to communicate the multi-layered narrative of a Welsh Estate?'
Supervised by: Dr Shaun Evans, Professor Andrew Edwards and Dr Steffan Thomas.
Research supported by: Kayla’s project was funded by The Drapers’ Company.
Kayla’s project was a practice-based PhD which created a ‘digital artefact’ – a podcast – capable of communicating multi-layered heritage of the Penrhyn estate in Gwynedd. The research forms part of ISWE’s broader interest in the history of the Penrhyn.
The design of the podcast is informed by a textual analysis of the Penrhyn Castle guidebooks published by the National Trust since the 1950s. This analysis reveals serious deficiencies in how the heritage of the site has been interpreted and presented to visitors, including an underrepresentation of local and Welsh contexts, inadequate reflection on the importance of the Penrhyn Quarry and few references to the site’s connection to transatlantic slavery. This project coincides with a period when the National Trust has also recognised the need to reassess its heritage interpretation of Penrhyn Castle, which makes the research especially timely. The podcast has been selected as an appropriate media for addressing some of the deficiencies: a tool capable of articulating the multi-layered narrative of the estate, including exploration of core historical contexts which occurred beyond the walls of the Castle, and the incorporation of local and academic voices.
Kayla’s multidisciplinary thesis draws from theory and practice in heritage, media studies and tourism as they interact in a digital application directly related to a physical site: Penrhyn. The different episodes of the podcast are separated out into different themes including early history, slate quarrying, slavery, and life at Penrhyn Castle and the estate’s impact today with local communities and the UNESCO World Heritage bid. The narratives interact with other local heritage sites as well as archives and artefacts connected with the estate that are featured throughout the episodes. The podcast is accompanied by the website, which houses additional information about each episode as well as related resources and links, in a way that showcases the multi-layered nature of the estate’s history.
The podcast was developed from theories and practices of digital media and podcasting, with the aim of advancing heritage tourism in north Wales. The project has successfully conveyed Penrhyn’s global and local influences through a methodology which could be reapplied as a best practice model in the heritage sector.
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Kayla is currently a Story Associate with StoryArcs, an AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) programme run by Bath Spa University and partnered with Bournemouth University.