Seized Grenada Documents

Where are the Original Seized Grenada Documents?

Two interesting new developments related to documents seized by U.S. forces when the invaded  Grenada in 1983 during their "Operation Urgent Fury" - one is a fully declassified National Security Directive newly available online and the second are meeting notes recently obtained via FOIA that indicate that at least some original documents from Grenada remain at the U.S. National Archives.

(1) Reagan's Fully Declassified National Security Decision Directive No. 112 Now Available Online

The new, fully declassified version of a November 1983 National Security Decision Directive signed by President Ronald Reagan called "Processing and Disposition of Documents Acquired by US Forces in Grenada" that is now available online from the Federation of American Scientists here.

An earlier redacted version that has been online for years (available here) already provided an interesting illustration of the breadth of issues for which the US thought captured documents from Grenada would be relevant.  The three paragraphs that were redacted in the earlier version, but which are available now, relate to the following issues:

First, is the issue of U.S. classified documents found among the documents "captured" in Grenada:

It has been suggested that this may have been redacted because the documents could present special sensitivities as they may be relevant to counterintelligence investigations, including the possibility that someone within the U.S. government had provided access to them.  A related issue came up when the interagency intelligence exploitation team -- assembled pursuant to Reagan's directive -- submitted its initial evaluation of the captured documents in December 1983.  In the last paragraph of a cover memo (available here) from Robert Gates (then Chairman of the National Intelligence Council), to Robert MacFarlane (then Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs), Gates noted:

Mr. Roy Godson of your staff informed us that there was great interest in the "American" connection to the documents. We have discussed this with the FBI liaison contact and propose that you task the Attorney General directly with pursuing this issue. We do not think a discussion of the involvement of US citizens in Grenada should be included in any paper prepared by the Intelligence Community.

The initial version of the "Interagency Intelligence Assessment" enclosed with that memo entitled "Grenada: A First Look at Mechanisms of Control and Foreign Involvement" is here and a later updated version from August 1984 is here (both courtesy of the CIA FOIA reading room).

Second, there is a previously redacted paragraph dealing with topic of forensic examination of the "captured" documents including even, of all things, the type of paper and ink used:

This provides another example of a situation in which copies of captured documents are inadequate substitutes for originals. As discussed in an earlier post, the forensic exploitation of captured documents and media has been made increasingly important over time.  See, as an example, this FBI Laboratory report from 2008 about documents seized from Afghanistan.

Third, the final, previously-redacted paragraph relates to the question of returning the documents:

The issue of the return of the documents leads to the second development . . .

(2) Original Seized Grenada Documents Still at U.S. National Archives?

The original documents seized from Grenada were supposedly returned to us here in Grenada long ago.  No less than The Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States expressly states in a note in RG 373: "The original Grenada documents have been returned to the Grenadan government" (microfiche copies are in RG 242).  There has been a bit of a mystery about what happened to them upon their return - see, for example, the Grenada Revolution Online's informative page on the documents here which states:

Rumor at one point put the original Grenada documents in Grenada around August 1985 and housed at Police Headquarters. Since that time was the damaging passing over Grenada of Hurricane Ivan, 7 September 2004. The location, condition and accession of the original Grenada Documents remains obscured, to say the least.

Given this, it came as quite a surprise when recently received documents via FOIA included notes from recent meetings involving the National Archives that contained notations such as this:

and this:

which appear to indicate that there are original Grenada records at Archives II in College Park.  The note "why are the originals here" even suggests some surprise on behalf of the undisclosed notetaker.

To be clear, this is not necessarily inconsistent with the return of most, if not almost all, of the originals to Grenada. The notes above could perhaps be referring to a small number of documents that may have been withheld from the original return -- possibly for some of the same reasons the passages in Reagan's directive had been redacted or based on other "national security" concerns.  There is also a State Department records schedule, N1-353-90-3 (available here), related to a "Grenada Task Force" that identifies "3-4 feet" of captured documents (perhaps original) that were transferred to NARA, which could provide another explanation:

Despite these possible explanations, the notes nevertheless raise some interesting questions that would profit from clarification. If anyone has additional information about original Grenada documents in the U.S. or the fate of those returned to Grenada, I'd be grateful to hear from you.

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Preservation: Book and Paper Conservation Laboratory

Planning to Constructing a Book and Paper Conservation Laboratory?

A wonderful example of a conservation laboratory which opened after a long process of several years of planning and construction, is the Brooklyn College Library's lab. They were lucky in receiving a Comprehensive Community Action Program grant for the creation of the lab, it was much needed for constructing a space devoted to the effective conservation and protection of rare and special materials in the library.  Slava Polishchuk, conservator at Brooklyn College since 1990, oversaw this state-of-the-art facility.

In 2002, the Preservation unit at the Special Collections was established at Brooklyn College which is the only CUNY institution to have both a conservator and a conservation laboratory.















It was in 2005 that Special Collections of The Brooklyn College Library received its grant of $300,000 to expand and build a Book & Paper Conservation Laboratory, completed with additional conservation equipment by the end of 2008.

The Preservation Laboratory is responsible for the care of all paper-based materials in the Special Collections, including books, maps, manuscripts, posters, photographs, personal letters and documents. Conservation activities include dry-cleaning, washing, deacidification, mending, rebinding, pamphlet binding, encapsulation, paper repair, construction of protective enclosures, including several types of boxes, and tape removal. The Conservation and Preservation Laboratory monitors the temperature and relative humidity in the Special Collections and throughout the library.

Conservation Lab Opening



New Conservation Lab Saves Printed Matter

"The addition of the Conservation Lab will contribute to the preservation of the library’s precious holdings and benefit students as well as faculty."

Polishchuk shows Mylar-preserved book pages to Professor Irwin Weintraub of the Library (center) and Provost Tramontano.

Polishchuk restores bindings and covers of books—some of which are four-hundred-year-old—to resemble their original form and creates slipcases for fragile, fine, or fantastic volumes. With a custom-designed space, at least five times as large as his former atelier, he will be able to work on more projects at a time—not only books, but photographs, maps, and posters, which can be washed clean in a bathtub-size sink and dried on special racks. If books cannot be saved, Polishchuk seals their pages in Mylar. "You lose the book as an object," he said, "but the information is still accessible."

Polishchuk with former NYS Assemblywoman Adele Cohen.

An additional, if immaterial, way to preserve records, is now feasible. With the recent donation of a huge adjustable bed scanner, the lab can image photographs or books of any size. Soon a selection of the collections will be online. Since the material may not be removed from the library, Internet access will benefit scholars everywhere. "It will democratize the archive," said archivist Marianne LaBatto.

To leave a legacy, the lab will do more than repair the collection. "The Conservation Lab will afford the opportunity to offer students enrolled in our interdisciplinary Archival Studies and Community Documentation (ASCD) minor a comprehensive course, cum workshop, in book and paper conservation".

"Generally, such a concentration is available only to graduate students seeking library master’s degrees or certificates in archival management, but this is the first to offer this specialized course of study to undergraduates."



There is a short guide available giving some advise on Planning and Constructing Book and Paper Conservation Laboratories, which is edited by Jennifer Hain Teper and Eric Alstrom.



The first book of its kind to be written on this topic with contributions from thirteen conservation professionals.



Overall, this book contains practical and technical advice for establishing, remodeling and updating book and paper conservation labs. Although the book is targeted to institutional book conservators, many of the chapters—especially Design and Layout, Water Purification, Lighting,  Ventilation and Exhaust, Ergonomic Considerations for Equipment, and Considerations for Private Book Labs—are likely to be of use to private practice book conservators and bookbinders.



Chapter ten specifically deals with the challenges of smaller or private practices, and includes many practical tips on evaluating and procuring used tools and equipment. It also discusses the pros and cons of industrial, store-front and home-based labs. It tends to view private practice labs as more personal than institutional ones, but they should present a professional image to the public which reinforces the ethical, conscientious conservation services performed within them. Additionally, it offer advice for fitting a fully outfitted lab into a small space. Much of the information in the chapter can be applied to book conservation labs and binderies.



Contents: (chapters 1 and 7 are available free)

1. Project Management for the Construction of Conservation Laboratories- Donia Conn



2. Design and Layout- Eric Alstrom



3. Special Collections, General Collections, and Hybrid Conservation Laboratories-Whitney Baker



4. Water Purification and Treatment- Jennifer Hain Teper



5. Lighting- Diane Vogt-O’Connor



6. Laboratory Ventilation and Exhaust Systems- Laura McCann and Kristen St. John



7. Custom-Built Furniture and Equipment- Shannon Zachary and Gillian Boal



8. Ergonomic Considerations for Furniture and Equipment- Heather S. Caldwell



9. Quarantine and Segregation Rooms- Ramona Duncan-Huse



10. Special Considerations for Private Book Conservation Laboratories- Jeffrey S. Peachey



11. Special Considerations for Paper Conservation Laboratories- Claire Hoevel

This book can be purchased from the American Library Association store.



Planning and Constructing Book and Paper Conservation Labs, Edited by Jennifer Hain Teper and Eric Alstrom. 230 pp, Published by ALCTS, 6 x 9″, Softcover, ISBN-13: 978-0-8389-8601-1, $67.95, 2012.

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Our Heritage: Leslie "Hutch" Hutchinson Remembered

English Heritage Blue Plaque for Leslie "Hutch" Hutchinson

Leslie "Hutch" Hutchinson

A lost daughter rediscovers her Grenadian heritage and that a father she never knew was the link to our island - at one time considered a great cabaret stars of the twentieth century, then to have died in almost total obscurity - now to be honoured at his old London home in England.



The singer and pianist Leslie Hutchinson (1900-1969) – known to all as ‘Hutch’ – was commemorated with an English Heritage blue plaque at 31 Steele’s Road, Chalk Farm, London in England - this was his home from 1929 to 1967. The plaque was unveiled by Hutch’s daughter Gabrielle Markes on Friday 5th October 2012 at 3pm.

Blue plaque to Leslie "Hutch" Hutchinson

Daughter Gabrielle Markes said:

“I was born 1930, taken away at birth and placed in a nursing home pending adoption. As soon as I was able, I began the long struggle to discover my parentage, and finally discovered in my middle-age, that Leslie Hutchinson - fondly known as Hutch - was my father. Further research led me to propose to English Heritage that a blue plaque be placed on the house that Hutch lived in for almost four decades. This ceremony is a very special day for me, and is the culmination of over 60 years searching for the truth."

Early Years

Hutch was one of the most popular cabaret entertainers of the 1930s and took London’s café society by storm. He created a stir by arriving at nightclubs with a white piano strapped to his chauffeur-driven car, dressed like an aristocrat, and dazzled audiences with his brilliance at the piano keyboard. Hutch’s skill in singing popular songs with sincerity and his ability to shift between West Indian, black Harlem, white American and upper-class English idioms, ensured that he had a wide appeal. His success was achieved in spite of racial prejudice – he was often asked to arrive by the servants’ entrance when invited to play at grand Mayfair houses.



Born at Gouyave, Grenada 7 March 1900 to George Hutchinson and Marianne (née Turnbull), Leslie Arthur Julien Hutchinson was introduced to music by his father and took up piano from an early age. He left school at sixteen and after a brief spell as a civil servant, moved to New York where he played piano at parties. He had some success, but at a party in Palm Beach he was alarmed by the open racism shown by members of the Ku Klux Klan and, in 1924, he left the US for Paris with his wife Ella and daughter Leslie. In Paris he met the songwriter Cole Porter, who became a close friend and mentor, and Hutch – as he now styled himself – perfected the art of singing Porter’s songs.



In 1927 Hutch was invited to London by the impresario C. B. Cochran to play in the Rodgers and Hart musical One Dam’ Thing After Another. His nightly cabaret performances after the show at the Café de Paris soon became the hottest ticket in town and led to a string of invitations to play at London’s most exclusive parties. Between 1928 and 1930 Hutch performed in four more successful Cochran revues and gained a national profile after touring the country with these shows. It was also then he signed a recording contract with Parlaphone, paving the way for a succession of hits such as such as ’High Hat’, ‘Ain’t Misbehaving’ and ‘You’re the Cream in my Coffee’.

Superstardom and Later Life

By the mid-1930s Hutch was a superstar and mobbed by crowds wherever he went. Throughout these years of stardom, Hutch kept his wife and daughter out of the limelight, rarely including them in his social life, and fathered eight, or possibly more, children through different relationships. In stark contrast, he conducted a number of high-society affairs in public; his long-standing affair with Edwina Mountbatten was an open secret in Mayfair clubs and bars. While this scandal closed some doors to him, Hutch went on to perform and record many of his most successful hits, such as ‘Night and Day’, ‘Smoke Gets in Your Eyes’, ’These Foolish Things‘ and ‘Begin the Beguine’. These records, combined with his late-night sessions at London clubs including Frisco’s and Quaglino’s – where he often performed in front of the Prince of Wales and Wallis Simpson – marked the height of his career.



During the Second World War Hutch became a popular act variety act and entertained the crowds sheltering in the Underground during air raids. As the war ended, his style of music fell out of fashion, but in 1953 he made a comeback and he returned to Quaglino’s, where he entertained a new generation of bright young things, including Princess Margaret.



He married Ella Byrd, a woman of African, English, and Chinese ancestry, in 1923/4 in New York City. Their daughter, Lesley Bagley Yvonne, was born on 9 April 1926. Hutch would go on to sire six further children with five different mothers. Gordon was born in August 1928, Gabrielle in September 1930, Gerald and Chris in 1948, and Graham (Chris's full brother) in 1953, and Emma in April 1964.



31 Steele’s Road – a detached house built in 1874 by the architect J. M. Brydon – was Hutch’s home and base for nearly all the years he lived in London. He moved here in June 1929 with his wife, daughter and brother, just as he made his breakthrough, and only left in 1967, when he was forced to sell it to pay off bank debts. The house was furnished with a mixture of old-fashioned oak furniture and Art Deco lamps, and the piano in the drawing room was strewn with silver ornaments from his admirers.



Following his wife’s death in 1958, Hutch struggled with worsening financial problems and was reduced to playing in tawdry clubs. Suffering from ill-health in his later years Hutch died in Hampstead, London, England from pneumonia on 19 August 1969 aged 69, almost an unknown. Only 42 people attended his funeral yet notably, Lord Mountbatten paid for the cost of his funeral.



Dr Susan Skedd, Blue Plaques Historian, said:

“Hutch overcame considerable prejudice to become one of the stars of the London cabaret scene of the 1930s. His elegant persona, smooth delivery and dexterity at the keyboard brought him adulation. Though no songwriter himself, he was fortunate to live in an era of great lyricists such as Porter, Gershwin, Berlin, Rodgers and Kern and recorded more than 400 songs, many still available today. The plaque to Hutch will act as a lasting reminder of his remarkable achievements and of his prominent place in the musical history of London.”

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Grenada Heritage: Chasing William Macintosh

Who was Macintosh

Thanks to enterprising researcher I. Keighren (UoL) we get a little hint of this character and his place in Grenadian history.

William Macintosh was an eighteenth-century Scottish merchant, Caribbean plantation owner, world traveller, and controversial author of Travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa (1782). He was a product of empire, but also sought to shape and influence Britain’s imperial project through persuasion and publication. This blog is a record of my efforts to recover Macintosh from the shadows and to throw new light onto his life and work in the production of a monograph provisionally entitled The forgotten radical: William Macintosh and the transnational circulation of seditious print in the Age of Revolution.

Macintosh’s life was one lived through the Republic of Letters and during the Age of Revolution. The list of those who met, read, or corresponded with Macintosh—Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville, Jacques Pierre Brissot, Edmund Burke, Aaron Burr, Olaudah Equiano, Charles Fox, Philip Francis, Catherine Grand, Warren Hastings, Johann Gottfried Herder, Thomas Jefferson, Adam Smith, William Pitt the Younger, and George Washington, among many others—signals to his significance to the intellectual and political life of the last quarter of the eighteenth century.

Research began at the Archives départementales de Vaucluse - home to the largest single collection of primary material relating to William Macintosh. For reasons that still remain mysterious, Macintosh spent most of the 1780s there in Avignon, where he traded and ran a lodging house. Forced to leave the city during the Revolution, his papers were seized and deposited here. These records have never previously been referred to by any scholar working in English.

More there than expected, the information spreads across six large bundles of nearly 3,000 individual items of correspondence, memoranda, invoices, and legal documents. They cover part of Macintosh’s time as a planter in Grenada, his journeys around India in the late 1770s, and his residence in Avignon in the 1780s. Rather disappointingly, no reference so far is made to the book he published in 1782 based upon his travels in India, although there are preliminary notes and memoranda that eventually found their form in the book.

One of the six bundles of Macintosh material.

Given that so little has previously been written about Macintosh, most of what is encountered is coming as a surprise, particularly the extent and complexity of his business dealings in the West Indies. Rather than simply a plantation manager, Macintosh had a number of official positions and governmental roles in the colony, including being Comptroller of His Majesty’s Customs in Grenada. In addition to his own business dealings, Macintosh served as attorney for several friends, and executor for others, so seems continually to have been involved in the purchase or disposal of land and assets.

There is evidence to suggest that, at certain times, Macintosh and his family (wife, son, and daughter) were together in Grenada, but it is clear that for the most part they were separated. One long and rather touching letter sent from Macintosh to his son, then aged 11, shows that, for Macintosh, parenting was something done at a distance, and most often by the written word. Although correspondence exits between Macintosh and his son and daughter, there seems to be nothing to or from Mrs Macintosh (although invoices for her domestic purchases, as well as clothing and jewellery attest to her existence).

Macintosh's commonplace book for 1778.

Macintosh was an ideas man, and had strong opinions about (as well as proposed solutions to) the various political problems of the late eighteenth century. Many of these took first written form in Macintosh’s letters and his commonplace book. The one for 1778 outlines various schemes, including a “Plan for preserving the health & lives, & for the better regulation of British seamen; for defending and securing the British commerce, and for manning the Royal Navy” and one (which has a clear contemporary relevance) for “reducing the national debt, without increasing taxes, & without exposing Government to any fixed or temporary inconveniences”.

Given the unexpected size of the collection, work is really only one of surveying and cataloguing, and the targeted transcription of key texts. There is much to be examined in detail at a later time. It seems clear, though, that Macintosh’s politics were shaped in the West Indies and particularly by what he saw as the corruption and mismanagement of British colonies there. Aside from the big questions of politics and economics, there are plenty of quotidian snippets in the archive too. One particular favourite is a long series of correspondence, culminating in legal proceedings, concerning a dispute between Macintosh and his French builder who, it seems, was a cowboy. Rogue traders were as much a feature of eighteenth-century life as they are today.

A family rift

Jean-Frédéric Perregaux (1744–1808), Macintosh’s “old friend”, trustee, and attorney

In November 1791, The Gentleman’s Magazine recorded the recent marriage at Ostend of William Macintosh’s daughter, Maria (or Mary), to Alexander Augustus, “the Chevalier le Sieur de Colleville, son to the present Marchioness de Colleville, of Normandy, a French officer in the infantry”. Maria, who had been born in Grenada in 1770, was then aged 21. The marriage was a fruitful (and, initially, happy) one. The couple had four children.

In his 1807 will, Macintosh appointed Alexander trustee and attorney together with the Swiss banker, and “old friend”, Jean-Frédéric Perregaux (1744–1808). The trust Macintosh placed in his son in law was, however, misplaced. In 1810 (or possibly 1816) Macintosh was forced to supply a codicil to his will, “revoking and annulling” Alexander’s claim and role. Alexander, it seems, had “abandoned his wife and family and Country in a manner highly disreputable and offensive without having had the least provocation”. With four children to raise alone, Macintosh appointed his daughter “sole heiress of all and whatsoever I may die possessed of in the first place for her own subsistence and the maintenance and education of her four Children”. Macintosh’s will and codicil were proved at London on 13 April 1816. Maria died in 1853.

Taking account

David Lambert‘s new monograph Mastering the Niger, which was published late last year by the University of Chicago Press, concerns a number of themes, including the production of geographical knowledge, the role of observation and testimony in the making of geographical fact, and the production and evaluation of credibility. His biographical focus is on the Scots Caribbean planter turned Glasgow merchant and businessman, James MacQueen (1778–1870).

Although Macintosh was born a generation earlier than MacQueen, there are a number of interesting parallels between their lives. Both were part of the wave of Scots who took the opportunities afforded by the Act of Union in 1707 to forge their careers in the British Empire; both were planters in Grenada; both had important dealings with Sir William Pulteney (1729–1805); both were skilled and enthusiastic proponents of double-entry bookkeeping. In Macintosh’s case, he had had, from the age of 18, “the highest charge of money, papers, & books of accounts”.

In Mastering the Niger, David offers a fascinating discussion about the parallels between double-entry bookkeeping and processes of geographical inscription and abstraction (see Chapter 3) and between the notion of “balance” and MacQueen’s own ideas about the nature and direction of the British imperial project. The analogy is an exciting and interesting one, not least because it so well captures William Macintosh’s own practices and perspectives in relation to these matters.
Macintosh was a thorough and committed record keeper (particularly so in relation to financial matters). This concern was not limited to his personal finances, but to those of Grenada, India, and the British Empire more widely. The day-to-day practices of taking account were so significant to Macintosh that he prescribed them in a letter to his son, in which he laid out what he considered the indispensable skills for his son’s life: “I would wish you to know…[a]ll the common rules of arithmetic. Book-keeping as practiced by merchants, with double entry. The principles of mathematics. Geography. A just idea of astronomy. The principles of laws. And ancient and modern histories. Indeed, a man of business, cannot be competent without them”.

Macintosh’s commitment to accounting means that we have a reasonably good insight into his own financial standing at various points in his life. For instance, in 1775 he applied to the Dutch bank Hope and Company (founded by Scots) for a loan of £20,000, and, in so doing, set out his financial position at that point. His collateral, detailed below, was calculated at more than £45,500, comprising plantations (or shares of them), various mortgages and bonds, a number of slaves, his house, and his annual salary of £300 for his role as Comptroller of His Majesty’s Customs for the Port of Grenville in Grenada.

Statement of Macintosh’s collateral in 1775. Archives départementales de Vaucluse, 2 E Titres de famille 84, “Charles Wilson / et autres de Grenade / 1767–1776”. Macintosh to Hope and Co. 15 December 1775.

Macintosh and the Grenadian pamphlet war

Audi alteram partem (1770). From the pen of Macintosh?

A recently-published article appeared in The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History by a graduate student (Aaron Willis) at the University of Notre Dame called “The standing of new subjects: Grenada and the Protestant constitution after the Treaty of Paris (1763)”.

Willis’s paper concerns the political difficulties which surrounded the incorporation of French Catholics into the British Empire following the ceding of Grenada at the end of the Seven Years’ War. In broad terms, opinion was divided among islanders as to the extent to which political rights which applied to British Protestants should be extended to French Catholics. These divisions resulted in political stalemate which lasted through much of the late 1760s and early 1770s. Willis offers a neat summary of the principal pamphlets which were issued during this period and argued, at turns, for and against the rights of French Catholics.

There is some evidence to suggest that one of these pamphlets—Audi alteram partem (1770)—which Willis describes as being “[t]he most sustained defence of Catholic rights” was co-authored by Macintosh. That, at least, was the opinion of an anonymous reviewer writing in The Political Register (May, 1770) who noted “It is almost needless to add, that Mr. Mackintosh [sic], Col. [James] Johnstone, and Mr. Scott are the Authors of Audi Alteram Partem…and are the agents and abettors of the Romish party there”. Clearly it will require some digging to determine whether or not there is any validity in this claim, or that Macintosh was “known to be zealous in the cause of the Roman Catholic French subjects at Grenada”.

When Macintosh met Equiano

Frontispiece and title page of The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (1789).

In efforts to piece together, from secondary fragments, the trajectory of William Macintosh’s life, one is sometimes surprised by the strange coincidences and unexpected moments of encounter which are revealed. One such is contained in The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (1789).

Equiano’s significance, as a freed slave, to the eighteenth-century abolitionist movement is well documented, but many are unaware that he and Macintosh had encountered one another in Grenada in 1771. Macintosh was, at that point, justice of the peace for the parish of St. Andrew’s and Equiano came to him to seek redress (unsuccessfully) over an unpaid debt. Equiano records the incident in his autobiography thus:

In April 1771 I shipped myself as a steward with Capt. Wm. Robertson of the ship Grenada Planter, once more to [end p. 95] try my fortune in the West Indies; and we sailed from London for Madeira, Barbadoes, and the Grenades. When we were at this last place, having some goods to sell, I met once more with my former kind of West India customers. A white man, an islander, bought some goods of me to the amount of some pounds, and made me many fair promises as usual, but without any intention of paying me. He had likewise bought goods from some more of our people, whom he intended to serve in the same manner; but he still amused us with promises. However, when our ship was loaded, and near sailing, this honest buyer discovered no intention or sign of paying for any thing he had bought of us; but on the contrary, when I asked him for my money he threatened me and another black man he had bought goods of, so that we found we were like to get more blows [end p. 96] than payment. On this we went to complain to one Mr. M’Intosh, a justice of the peace; we told his worship of the man’s villainous tricks, and begged that he would be kind enough to see us redressed: but being negroes, although free, we could not get any remedy; and our ship being then just upon the point of sailing, we knew not how to help ourselves, though we thought it hard to lose our property in this manner. Luckily for us however, this man was also indebted to three white sailors, who could not get a farthing from him; they therefore readily joined us, and we all went together in search of him. When we found where he was, I took him out of a house and threatened him with vengeance; on which, finding he was likely to be handled roughly, the rogue offered each of us some small allowance, but nothing near our demands. This [end p. 97] exasperated us much more; and some were for cutting his ears off; but he begged hard for mercy, which was at last granted him, after we had entirely stripped him. We then let him go, for which he thanked us, glad to get off so easily, and ran into the bushes, after having wished us a good voyage. We then repaired on board, and shortly after set sail for England (vol. 2, 95–98).

It's a wondered quite how Macintosh, raised in the bracing climate of the highlands of Scotland, adapted to life in the tropical warmth of Grenada.

Macintosh and the Maroons

Detail of A new plan of the island of Grenada (1780). John Carter Brown Library, Brown University, Cabinet Es780 Pi.

Whilst there is a certain liberality of sentiment in Macintosh’s political philosophy, particularly as it concerned individual rights, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that Macintosh was both a slave owner and a tool of imperial control and repression in Grenada. Although the Maroons of Grenada (i.e., those slaves who had escaped from subjugation and who lived in isolated communities in rural areas) were never considered by British colonial administrators to be quite the threat that their counterparts in Jamaica were, Grenadian Maroons became a particular source of concern during the late 1760s as their numbers increased.

The late Grenadian politician George Brizan, in his 1984 volume Grenada: island of conflict, demonstrates that Macintosh had a particular role in the repression of Grenada’s Maroons during this period. Brizan (p. 97) notes that:-

As more and more runaway slaves joined their ranks the numbers of Maroons increased, and their sporadic acts of depredation [i.e., cattle theft] continued. In the latter part of 1769 these were the cause of great alarm in St. Andrew’s. By 13 December 1770, the situation was such that [Robert] Melville had to despatch an officer of the militia with 20 men to assist the inhabitants of St. Andrew’s, whom the Governor instructed to form groups and patrol the area in an attempt to suppress these “internal enemies”. The Justice of the Peace in the St. Andrew’s area, William McIntosh [sic], featured prominently in the organisation of these activities.

Determining what, precisely, Macintosh’s role was, will require some unpicking. Brizan’s supporting endnote for this information is unhelpful, listing only “Letter Book 1765-66“. The bibliography is not any more helpful, referring only to “Letter Books; 1763-1895. Selected Volumes: 1763-71, 1771-99, 1815-95” under the subheading “Grenada”. In his acknowledgements, Brizan does thanks the librarian of the Grenada Public Library, so it is the only clue that this is where the letter books were once held. 

As we are all now well aware our library (also once containing our Grenada National Archives), had its collections badly damaged by the 2004 hurricane "Ivan".  Sadly, the letter book covering the early 1770s has not  been digitised as part of the the British Library’s Endangered Archives Programme.

Once again, William Macintosh resists straightforward investigation.

Macintosh in Caribbeana

Title page of Caribbeana, volume 1.

In 1909 a new quarterly periodical focussing on Caribbean genealogy was launched by the wonderfully named English genealogist Vere Langford Oliver (1861–1942). Oliver’s journal—Caribbeana—ceased publication only ten years later in 1919 after six volumes and three supplements. Caribbeana has been digitised as part of the Digital Library of the Caribbean and is an important work of reference for scholars working on the history of the Caribbean. Macintosh makes a few, small appearances in the pages of Caribbeana.

Under the heading “A List of West Indian Deeds on the Close Rolls”, volume 1 of the journal records the following, for example: “George Johnston, John Rae by William Macintosh, Ann his wife. Grenada [1764], 14-12-13”. Read out of context, and in this abstract form, the information is not obviously revelatory. This snippet is interesting, however, because it dates Macintosh’s acquisition of land in Grenada and records the name of his wife (the first source seen which does so).

It is not immediately clear where these deeds are now stored. Assuming they were Public Record Office documents originally, it will take a bit of detective work to determine how they are now classified and where they are located on our island.

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What's Happening to Your Library

Documents

Here are a collection of useful documents related to the development of the Library Services.

[Revised May 2013]

• 1850 Public Libraries Act.



• 1942 McColvin Report - See this for a summary of what it says and its relevance today.



• 1964 Public Libraries and Museums Act - Outlines the statutory duty of councils to have a “comprehensive and efficient” library service.



• 1991 Local Inquiry into Derbyshire Library Service – This is the first of two cases in modern times when a local authority came close to being in breach of their statutory duties.  This summary gives an insight into the legal position of authorities, although it is superseded by the 2009 Inquiry and other developments. (PDF of selected pages of report here)



• 2004/5 Select Committee of the DCMS on libraries made many proposals for public libraries, after hearing much evidence, mainly to do with boosting bookstock, opening hours and other bread and butter issues.  The Government at the time’s response to it is here.



• 2008 Taking stock: the future of our public library service - Unison.  Very useful guide to the state of play in 2008.



• 2009 Empower, Inform and Enrich – DCMS consultation on public libraries.
  
  
  
  
  
  • UNISON response to 2009 Empower, Inform and Enrich - DCMS review of public libraries.  Link is to UNISON response.  DCMS document appears to be unavailable.
  
  
  
  
  
  



• 2009 All-party parliamentary group report on Libraries, Literacy and Information Management.



• 2009 Wirral Libraries Inquiry report by Sue Charteris into proposed closures led to the authority withdrawing their plans and is seen as landmark guidance in what an authority should do in order to be compliant with the 1964 Act.



• 2011 Could do better: Latest overview of adult literacy in the UK – 15% of adults still below the reading age of an 11 year old.



• 2011 Gift of Reading – 1 in 3 children do not own a book at home (compared with 1 in 10 in 2005)



• 2011 Culture, Knowledge and Understanding: great museums and libraries for everyone - Arts Council England.  “A companion to our 10-year strategic framework for the arts Achieving great art for everyone, this publication is our first attempt to integrate museums and libraries into this framework. It is designed to provide certainty as to the programmes the Arts Council will run from 2011-15 while soliciting further debate about the directions we should take in the longer term.”
  
  
  
  
  
  • Review of research and literature on museums and libraries - Arts Council England (2011).
  
  
  
  
  
  



• 2011: Public libraries and literacy by the National Literacy Trust. Findings “suggest that public libraries do not only have a role to play in the reading patterns of those pupils who use them, but also a unique role in providing opportunities to support learning outside of the classroom including support for family
  
  engagement.”



• 2012: A new chapter: public library services in the 21st century by the Carnegie UK Trust.



• 2012: Measuring the economic benefits of arts and culture - Arts Council England.  “This report, written by BOP consulting, aims to provide arts and cultural organisations with clear guidance about undertaking or commissioning studies into the economic benefits of their work. The guidance will help organisations choose appropriate and robust methodologies and uses case studies to illustrate the benefits and limitations of different approaches to measuring economic contribution.”



• 2013: Library services in the digital age - Pew Research (USA).  Very useful research on how libraries are used and what the public want from the,



• 2013: Community libraries – learning from experience – Arts Council England / Locality. A look at volunteer run libraries using several case studies.  Largely regarded as pro volunteer libraries.



• 2013: On permanent loan? Community managed libraries – a volunteer perspective – NFWI.  A smaller scale report than the ACE one above.  More cautious about volunteer libraries



• 2013: Protecting Library Services – Capita. A look at the technological opportunities (and some others like sharing services) for cutting costs and improving service.



• Effective Campaigning – this is a general UNISON resource, useful but not specific to libraries.



• Future Libraries Programme - Final report is here.  Government sponsored programme of several library authorities to find new ways of working / saving money. Full reports on Future Libraries Programme are here.  The report is noted for its strong support for volunteers, closing libraries and putting the books in shops and merging library services.



• Letters from Ed Vaizey, Libraries Minister, to local councils explaining their duties. These are highly useful from a campaigner viewpoint as they give an idea of what local authorities should be doing in order to keep within their statutory obligations. Letters (a) 3/12/10, (b)24/2/11  and its annexe.



• Libraries in transition -Social Enterprise London (2011).  Looks at the pros and cons (mainly the pros) of social enterprises taking over the work of public libraries.



• Library Campaign Handbook  – Brilliant handbook from, of course, the Library Campaign



• Guidance on the management of controversial material in public libraries - MLA.



• Modernisation of Public Libraries: A policy statement March 2010 – The swansong of Labour thinking on libraries, it’s slightly woolly provisions were criticised at the time but now seem a relic of a different era.



• People’s Inquiry into the library service - UNISON, 2008.



• Philip Pullman “Leave the libraries alone, you don’t understand their value”.  Widely publicised and well-received speech by the world-famous author.



• Philip Pullman “Consider the Context” – speech to Library Campaign Conference 22/10/11



• Stephen Fry on public libraries “I suppose if I have one campaign I can really get behind it is saving libraries.”



• Taking stock: the future of our public library service - UNISON, 2010.



• Wales, unlike England, has retained formal public library standards. It’s framework for 2011-14 is called Maintaining a valued service.  Wales also has a strategy for libraries called Libraries Inspire: the strategic development framework for Welsh Libraries 2012-16.



• What makes a good library service? – CILIP.  A summary by the professional association of librarians on what a public library service should provide.

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Grenada Heritage: Our Plantation Estates - part 1

St John's Wood Church Memorials to Plantation Owners

In a parish church next to Lord’s Cricket Ground in north-west London (England), just to the north of Regent’s Park is the Church of St John’s Wood, built in 1808.

During the Middle Ages, St John’s Wood really was a wood, which took its name from the Knights Hospitaller of St John of Jerusalem who at that time owned the land. There was a small settlement on the 'bourne' or river that flowed to its south, with a church dedicated to St Mary from about 1400. This became known as "St Mary on the Bourne" – later shortened to St Marylebone and from there London itself began to expand northwards from what became Westminster in the 17th century as far as the New Road – now known as Marylebone Road.

In the grounds of St John's Wood Church are four discreet memorial plaques that give little indication of the intriguing histories commemorated there.  One is to Jane Farquhar of Portland Place (died 1834), another is to Patrick Bartlet of Nottingham Place (died 1830), and his second wife, Anne (died 1844).  The clues come from the West Indian islands mentioned on them – Antigua and Grenada for Mrs Farquhar, and Cariacou, just off Grenada, for the Bartlets. 

The Marylebone and the plantation owners link
On these islands were the plantations that provided the funds for a comfortable life in the newly developed area Marylebone, that attracted prosperous land owners at the beginning of the nineteenth century.  In the 1770s it was usual that younger members of the family often managed overseas properties, while the head of the family remained in Britain. Although by 1775 thirty percent of plantation owners were absentee landlords, and by 1830 this rose to 80%.  

Farquar memorial

The Farquhars - Jane Farquhar was the wife of Robert Farquhar of Renfrew, who had inherited his Antiguan and Grenadian estates after the death of his half-brother, John Rae (afterwards Harvey), who had himself acquired them from John Harvey (1721–79), after Harvey’s nephew, Charles, was drowned in Grenada. Harvey had made a handsome fortune in the West Indies, owning the plantations of Mornefendue, the Plain and Chambord both in St Patrick’s parish at the north end of the island.  Later Farquhar’s daughter, Eliza, married Michael Shaw Stewart, 6th baronet.

Beau Sejour on Carriacou

Carriacou - the tiny island 20 miles north-east of Granada, measuring just 5 miles from north to south, and an area of 13 square miles with its only town called Hillsborough – during the eighteenth century its population was concentrated on the plantations.  Carriacou remained uncolonised by Europeans, until 1650, when a French company established a small settlement.  The French had to cede it, with Grenada, to the British after the 7 Years War, in 1763, but recaptured it, in 1779, during the American War of Independence; there were only 90 British soldiers to guard it against 5,000 French invaders. However, it was returned to Britain after the Treaty of Paris, in 1783, and various gun batteries were built round the coast. French plantation owners, who had remained, were replaced by more English and Scottish settlers, and the larger estates expanded at the expense of smaller neighbours. By the 1790s, there were 46 estates ranging in size from 10 acres to 698 acres, but the important proprietors had interests in several plantations.

Patrick Bartlet memorial

The Bartlets - Alexander Bartlet and George Campbell had formed a company that linked its offices in Grenada, Tobago and the Grenadines with London, and Alexander’s brother, James, was recruited to facilitate trade by persuading all the planters to consign their crops of cotton, cocoa, indigo and sugar to the company.  Gradually, planters became indebted to Glasgow business houses, which led to foreclosures, and a general decline of planter aristocracy.  Presumably, Patrick Bartlet (1731 Banff–1830) was another brother, and must have lived on the island, probably, on the 280 acre Beauséjour sugar plantation (or 'Nice Stay') in Saint George's, which belonged to him, for, in 1792, he was recommended to fill a vacancy in the Council of Grenada, and was described as a principal inhabitant and proprietor.

Patrick Bartlet’s slaves in the various censuses were, also, on Belair, Belvedere and Petit Covenage Estates.  There was about one slave to every 2.35 acres, which gives a probable slave population of 3,153 and it is unlikely the white population exceeded 400.  In the early 1790s, the Grenada Assembly passed an ordinance requiring there to be one white man to every 50 slaves.

The Will of Patrick Bartlet of [Nottingham Place] St Marylebone proved 17/08/1830. In his will he acknowledged his marriage settlement with his 'present wife' Anne, and charged the annuity of £500 p.a. to her on his estates Sinclair, Beausejour and Belair on Carriacou in the government of Grenada. He also granted an annuity of £50 each to his 'natural' sons Alexander, Patrick and John. He appointed as trustees Alexander George Milne the younger and William Bartlet, and left the produce of the estates for life, subject to the annuities, to Dorothea Milne, wife of Patrick Bartlet's nephew Alexander George Milne the elder. He aslo made a number of financial bequests to family including in a codicil an annuity of £100 p.a. to Mrs Mary Bartlet of Banff, the widow of his brother James.

Isabella Bartlet memorial

Patrick’s first wife, Isabella, died in 1821, and is also commemorated in St John's Wood church. His second wife, Anne, (whom he married in 1824 at Warnford Surrey when she was about 47, and he was 74, or so), had long standing connections with the West Indies, as she was the  daughter of Samuel Span of Bristol, Master of the Society of Merchant Adventurers, and a ship owner.  Samuel, with his brother, had arrived on Union Isle (near St Vincent in the West Indies), in 1763, with 165 slaves and soon controlled the whole island, and, also, had property on Carriacou.

Anne Bartlet memorial

 

Slave censuses were taken regularly by the owners noting names, ages, and distinguishing marks – presumably for identification if a slave tried to escape, - plus and annual return of decreases in numbers due to deaths, and increases due to births. [These can be found in the National Archives].

Emancipation - Though the slave trade in the Caribbean was outlawed in 1807,  slavery as an institution, was not fully abolished there until 1833.  'Compensation' was then paid, but to owners not to slaves, and under the Emancipation Act the slave compensation commission allocated 40,000 separate awards, costing £20 million - this was 40% of the total government’s annual expenditure.  Only slaves under 6 years old were immediately freed, for rational reasons the rest were designated 'apprentices' and finally released in 1840.  After the emancipation of slaves and with sugar-taxes, prosperity on the islands rapidly declined - it was impossible with free labour to compete with sugar and cotton produced by slave-work-forces of Cuba and the Unites States, added to this European beet-sugar took over as a cheaper commodity.  But Mrs Farquhar and Patrick Bartlet did not live to see any of this outcome, and were buried in England at St John’s Wood, then the chapel for St Marylebone parish church, positioned as the focal point at the top of a country lane running north from the New [Marylebone] Road.

---

References

Oliver, Vere Lanford, "Caribbeana" Vol 3, p.131 & 178, 1914.
T71/328 pp. 29-40; PROB 11/1774/307.
Times 09/03/1839 p. 7.; National Probate Calendar 1875.

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Heritage at Risk – Parliament Building Still Derelict

Disgusting Shame

The Parliament Building, February 2012



In many countries, there exists some building that is a national symbol. As such, the preservation and well being of this symbol is fiercely protected. For Grenada, that building should be The Parliament Building, York House.



Yet today - eight years on, The Parliament Building languishes in a state of uncertain future. Because no steps have been taken to mitigate against continued damage due the loss of the roof in Hurricane Ivan, the building is rapidly being rendered an unsalvageable ruin.



As the entrance doors flap in wind, they open and shut to reveal extensive deterioration and destruction of the internal structures and decorative details of the building. 



The upper floor is collapsing unto the lower, with valuable materials needed for the rebuilding of the Parliament Building, including joist, studs, and carved elements, falling out of the building into the court yard.



Looking at the building from street level, it is clear that the upper floor is now a shell. But the Parliament Building was largely intact after Ivan, except for the damage to the roof, windows, and a small area of bricks that were dislodge as a result of the disturbance to rafters.



While the majority of galvanized panels were blown off and the rafter system affected, a good amount of the rafters, including the decking boards. remained in place. The significance of this is that the







Parliament Building, February 2010



remaining rafters offered the opportunity to quickly erect temporary roofing for The Parliament Building, in order to arrest any further damage to this important Grenadian Heritage site. But for some reason, this was not done. Why?



After all, this was not a difficult engineering challenge exacerbated by unstable walls – proven by the fact that the building continues to stand today, even though its internal supporting structures are allowed to rot. The simple solution would have been to collect as much of the blown-off galvanize sheets as possible, prop up the surviving rafters and build temporary rafters where none existed, and then proceed to cover the building using the collected and new galvanized sheets, and board up all broken windows.



In the long term, since Grenada lacks a skilled labor force with expertise in the restoration of 18^th and 19^th century architecture, it would have been, and still is, prudent that expert



consultants be brought in to assist in the restoration, and help in building a core of workers with the skills needed for the maintenance and preservation of The Parliament Building and other Grenadian heritage sites – and there are many.



Were these simple steps taken, the conversation today regarding the future of The Parliament Building would be a whole lot different. Instead, Grenadians are facing a real possibility that a national symbol, that should stand to represent the strength of the nation, will crumble to rubble. Shame!



Other steps that should and must be taken are:

• the assessment of a $1US surcharge on all visitors to Grenada, that will go directly to a fund for the rebuilding of the capital.



• Ongoing fund raising and appeals to large corporation and foundations, wealthy individuals.



• Continuous involvement of the Grenadian diaspora for both cash donations and contribution of labor and knowledge.



• Development of a foreign exchange program that send Grenadians to foreign countries with rich preservation cultures, while creating a host program that enables foreign skilled workers to come to Grenada cheaply, and train Grenadian workers.

Because of the lack of mitigating action, the cost to restore The Parliament Building has grown astronomically. Where in the immediate period after Ivan, the work would have entailed restoring the roof, repairing broken windows, replacing







View of the Destruction Through the Front Door



dislodged bricks, and addressing water damage, today, because of 7+ years of neglect, a complete gut jobs is likely needed, with a high likelihood that the historic interior of the building will be lost forever (It is rumored that Trinidad offered to rebuild The Parliament Building in the early days after Ivan, but the offer was refused).



There have been reports that the US and Australian government would assist with funding for the building of The Parliament Building. These report go back to 2007/2008, and yet to date, there are no sign of movement to begin work.



Surprisingly, the government has gone forward with two projects in the town that raises questions about their priorities and commitment to fiercely protect Grenada’s national symbols. The pavilion being constructed above Sendall Tunnel and the work being done on market square are two projects whose funds would have been better spent in repairing sites like The Parliament Building and Fort George.



While there is value in the eventual restoration of the market square, this could have waited, And the pavilion above Sendall Tunnel is silly. It will create a sitting area so tourist can gather and gaze upon all the dilapidated and falling buildings in the town – a few located immediately in front or next to it. This is clearly an example of screwed up priorities. As, one would think that first you fix the view before creating a place to see it.



St. George’s stand at the precipice of losing its historic character. The ramifications have already started to manifest themselves, as it was reported that some cruise ship operators were looking to cut the number of calls to Grenada. The neglect of national symbols, like The Parliament Building, has economic consequences. This shouldn’t be a surprise for a nation that so heavily depends on tourism.



Tourists travel to experience culture and history. National symbols like The Parliament Building are important in telling the story of a people (if walls can talk…). They define the past and help give definition to the future. National symbols are an example of a nation’s strength. What does it say about Grenada that after almost eight years, it has not devised any apparent solution for repairing one of its most important national symbols? But instead, is allowing it to fall to the ground.

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Preservation: Conservation Training

Become a Conservator

The Grenada National Archives hopes with the new Library facilities being built within the University of the West Indies Grenada Campus in 2013, that we shall be able to realise a long awaited dream of to become renowned as a foremost forerunner in the field of Document Preservation and Conservation. We hope to be able to offer courses at the new campus and train anyone from around the world in this exiting and developing field.

Apprenticeships and Internships

Elsewhere, before the establishment of graduate degree programs in conservation, apprenticeships were the primary method of training, and apprenticeships and internships continue to be an excellent source of education and training. Today, graduate education has become the more recognized route into the profession.  A traditional apprenticeship refers to an in-depth, long-term training period.  A student may elect to pursue a traditional apprenticeship or series of apprenticeships as an alternative to a graduate program.  This approach often takes longer than a degree program to acquire comparable education.  To acquire a complete conservation education, the student must supplement practical training with readings, course work, and research.



The term internship refers to workplace training at any level of a conservator’s development. Introductory level internships, often referred to in the profession as pre-program internships, help prepare individuals for more advanced study.  Graduate internships are part of a degree program curriculum.

Graduate Programs

Graduate degree programs generally require two to four years of study.  For example, North American education programs in the conservation of cultural property offer either a master’s degree in conservation or historic preservation or a master’s degree in a related discipline along with a certificate or diploma in conservation.  These programs require four to six semesters in residence (or the equivalent) and may also require summer internships.  Many of these programs require a full-time, internship in the final year in which students work under the guidance of experienced conservators.



Many graduate programs, like the ones we hope to develop, require the fulfillment of academic prerequisites, including courses in chemistry, in the humanities (such as art history, anthropology, architecture, and archaeology), and in studio art. Potential candidates should contact the programs directly for details regarding prerequisites, application procedures, and program curriculum. In addition to required course work, graduate programs strongly encourage students to obtain some conservation experience, which can be gained through an undergraduate introductory internship or fieldwork. Appropriate experience may include conservation work in regional, institutional, or private conservation laboratories.



More Information on Getting Into a Graduate Conservation Training Program>>



Many programs also require a personal interview in which candidates are usually asked to present a portfolio of art and conservation project work that demonstrates manual dexterity and familiarity with techniques and materials.



A limited number of Ph.D. programs have also been established for advanced study in conservation to prepare conservators with an interest in pursuing research in conservation or fields related to conservation.

Study Abroad 

Degree programs, internships, and apprenticeships abroad offer excellent opportunities for students to explore a wider variety of education and training.  Students may expect to encounter somewhat different philosophies and procedures. ICON maintains listings of programs in the UK, and ICCROM maintains an international listing of programs worldwide.



Listings of programs in the United Kingdom>>



Listings of international listing of programs worldwide>>

Post Graduate Education and Training

Many conservators have cited post-graduate fellowships as a valuable experience in their professional development. Such fellowships allow intensive research and practice or exposure to diverse professional staff or significant collections.

Continued Professional Development

Due to rapid changes in each conservation specialty, practicing conservators must keep abreast of advances in technology and methodology.  Their knowledge and skills are expanded through reading publications, attending professional meetings, and enrollment in short-term workshops or courses. It is the responsibility of each conservator to take advantage of such opportunities and to contribute to them.



Undergraduate Prerequisites

Prerequisites for admission to graduate conservation programs include undergraduate coursework in science, the humanities (art history, anthropology, and archaeology), and studio art. Some schools consider previous working experience and gained expertise in conservation practice. Specific admission requirements differ and potential candidates are encouraged to contact the programs directly for details on prerequisites, application procedures, and program curriculum. With careful planning, an undergraduate curriculum can be tailored to satisfy the academic requirements of these graduate programs.



Science

One full year each of general and organic chemistry with laboratory work is typically required. These courses should usually be freshman and sophomore level requirements for chemistry and biology majors. Supplemental studies recommended, but not always required, often include biology, biochemistry, geology, materials science, physics, and mathematics.



Humanities

Broadbased coursework in art history, anthropology, and archaeology must cover various cultural traditions and historical periods. At least four to six courses are typically required. Sample subjects include:

African art American art Ancient civilizations Art and crafts of Native South Americans Art in the East and the West Baroque art Early Renaissance art Greek and Roman art History of architecture History of textile design

Indian art Introduction to art history Introduction to ethnic arts Introduction to prehistoric archaeology Medieval art 19th-century art Oceanic art Technology and culture 20th-Century Art Studio Art

Formal course work in drawing, painting, photography, and three-dimensional design (including, but not limited to, ceramics, metalworking, sculpture, and textile art) may be required. Upon application to a graduate conservation program, candidates are expected to present a portfolio demonstrating manual dexterity, knowledge of techniques, and an understanding and affinity for art materials.



Languages

Reading proficiency in one or two foreign languages may be required.



Additional Coursework

Courses in museum studies, drafting, and library science may also be recommended.



Professional Experience

In addition to coursework, candidates to graduate programs are strongly encouraged to have had some conservation experience. Internships, volunteer, apprenticeship, or paid work in regional, institutional, or private conservation laboratories is appropriate. Involvement in supervised collection care projects such as collection assessments, rehousing, and exhibition design, as well as examination and treatment of individual artifacts is encouraged. Above all, applicants are expected to be thoroughly acquainted with conservation as a career option and to have a fundamental knowledge of conservation philosophy, ethics, and basic working procedures.



Resources for professional development:



FAIC Professional Development Opportunties>>



AIC News Listings:  Courses, Conferences, and Seminars>>



Conservation OnLine: Education and Training>>



TRAINING DIRECTORY



Full-time and some part-time courses and programmes in the United Kingdom This is a list of the main or the longest established courses, but it does not claim to be comprehensive. To be admitted to one of these programmes you will need to demonstrate an enquiring and flexible mind, the ability to work with your hands, considerable patience, and enthusiasm for working with art or heritage items. Prior qualifications in science are generally required, and initial studies in related topics, preferably to A-Level, are generally an advantage if not a formal requirement.



To select a programme which best suits you:

• Consider the material or object type about which you feel most inspired

• Review the institutions' programmes on their website on in the brochure

• Speak to someone in that institution to discuss whether the programme might suit you.

Selection procedures are rigorous, usually including a practical test.



Material and discipline areas

Archaeology/Objects	Furniture
Applied & Decorative Arts	Preventive Conservation & Conservation Science
Books/Paper	Textiles/Organics
Building/Crafts	Stained Glass
Fine Art/Paintings

Building/Crafts



Training Details of most craft and building conservation training (plus many other shorter courses) can be found at:



Building Conservation Directory

COTAC (Conference on Training in Architectural Conservation)

Robert Gordon University



Details of International conservation training can be obtained at:



International Centre for the Study of the Preservation & Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM)

The American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works

Canadian Association for Conservation

Conservation On-Line (CooL) (NB much of the UK data here is out-of-date)



Archaeology/Objects



Institute of Archaeology, University College London



Conservation for Archaeology and Museums MSc - Two years

Principles of Conservation MA -One year



Graduate Admissions

Institute of Archaeology

University College London

31-34 Gordon Square

London

WC1H 0PY



Tel: 020 7679 7499

Fax: 020 7383 2572

Email: ioa-pgadmissions@ucl.ac.uk



Cardiff University



Conservation of Objects in Museums and Archaeology BSc - Three years

Professional Conservation MSc - One year

Conservation Practice MSc - Two years



Jane Henderson

Department of Archaeology and Conservation

School of History Archaeology and Religion

Cardiff University

Humanities Building

Colum Drive

Cardiff

CF10 3EU



Tel: 029 2087 5629

Fax: 029 2087 4929

Email: hendersonLJ@cardiff.ac.uk



Durham University



MA in the Conservation of Archaeological and Museum Objects



Postgraduate Admissions Secretary,

Dept of Archaeology,

Durham University,

South Road,

Durham

DH1 3LE, UK

tel: 0191 334 1109 (Monday - Thursday)

fax: 0191 334 1101

email: pgarch.admissions@dur.ac.uk



University of Lincoln



Conservation & Restoration BA (HONS) - Three years full-time

Conservation of Historic Objects MA - One year full-time, 2 years part-time



Lincoln is now able to offer a Distance Learning package which combines flexibility, support and academic rigour. The programme can be accessed by those already working in conservation and not wanting to take a break in their paid employment,or for Continuing Professional Development.To be eligible for this route, you will need to have either a previous undergraduate qualification in Conservation or significant equivalent experience as a practitioner.Working as a distance learner, you are able to submit projects from your employment towards  the practical modules.



Conservation Studies Graduate Diploma - One year full-time, 2 years part-time



For enquiries

Telephone +44 (0)1522 837171

Email aadenquiries@lincoln.ac.uk

Blog www.lsad.co.uk

Web www.lincoln.ac.uk

Online enquiry 



Conservation and Restoration

School of Art and Design

University of Lincoln

Brayford Pool

Lincoln

LN6 7TS

Applied & Decorative Arts 



West Dean College



Diplomas & Professional Development Courses



Clocks

Books and Library Materials

Building Conservation Masterclasses

Buildings, Interiors & Sites

Ceramics & Related Materials

Furniture and Related Objects

Metalwork

Professional Conservators in Practice



Postgraduate Degree



MA Conservation Studies



The Academic Office

West Dean College,

West Dean

Chichester

West Sussex

PO18 0QZ



Diploma/MA enquiries Tel: +44 (0) 1243 818 208

Email: diplomas@westdean.org.uk

Professional Development enquiries Tel: +44 (0) 1243 818 219

Email: cpd@westdean.org.uk



London Metropolitan University



Undergraduate courses - BSc Restoration & Conservation (inc decorative surfaces, wood & metal)

Postgraduate course - MA Conservation (decorative surfaces)



Alex Schoulavloff

Admissions Tutor Conservation,

Sir John Cass Department of Art Media & Design

41-47 Commercial Road

London, E1 1LA



Tel: +44(0) 207 320 2825

Fax: +44(0) 207 320 1830

Email: a.schouvaloff@londonmet.ac.uk



City & Guilds of London Art School



Conservation Studies BA - Three years

Postgraduate Diploma: Conservation Studies 2 years

Postgraduate Diploma: Comparative Studies in Conservation Cleaning, techniques in relation to laser cleaning



For all courses above see the City & Guilds website



The School Office

City & Guilds of London Art School

124 Kennington Park Road

London SE11 4DJ



Tel: +44(0) 20 7735 2306

Fax: +44(0) 20 7582 5361



Email: info@cityandguildsartschool.ac.uk



Royal College of Art and Victoria & Albert Museum



Note: This course has unfortunately now closed



 



Books/Paper



Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts London



Conservation MA - 1 year full time, 2 years part time

Conservation MA (2 year) – New 2 year full time course starting in October 2011



Camberwell College of Arts

Peckham Road

London

SE5 8UF



Tel: +44(0) 20 7514 6302

Email: enquiries@camberwell.arts.ac.uk



West Dean College



Books and Library Materials



The Academic Office

West Dean College,

West Dean

Chichester

West Sussex

PO18 0QZ



Enquiries: Tel: +44 (0) 1243 818 208 or 811 301

Email: diplomas@westdean.org.uk



 



 



Fine Art/Paintings



Northumbria University



Conservation of Fine Art MA - Two years full time (study easel paintings or works of art on paper)



Ayesha Ballinger (Course Secretary)

MA Conservation of Fine Art

Northumbria University

Burt Hall

Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST



Tel: +44(0) 191 227 3250

Fax: +44(0) 191 227 3250

Email: ayesha.ballinger@unn.ac.uk



Hamilton Kerr Institute, University of Cambridge



Conservation of Easel Paintings PgDip - Three years full time



The Administrator

Hamilton Kerr Institute

Whittlesford

Cambridge

CB22 4NE



Tel: +44(0) 1223 832 040

Fax: +44(0) 1223 837 595

Email: hki-admin@lists.cam.ac.uk



Courtauld Institute of Arts, University of London



Conservation of Easel Paintings PgDip - Three years full time

Conservation of Wall Paintings MA - Three years full time



For PgDip enquiries:



Courtauld Institute of Arts Department of Conservation & Technology

Somerset House

Strand

London WC2R 0RN



Tel: +44(0) 20 7848 2191

Fax: +44(0) 20 7848 2878

Email: susan.pratt@courtauld.ac.uk



For MA enquiries:



Conservation of Wall Painting Department

Courtauld Institute of Arts

Somerset House

Strand

London

WC2R 0RN



Tel: +44(0) 20 7848 2848

Fax: +44(0) 20 7848 2878

Email: sharon.cather@courtauld.ac.uk

Furniture



Bucks New University



Furniture Conservation, Restoration & Decorative Arts BA (Hons) - Three years full time

Conservation of Furniture & Decorative Arts MA - One year full time, two years part time



Campbell Norman-Smith

Faculty of Design, Media & Management

Bucks New University

Queen Alexandra Road

High Wycombe,

Bucks

HP11 2JZ



Tel: 0800 0565 660

Fax: +44(0) 1494 461 392

Email: cnorma01@bcuc.ac.uk



Rycotewood Furniture Centre



Level 3 Certificate in Making & Repairing Handcrafted Furniture City & Guilds Certificate - 2 years (one day per week)



Rycotewood Furniture Centre

Oxford & Cherwell Valley College

Oxpens Road

Oxfordshire

OX1 1SA



Tel: +44(0) 1865 551 557

Fax: +44(0) 1865 551 369

Email: enquiries@oxford.occ.ac.uk



London Metropolitan University



Undergraduate courses - FDA or BA Furniture Restoration



Alex Schoulavloff

Admissions Tutor Conservation,

Sir John Cass Department of Art Media & Design

41-47 Commercial Road

London, E1 1LA



Tel: +44(0) 207 320 2825

Fax: +44(0) 207 320 1830

Email: a.schouvaloff@londonmet.ac.uk



See Applied & Decorative Surfaces for more courses.



West Dean College



Furniture and Related Objects



The Academic Office

West Dean College,

West Dean

Chichester

West Sussex

PO18 0QZ



Enquiries: Tel: +44 (0) 1243 818 208 or 811 301

Email: diplomas@westdean.org.uk

Preventive Conservation & Conservation Science



Cardiff University



Care of Collections MSc - One year (part time routes available)



Jane Henderson

Department of Archaeology and Conservation

School of History Archaeology and Religion

Cardiff University

Humanities Building

Colum Drive

Cardiff

CF10 3EU



Tel: 029 2087 5629

Fax: 029 2087 4929

Email: hendersonLJ@cardiff.ac.uk



University of Lincoln



Forensic Conservation (Heritage Science) MSc - 1 year full time



Enquiry Centre

University of Lincoln

Brayford Pool

Lincoln LN6 7TS

Tel: +44(0) 1522 882 000

Fax: +44(0) 1522 886 041

Online Enquiry



Northumbria University



Preventive Conservation MA - 1 year full time (on campus or distance learning), 2 years part time distance learning



Jean Brown - Programme Leader Conservation

Burt Hall

Northumbria

University Newcastle upon Tyne

NE1 8ST



Tel/ Fax: +44(0) 191 227 3250

Email: jean.brown@unn.ac.uk

Stained Glass

The University of York

MA in Stained Glass Conservation and Heritage Management

History of Art Department

Vanbrugh College

University of York

Heslington

York YO10 5DD



Tel: +44 (01904) 432978

Fax: +44 (01904) 433427

Email: sf143@york.ac.uk



Textiles/Organics



University of Glasgow



Textile Conservation MPhil – 2 years full time



Frances Lennard – Programme Convenor

Centre for Textile Conservation and Technical Art History

University of Glasgow

8 University Gardens

Glasgow G12 8QH



Tel: +44(0) 141 330 7607/4097

Fax: +44(0) 141 330 3513



Email: frances.lennard@glasgow.ac.uk



History of Art at the University of Glasgow also offers a one-year programme in MLitt Dress and Textile Histories.   Contact rebecca.quinton@glasgow.ac.uk



 

Conservation Training Programs - US and Canada

United States

Buffalo State College Art Conservation Department 1300 Elmwood Avenue Rockwell Hall 230 Buffalo, NY 14222-1095 ph 716.878.5025 fx 716.878.5039 artcon@buffalostate.edu	University of Arizona Heritage Conservation Science Materials Science and Engineering Mines Building, P.O. Box 210012 The University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 85721-0012 ph 520.621.6070 fx 520.621.8059
Offers: Graduate Degree	Offers: Graduate Degree
Visit their website>>	Visit their website>>
Columbia University Historic Preservation Program Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation 400 Avery Hall 1172 Amsterdam Avenue New York, New York 10027 ph 212.854.3518	University of California Los Angeles/ Getty Conservation Program Archaeological and Ethnographic Conservation Cotsen Institute of Archaeology 308 Charles E. Young Dr. North A210 Fowler Building/Box 951510 Los Angeles, CA 90095-1510 ph 310.825.9407 fx 310.206.472
Offers: Graduate Degree	Offers: Graduate Degree
Visit their website>>	Visit their website>>
Getty Foundation Getty Graduate Internship Program 1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 800 Los Angeles, CA 90049-1685 ph 310.440.7320 fx 310.440.7703 gradinterns@getty.edu	University of Pennsylvania Graduate Program in Historic Preservation 210 South 34th Street 115 Meyerson Hall Philadelphia PA 19104-6311 ph 215.898. 3169 fx 215.573.6326 pennhspv@design.upenn.edu
Offers: Graduate Internships	Offers: Graduate Degree
Visit their website>>	Visit their website>>
Harvard University Straus Center for Conservation Harvard University Art Museums 32 Quincy Street Cambridge, MA 02138-3383 ph 617.495.2392 fx 617.495.0322	Johns Hopkins University Dept. of Materials Science & Engineering Room 102, Maryland Hall Baltimore, MD 21218 ph 410.516.8145 fx 410.516.5293
Offers: Graduate Internships	Offers: Graduate Degree
Visit their website>>	Visit their website>>
University of Texas at Austin Historic Preservation School of Architecture 1 University Station B7500 Austin, TX 78712 ph 512.471.3792 fx 512.471.0716 holleran@mail.utexas.edu	New York University IFA Art Conservation The Stephen Chan House 14 East 78th Street New York, NY 10075 ph 212.992.5848/47 fx 212.992.5851 conservation.program@nyu.edu
Offers: Graduate Degree	Offers: Graduate Degree
Visit their website>>	Visit their website>>
Winterthur/University of Delawaree The Department of Art Conservation 303 Old College University of Delaware Newark, DE 19716-2515 ph 302.831.3489 fx 302.831.4330 art-conservation@udel.edu	Smithsonian/ Museum Conservation Institute Conservation Research and Technical Studies Museum Support Center 4210 Silver Hill Road Suitland, Maryland 20746 ph 301.238.1240 fx 301.238.3709 MCIweb@si.edu
Offers: Graduate/Undergraduate Degrees	Offers: Graduate Internships/Fellowships
Visit their website>>	Visit their website>>

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Canada

Fleming College Collections Conservation and Management/ Museum Management and Curatorship Fleming College 599 Brealey Drive Peterborough, ON Canada K9J 7B1 ph 705.749.5530, ext 1368 fx 705.7495540 gmcintyr@flemingc.on.ca	Queens University Art Conservation Department of Art Ontario Hall, 67 University Ave. Kingston, ON K7L 3N6 ph 613.533.6000, x77776 fx 613.533.6889 artcon@queensu.ca
Offers: Undergraduate Degree	Offers: Graduate Degree
Visit their website>>	Visit their website>>

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