The Settlers Society Exhibition
Client: National Trust / Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal - Fountains Hall
Fountains Hall forms part of the World Heritage Site, Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal. As part of the property vision, the National Trust commissioned Inchpunch Design to develop the space into a component of interpretive and experiential value.
This exhibition charts the fascinating story of the Fountains Abbey Settlers Society (FASS) established in 1937. Young men from the North East came to the estate to learn new skills, a trade and hope for the future. The space consists of three adjoining rooms with the main room focusing on the FASS history and personal histories from some of the boys themselves. The boys stories were audibly brought to life through an atmospheric soundscape, featuring excerpts from existing digitised oral histories of the settlers plus Commander Vyner himself.
Exhibition introduction panel mounted within a bespoke free standing frame
To introduce the exhibition we created a double sided graphic panel, mounted within a bespoke free standing frame. The frame resembles a period chalk board complete with wheeled castors on the feet so it can be easily relocated or repositioned within the space.
Taking pride of place within the room is the wall mounted sock art installation. Each pair of woolly socks (which are very similar to the ones worn by the boys back in 1937) features the hand sewn name of a former settler. Visitors can discover the history behind the names using the app on tablets located nearby. The tablets are securely housed within our bespoke, art-deco inspired, free standing plinths.
Taking pride of place within the room is the wall mounted sock art installation. Each pair of woolly socks (which are very similar to the ones worn by the boys back in 1937) features the hand sewn name of a former settler. Visitors can discover the history behind the names using the app on tablets located nearby. The tablets are securely housed within our bespoke, art-deco inspired, free standing plinths.
Tablet housed within the bespoke art-deco inspired, free standing plinth
A large window illuminates the main room which the curators were keen to utilise. We created a four meter long textile hanging, featuring a photo of the FASS boys. The special fabric allows diffused light to pass through creating a natural light-box effect. A weighted ballast at the bottom of the hanging keeps it taut.
One of the smaller adjoining rooms was dedicated to the impact of the Great Depression in the North East and the contrast between the Tyneside and Ripon areas during this period. This was conveyed through a series of graphic panels mounted to a specially built stud wall, designed to divide the space. One side of the wall focused on the depressed, poverty stricken North East and the other side the prosperity of Ripon.