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The Penguin Archive Project, funded by a major grant from the AHRC [7], produced an online catalogue of the Penguin Collection at the University of Bristol Library (launched in 2011). Penguin Books transformed the range and greatly extended the availability of books to a general readership in the twentieth century. The Penguin Archive located at the University of Bristol can therefore be conceived of as a record of the democratisation of reading in the UK in the twentieth century. As a result of the Penguin Archive Project impact has been realised in three main areas: improving access to the Penguin Archive and making it easier to use for a variety of non-academic users; raising awareness and understanding of the significance of the archive and the rich cultural heritage of Penguin books through public engagement and media activities including a major international conference in 2010; developing collaborative links with Penguin and contributing to their publishing practice. As a result, researchers, editors, authors, publishers and other users such as the Penguin Collectors Society now have access to this major resource.
The Dr Williams's Centre for Dissenting Studies, a collaboration between the Queen Mary English Department and Dr Williams's Library, Gordon Square, London, has undertaken a long-term and ongoing programme of funded research projects, public engagement events, and publications in print and online. Dr Williams's Library is a non-HEI (owned by Dr Williams's Trust, Charity number 214926) dedicated to the preservation and study of collections related to the history of Protestant dissent. Prof Isabel Rivers (QMUL 2004-), and Dr David Wykes, Director of the Library, founded the Centre in 2004 because of their mutual interest in the field. The work of the Centre's Queen Mary researchers, including publications hosted on the Centre's website, has enhanced the public profile of the Library, improved its accessibility to the wider public, and transformed the public understanding of the history of Protestant dissent.
The Stanislavski Centre,(Patron, Prof. Anatoly Smeliansky), founded 2007, responds to the Stanislavski legacy and post-Stanislavski approaches to acting and provides a research-driven facility promoting and developing a new field of `Stanislavski Studies' within an international context. The Centre acts as a conduit enabling professional practice and scholarly research to interact, enrich and inform each other. Based upon the pioneering research, translations and publications of RBC's former Principal, Professor Jean Benedetti, the Centre, guided by a distinguished advisory board, includes an archive of photographic, printed and AV materials and hosts an annual programme of events open to the public. In 2012, the centre launched an ejournal, Stanislavski Studies. (bit.ly/Iu8VVo)
Research findings on the lives and work of Edith Craig (1869-1947), lesbian theatre director and suffragette, and her mother, Ellen Terry (1847-1928), internationally celebrated Shakespearean actor have been shared with members of the public, family history researchers and members of Equity (the actors' union) through talks, a conference and documented use of the AHRC Ellen Terry and Edith Craig database (20,000 records). This online database has had a significant impact on the preservation and worldwide accessibility of one of the most significant theatre archives in the UK. It has assisted members of the public in genealogical research, raised awareness of women's enfranchisement, promoted citizenship and inspired public performance of original drama.
Beyond Macbeth: Shakespeare Collections in Scotland, an AHRC-funded research project into Scottish receptions of Shakespeare, culminated in a major exhibition at the National Library of Scotland (NLS) in 2011. The project contributed to economic prosperity, education, and cultural life. It brought direct financial benefits to the NLS, in the form of £88k to mount the exhibition and media coverage with an advertising-value equivalent to £19k. The exhibition received over 26k visitors, a 30% increase on the previous winter exhibition. The project also shaped the way in which the NLS presents important elements of the cultural heritage in its custody, and influenced the development of its learning activities and online learning resources for UK schools. Visitors were led to examine their assumptions about Shakespeare, the history of his reception, and his significance for Scotland, and the exhibition was cited in the Scottish Parliament as an example of how the NLS meets its remit.
Research at Sheffield has led to international cultural and conservation impact, as well as commercial impact in the UK. Two free international exhibitions designed to attract visitors of all ages and nationalities (Royal Armouries 2007/08, 20,000 visitors; and Musée national de l'Armée, Invalides, Paris (2010, 80,000 visitors) were underpinned by research on illuminated manuscripts of Jehan Froissart's Chronicles of the Hundred Years' War (covering the years 1325-1404). The exhibitions were inspired by the desire to raise awareness, regionally and nationally, of the culture of the Book and of Franco-English relations in the later Middle Ages. Miniatures from the manuscripts depicting key events were displayed alongside items selected from each country's national collection of arms and armour; interactive displays showed how the manuscripts were copied and illustrated. The research enabled an SME to be launched and opened up new access to major aspects of French cultural heritage whilst enabling the preservation of the originals' integrity, part of the intellectual and artistic patrimony of Western Europe.
The Wars of the Roses and Richard III remain engrossing and controversial after 500 years throughout the Anglophone world and beyond. Hicks and Holford have made a significant impact on public knowledge and understanding of the period's politics and society. Their publications, printed and online, are valuable resources for professional and amateur historians, students and the general public, nationally and internationally. Hicks' Anne Neville underpinned Philippa Gregory's novel, The Kingmaker's Daughter and hence the BBC series The White Queen. The website, blog and twitter, Mapping the Medieval Countryside, are making the inquisitions post mortem (IPMs) much more widely accessible and useful than hitherto.
Regional and national audiences have benefited from enhanced perceptions of the linguistic and literary heritage of the West Midlands. Cultural capital has been created by engaging members of the public in the discovery of their linguistic and literary past through their unprecedented access to and understanding of a manuscript written in the dialect of the medieval West Midlands. Increased national interest in the region's cultural heritage has been generated.
The Griffith Institute represents the public face of Egyptology in the University. It houses, analyses, and publishes one of the world's premier Egyptological archives, including the complete excavation records of the tomb of Tutankhamun. The Institute has national and international impact in sustaining ancient Egypt as an area of study, as well as enhancing and deepening its status in broader communities through participation in and facilitation of exhibitions, documentaries, newspaper and magazine articles, and books of many types for wide audiences (including children). It makes itself accessible through its online presence and through behind the scenes tours for a range of audiences.
When Hand and Wilson commenced research into Grand-Guignol in the late 1990s, it was a neglected topic in academic studies and a largely forgotten or misunderstood form in both theatrical circles and the popular imagination. Hand and Wilson have unraveled the myths surrounding the Grand-Guignol to explain in unprecedented depth this unique phenomenon in popular theatre and horror culture. Hand and Wilson have had a major role in the renaissance of the form in academia and also in the professional theatre and media. Their research has enjoyed extensive media coverage and the plays the authors have published have been performed internationally.