Telling Relevant Stories

"When we joined the London Voices project it was the first time we had been inside Osterley House and it looked very different from anywhere we had ever visited before. The furniture and decorations inside the house really fascinated us." Participants, Osterley Park and House

London Voices recognised that in order to develop relationships with local audiences, the National Trust needed to widen the stories it told. Research projects have enabled us to do this as well as being an effective engagement tool in their own right.

In the first year of the project our research focused on a range of topics to encourage property staff and volunteers to "look over the wall" and place their properties in the wider history of London and the world.

At each property there was also the opportunity to join a volunteer research forum. This was a great way of enlivening people's understanding of the history of their property through debate and discussion.

See the resource bank for examples of the research, guidance on carrying out research produced with a National Trust Curator and our 'Different ways of engaging', model.