Based in a Grade I listed former 16th century manor house, Bruce Castle is full of stories. Its collections include tens of thousands of items, ranging from the unusual and rare – mammoth teeth to a pair of Queen Victoria’s underwear – to community stories of innovation, radicalism, activism and resilience.
The museum is managed by curator Deborah Hedgecock, who has been working at Bruce Castle for over 20 years. Working as a museum curator is a wide-ranging role – from overseeing construction projects to deciding what items get added to the museum collection, organising educational visits for schools and community groups, and designing new exhibitions to highlight Haringey’s rich and diverse stories.
“We have a great team at Bruce Castle,” Deborah says, “Our wonderful front of house team meets and greets all sorts of people who come through the doors. This can range from schools, carers, people with dementia, residents, and families from around the world coming to visit.”
The museum is internationally acclaimed, with special collections highlighting local pioneers such as Rowland Hill, inventor of the postage stamp, and world-renowned printmaker Althea McNish. “We’ve had researchers calling up from China to enquire about the history of Tower Gardens Estate due to its architectural significance, and researchers from New Zealand interested in our archive collection on R. W. Munro, who specialised in designing instruments to measure seismic activity.”
One of the highlights of Deborah’s role is curating new exhibitions – a task which rotates between different members of the Bruce Castle team. “It’s lovely how it comes together, and it’s an artistic journey for me as well as interesting from a historical point of view,” she says, adding: “It’s always great to work with different communities to bring different voices to the fore and uncover stories that often get overlooked.”
Deborah has recently worked with colleagues on a major renovation project at Bruce Castle, which has seen a raft of improvements to the museum’s East Wing, with new dedicated exhibition spaces telling the stories of the Windrush generation and highlighting Haringey’s pioneering history of LGBTQ+ activism.
When asked to pick her favourite item from the museum collection, Deborah considers carefully and says that one item stands out: the 1686 painting of Bruce Castle which currently graces the wall by the main entrance.
“It’s such a magnificent painting and to get it on the wall has been a great endeavour, working closely with the Friends group to secure funding and raising money to get it restored. It’s transformed how we look at the building and is of great interest to little ones and elders alike because of the connection to how it looks today.”
Read more from Deborah in her Creative Spotlight interview.
Bruce Castle Museum & Archive is open to general visits Wednesday to Sunday, 1-5pm. Entry is free. See all services and plan your visit at www.brucecastle.org
