“Our collections are the collective memory of Warwickshire. As time passes, that memory is safe for future generations, and that’s the reason why the Heritage & Culture team exists at the council.”
Heritage & Culture at Warwickshire County Council (WCC) is a diverse team manging several historic buildings across the county including Grade I listed St John’s House and Market Hall Museum in Warwick. They are responsible for the Warwickshire County Record Office which has archives of Warwickshire dating back to the 12th century, as well as a museum collection of over 900,000 individual objects.
It takes a collective effort to manage and care for historic buildings and two collections, but not only that, the team are responsible for the day-to-day front of house service and a range of education and learning programmes for schools and the wider community so that residents in Warwickshire can easily access the county’s rich history.
The Heritage & Culture team is made up of approximately 45 people and incorporates many subject experts including Curators of Natural Sciences and Human History, learning and community engagement officers, archivists and arts officers to name just a few. Emma Andrews, Delivery Lead for Heritage & Culture has a broad remit and is jointly responsible for the team. Emma said: “Each member of our team in completely unique in the terms of the things they do day-do-day. A lot of them have a professional specialism which contributes to the diversity of our team.”
“No two days are the same. For example, at the moment we’re working on Chesterton Windmill – an important local Warwickshire landmark and scheduled ancient monument. We’ve just removed the windmill sails for repair, so I was on site alongside a crane driver and windmill engineer to safely remove them ready to manage the repair and reinstallation in time to open the Windmill to the public as part of the Heritage Open Weekends programme.”
Arguably one of the most important aspects of the team is managing the collections. Emma said: “The Heritage & Culture team look after and manage the collections, but they’re owned by Warwickshire and its residents, so it’s really important that our team provides the broadest possible access either in person or digitally.”
Emma added: “The Warwickshire archives are really fascinating. There’s some amazing documents, registers, maps and photos enabling us to look back at the people and places that make Warwickshire what it is today. Even after eighteen years in the team I still find it so interesting, particularly as I’m a Warwickshire resident myself.”
Emma and her team also work with artists and organisations to develop the arts infrastructure for the county and provide residents with access to high quality arts activities. Emma said: “Contributing to the economic vibrancy of Warwickshire to attract tourists and visitors is an integral part of what we do. We play a part in supporting arts and heritage organisations, big and small, and support them with their business development and artistic programming.”
Since joining WCC in 2004 as Head of Arts, Emma has progressed to encompass a much bigger area of work, incorporating heritage as well as art. She said: “I was really lucky that the council were able to support me through an MA in Heritage Management which gave me the professional expertise to fulfil my current role.”
Emma added: “The thing I enjoy most about my job is the people. I have a fantastic team that I work with. It’s a unique profession and people do it because they love it, not because it’s just a job. The passion, creativity and energy of the team is really evident. Even throughout the pandemic when our museums and buildings had to close, everyone still maintained a positive energy and approach to work. The team worked collaboratively to find new, creative ways to interact with our customers through online content and virtual events so people could still access our collections online. We love what we do so it was great when we were able to open our doors again to welcome back our volunteers and see some of our regulars.”
Everyone at the council is making a difference to the lives of residents in Warwickshire in a variety of ways. Emma commented: “We’re making a difference to the community by preserving Warwickshire’s heritage and giving residents from all backgrounds and any age access to the objects and archives that make Warwickshire unique. Whether that’s through our learning programmes, visiting our buildings or triggering memories for people through our digital platforms, a lot of our visitors are local, so we provide them with a sense of place and belonging.
“Our collections are the collective memory of Warwickshire. As time passes, that memory is safe for future generations, and that’s the reason why the Heritage & Culture team plays such an imporatnt role within the council.”
Reflecting on her eighteen years at the council, Emma added: “I’ve been able to do a job I love and see my career broaden and develop over that time. I’ve had a family during my time here, so I’ve also appreciated being able to balance bringing up my children alongside a fulfilling career. The council really recognises that everybody works in a different way, and as long as you produce work to a high standard, it doesn’t matter how you do it. I feel really fortunate to have that flexibility and a work life balance as well as learning and development”
Working for Warwickshire, you’ll be able to apply your knowledge and abilities in a place that matters to people and communities. And simply put, you’ll enjoy working here because of that. To view our current vacancies, visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/jobs.
To find out more about the activities and services offered by Heritage & Culture visit https://heritage.warwickshire.gov.uk/.