How was electricity first used in the home?
Who used this new technology, and why? What did they think of it?
These are the kinds of questions which the ‘Electrifying the country house’ project has helped country house museums to address. By answering them through developing bespoke events and resources, we have helped visitors to engage with the history and aesthetics of electrical technologies and the interesting, innovative ways in which electricity first entered the home.
This project was run by researchers at the University of Leeds, in partnership with houses run by the National Trust (Cragside and Standen) and Leeds Museums and Galleries (Lotherton Hall), between May 2015 and July 2016. It was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, with extra funding provided by the University of Leeds.
Here you can view our online interactive educational resource for KS2 pupils, read our blog, see what events we have run, and download some of the resources we have produced. Please also visit our YouTube channel to see our video content, including animations, a short film, and a musical.