Marble Hill House

In May 2015, Metaphor was appointed by English Heritage to develop an interpretive approach for the representation of Marble Hill House and Grounds.

The solutions developed during the course of the consultancy respond to identified target audiences (Child Pleasers and Culture Seekers), and were intended to support an HLF round 1 submission in August 2015.

The reinterpretation of Marble Hill House will tell the story of the life and times of its first owner, Henrietta Howard. Henrietta’s story is a powerful one, and has many strengths. It is at once personal and universal; it has a contemporary resonance, but also reflects the times in which Henrietta lived; it evokes ‘darker’ stories of slavery and servants’ lives, and ‘lighter’ stories of interior design and homemaking.  A number of opportunities for developing and unfolding Henrietta’s story were identified as part of Metaphor’s consultancy at Marble Hill House. Key questions were how to introduce Henrietta, how we situate her story in time, and what (and whose) viewpoints are called upon to tell her story.