Nick Hanks

Welcome

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Biography - details of Nick Hanks' career and interests
Publications - articles and reports
Lectures and talks - ritual and space, landscape archaeology, and general historic interest
Guided walks - single location performances, audio recordings, guided walks in the landscape, and performance archaeology
Slaughterbridge projects - Slaughterbridge Training Excavation Project (STEP) and a wider landscape project running in parallel, the Tintagel Environs Survey Project (TESP)

Guided walks

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Nick Hanks, having studied Archaeology at Bristol University and Drama at Warwick University, is ideally suited for scripting of historical subjects for presentation or recording, by him or by others.

Nick Hanks produces scripted material for three formats:-

Guided walks across landscape for up to 35 people. Lasting a few hours and involving many periods and different types of features.
Single location performances at historic sites. Explaining the multiple phases, and the wider context of the history of that type of site.
Audio recordings landscapes or at historic sites, making full use of the acoustic environs. These are recorded in association with Cliff Eastabrook, a professional sound engineer.

Nick Hanks has performed this material with a professional storyteller, The Travelling Talesman (Cliff Eastabrook), as Longshanks & Talesman. See their extensive website for more details.

"Performance Archaeology"

His speciality is presenting the material in-situ, "where it happened". Using the atmosphere of the setting, and putting it, rather than himself, centre stage.
Carefully structured, and paced to keep people interested; contrasting the styles of delivery. But delivered with spontaneity and thus avoiding the stale lecture format.
Unique local material about the actual setting, fill the majority of the scripts, for this is the richness that is discovered during the performance/event.
Context is provided for all material so that it is understood, as well as wondered at. Understood, and so it is remembered. Be it historical, archaeological, social, economic, cultural or religious.
Specific methods of presentation are chosen for each fact/feature that will maximise the clarity, be it:- site diagrams, story telling, handling real artifacts/reconstructions, puppets, quotes from historic sources, comic sketches, period illustrations or audience participation.
The presentation serves the site and the facts, and doesn't 'upstage' or 'make light' of them.

"Performance" - it is obviously modern people wearing hats, using props and explaining things.
"Archaeology" - it is based on objects and places, that make a probable picture of the people of the past.

It is not historical re-enactment. It does not involve the illusion of 'pretending to be' historic figures, which is inaccurate and does not communicate effectively! That method can trivialise the past and turn the historic location into a mere backdrop!

Lectures and talks

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Nick Hanks is a recognised teacher at the University of Bristol, and has given talks and lectures to other universities, various societies and groups. Those currently available are listed below. These presentations are offered as either Talk (suitable for societies), Lecture (suitable for students) or Fieldtrip (suitable for either) formats.

Ritual and Space

Doorways to the Divine - Sacred Spaces in Modern Religious Buildings. A look at the use of space in the buildings of eight different religions (Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, Ba'hai and modern Druids) and what they tell us about religious ritual requirements of space. Based on research and theoretical work for his MA dissertation. This includes a section on ritual and spatial theory. [Talk / Lecture. Also available as a five or ten week evening class.]
Spaces for Words. Spaces for Symbols. - Non-conformist Chapels and Masonic Halls. Both were new building types built for new social groups, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Though both new movements were similarly regarded with suspicion and targeted by legislation, their social organisation and buildings are completely different. Based on MA research. [Talk / Lecture]
An Introduction to Modern Paganisms. This presentation looks at two aspects of Modern Paganisms. The Paganisms of the British past, and how their influences have come down to the present. Also examined are the various current practices and the beliefs of this diverse modern faith movement. Presented in associated with folklorist and author Yvonne Aburrow. Previously presented to Interfaith groups. [Talk]

Landscape Archaeology

Getting to know MoRPHE (Managing of Research Projects in the Historic Environment). This is an introduction to the new standard of project management that all projects funded by English Heritage must now follow. It is aimed to provide familiarisation for this more flexible method of project management, which has evolved out of best practice such as MAP2 which specifically applied to excavation projects. The course will involve some explanation of project management in general, and specific examples of how MoRPHE helps in structuring the research work. Both of the Slaughterbridge Projects (STEP and TESP) are managed using MoRPHE. The MoRPHE guide is available at www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications. (Note- Nick Hanks is the only qualified MoRPHE trainer currently offering courses to those not employed directly by English Heritage.) [Lecture]
Historic Environment Data - the Past and the Future. Who collects information on historic buildings and archaeology? What is collected? Why? How is the data useful to archaeologists? And most importantly how do you get access to it? The presentation is made on behalf of English Heritage's National Monument Record Centre, but also includes what is available from Record Offices such as maps and aerial photographs. It also covers how to make use of these sources of information in assessing landscapes. [Talk / Lecture]
How to Assess Landscapes Archaeologically. This lectures covers briefly how to write archaeological landscape assessment reports and practical advice on how to do the fieldwork. Also how to do the desk-based assessment work; where the best sources of information are, and how to use them, in particular aerial photographs and maps. [Lecture / Fieldtrip]
Stanton Drew - Archaeology, History and Folklore. This covers all that is currently known about this impressive stone circle, from the folklore to the geophysical survey that transformed the view of the site. This is put in the wider context of other henges, and the Neolithic / Bronze Age of North Somerset. Ideally this will consist of a lecture in the morning and a field trip in the afternoon. [Talk / Lecture / Fieldtrip]
Brean Down - 10,000 years in 1 mile. This landscape has everything; glacial faunal deposits, field systems, a Bronze Age village, cairns, barrows, a hillfort, a Roman temple, a post-Roman cemetery, evidence of a tsunami, a failed port with the navvies' housing, a Napoleonic Coastal Fort, a World War II complex of buildings including training structures, special weapons testing equipment etc etc etc. Based on the detailed fieldwork and documentary research that he has carried out on this landscape. [Talk / Lecture / Fieldtrip]
Tyntesfield and Failand - the lost estates. They are both in the same parish, but the rural landscape from which they were both made has become remarkably different. One landscape completely changed, and people were excluded. The other preserved what was there before, and was made openly accessible. Tracing their story from prehistory to the present, but particularly looking at the effect of the 19th century owners. Based on the detailed fieldwork that he has carried out on these two estates. [Talk / Fieldtrip]
Ornaments and Oranges - The Ordering of the House and Garden of Dyrham Park (in 1710). Through looking at both the design of the house, its contents and the layout of the elaborate watergardens, an overall purpose can be discerned in William Blathwayt's house. His links with William of Orange, and the attitudes of later Blathwayts will also be looked at. He has based this presentation on his original fieldwork, documentary research and geophysical survey. [Talk / Fieldtrip]
Excavations at Slaughterbridge, Cornwall. Summary of the work to date on this dual site. The earthworks of the medieval village of Old Melorn, and the remains of the early 18th century garden built by the Lady Dowager Falmouth. (For more details see the Slaughterbridge Projects part of this website.) [Talk]

General Historic Interest

The Green Frog Service - Why Put Landscapes on Plates? Catherine the Great commissioned this 944 piece dinner service from Josiah Wedgewood, with 1,222 images of Britain upon it. It was the very first European service to have real views upon it. She started the trend that continues to this day. It also became part of building the British national myth through representations of landscape. Based on research work done during his MA. [Talk / Lecture]
Stonehenge for Beginners. What does it all mean? This is a general introduction to this complex World Heritage Site. It is an ideal introduction for those with a general interest in history, with little or no prior knowledge of the site. The talk includes the handling of pieces of bluestone and sarsen from which Stonehenge is made. (Would be suitable as a talk prior to a special access visit to Stonehenge, which can be arranged with English Heritage.) [Talk]

Publications

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Articles

2008 - with Niall Finneran, Joe Parsons, and Geoffrey Tassie. (Middle) EAST meets (South) WEST: a cross-cultural approach to field training. The Archaeologist. Spring 2008. Number 67. pp.20-21. 9 [The Journal for the Institute of Field Archaeologists]. This article explores the cultural implications arising from the experience of training Bedouin students from the United Arab Emirates in field archaeology in Cornwall. This training was part of the Slaughterbridge Training Excavation Project (STEP). [It is interesting to note that despite the highly unusual nature of this event which raises eyebrows when ever it is mentioned, with one exception, the media totally ignored it.]

2007 - with Yvonne Aburrow. Archaeology and Paganisms: a clash of cultures? Paper for CHAT (Conference for Historical Archaeology in Theory) to be published here when time allows.
Both Archaeology and contemporary Paganisms have their origins in the modern and post-modern discourses of the last three hundred years. Both are misrepresented in the media. Despite this both are proving to be highly popular. Both Archaeology and Paganisms have an institutional, organised aspect (IFA and Pagan Federation). Both have an experimental aspect which is often misunderstood (the recent excavation of the Ford Transit, and Chaos Magicians who perform Tellytubbies rituals). Both have maverick anti-establishment fringe from which they seek to disassociate themselves (metal detectorists and Stonehenge protesters), but which those outside the discourse regard as the same group.

2007 - Lost at the edges of North Somerset: three possible long barrows. Bristol and Avon Archaeology. Volume 21. pp.77-80
This article aims to test these sites for plausibility by not only using the author's own observations and research, but as the main criteria the data amassed by Lewis (2005) on all of the known long barrows of North Somerset. Of the three in this study, Brean Down has been considered previously, but the Hengaston at Failand and the boundary stones at Bathwick Hill have not.

2007 - Bewys Cross, the Bevis Stone and Sir Bevis of Hampton: An exploration of possible connections. Bristol and Avon Archaeology. Volume 21. pp. 87-90
This article discusses the relationship between the medieval Bewys Cross in the grounds of King's Weston House, and the (now lost) Bevis Stone at the mouth of the River Avon. It considers in particular the origin of the name, and the popular folk hero Sir Bevis of Hampton.

Publications

2008 - Currently working on several book projects in parallel intended for publication next year.

2000 - (by Oliver Garnett) Dyrham Park. Guidebook. The National Trust. The National Trust.
Made extensive use of the year long research project carried out by Nick Hanks in the previous year. Available at Dyrham Park.

2000 - Dyrham Park - Discover more. The National Trust.
Research and document transcriptions carried out by Nick Hanks published on CD-ROM Available at Dyrham Park.

Reports

These will have been deposited at the relevant county records offices as well as with the commissioning organisation.

2006 - An Historic and Archaeological Assessment of the Manor of Worthyvale - Cornwall.

2005 - An Historic Assessment of Holt Forest and Holt Wood (Dorset) for English Nature.

2004 - The National Trust Archaeological Survey, Failand, North Somerset.

2003 - The National Trust Archaeological Survey, Tyntesfield Park, North Somerset.

2003 - The National Trust Archaeological Survey, Crook Peak & Wavering Down, Somerset.

2001 - National Trust Archive - Dunster Castle. Database on CD-ROM.

2000 - National Trust Archive - Dyrham Park. Database on CD-ROM.

2000 - The National Trust Archaeological Survey, Brean Down, Somerset.

1997 - with Martin Papworth. Dyrham Park Geophysical Survey, The West Garden.

Performance archaeology

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More than just Historical Re-enactment.

Umberto Eco - [criticism of the Museum of New York] "...the designers want the visitor to feel an atmosphere and to plunge into the past without becoming a philologist or archaeologist..."
~ from Travels in Hyper-Reality

Re-enactment involves portraying individuals of a specific period. A snap shot of life in the past. Though this makes for good photography, its realistic appearance hides the degree of invention going on, when it moves from generic period activity to specific personalities. It has to choose which view of the past to portray. All re-enactment involves some assumptions and inventions to fill the gaps (we don't know what they sounded like), but these inner workings are hidden from the public. This approach can also have a problem with modern anachronisms. So naturalistic dialogue has to contain explanation and context for the audience, but it must also "appear" real. The vehicle of a character can restrict the width of the information to be communicated. The re-enactment can be so centre stage, with its colour and drama, that it replaces the experience of the site. The artifice is in danger of supplanting what it seeks to portray.

Audiences are also uncomfortable, not knowing how to behave in this unusual inter-personal context; being with actors in character. For example, on "Murder Mystery Weekends" actors have observed that up to a third of their audience never engages with them. They only giggle from a distance, which is a sure sign of their discomfort with the situation, even after being with the performers for an entire weekend.

Performance Archaeology by Longshanks & Talesman

"Performance" - it is obviously modern people wearing hats, using props & explaining things.
"Archaeology" - it is based on objects and places, that make a probable picture of the people of the past.

Moments of re-enactment serve the exposition of the site, rather than being the boundary within which exposition takes place. The performers never become the character. They are obviously performing, offering a variety of versions of the past for consideration. Longshanks; the more practical and contextual approach, and The Travelling Talesman; the more emotional and romantic. They creatively complement or contradict, making a dynamic structure. They are clearly distinguished by one being in period costume, while the other is in modern dress with a clipboard. From this clipboard "quotes & facts" are obviously read, thus clearly distinguishing them as such. Longshanks & Talesman provide an interface of imagination and interpretation, with the site, opening up possibilities, not dictating a single perspective. But always immediate ("this is where it happened").

The performance is site specific rather than character specific. This is a genuine experience and hence more exciting than "meeting people from the past" because it engages directly with the audience. This style of performance can zoom in on significant details (objects), and step back to give background context. Footnotes, such as explaining terms, can be easily dropped in. All flows from one to another as easily as natural conversation. It is "theatricised" conversation. And like conversation it is not specifically scripted throughout, and so remains fresh and spontaneous (last minute alterations are also possible).

Multi-media

Performance Archaeology is more flexible than re-enactment for delivering the facts of the site, as whichever medium is most suitable to each point can be used:-

Poetry
Storytelling
Dramatic sketches
Document readings
Music
Puppets
Historical background
Diagrams
Involvement in question & answer
Object handling (reconstructions / originals)
Involvement in physical reconstruction
Using the Location
Referencing to other activities / materials on the site

This flexible style also allows easy insertion of "plugs" for ideas, events, or products that require promotion.

This way of working thrives on complex multi-period sites. Ambiguity and uncertainty are an advantage as the audience can fill the gaps or make up their own minds. It can also get them to think, make connections with what they know, and references can be made to popular culture (popular misconceptions can be corrected on the way).

Interactive

The performers are one step away from the material. So they are sharing it with the audience, not performing at them. They bond with the audience, putting them at their ease by making eye contact, (only some of their time is spent in eye to eye dialogue with each other) and using a conversational style. The audience are gently invited to take part in the physical reconstructions (entire audience becomes walls of lost building), to help hold large props, or offer interpretations. Within a short time the shared theatrical-informality is established and, as in a conversation, people chip-in with their own knowledge and experience.

The audience is periodically moved about the site, promenade style, which does three things. Firstly, it avoids the distracting physical discomfort of standing still for a long period. Secondly, it puts the location centre stage, it is not merely a backdrop. The performers continually direct attention away from themselves, and towards the site and its objects. Thirdly, as with the traditional storyteller's "mind-theatre", the spatial differentiation of ideas will fix them in the minds of the audience. They will leave with more than pictures.

Bertolt Brecht - "He behaves naturally as a demonstrator, and he lets the subject of the demonstration behave naturally too. He never forgets, nor does he allow to be forgotten, that he is not the subject but the demonstrator. That is to say, what the audience sees is not a fusion between demonstrator and subject,....such as the orthodox theatre puts before us in its productions [Stanislavsky]. The feelings and opinions of demonstrator and demonstrated are not merged into one."
"The object of this "effect" is to allow the spectator to criticise constructively...."
~ from The Street Scene. A Basic Model for an Epic Theatre

Y Aburrow & NP Hanks, 1999

Biography

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Nick Hanks MA AIfA is currently working for English Heritage on GIS, heritage data systems and training. He has carried out historical research and archaeological surveying for The National Trust and Natural England, at many sites including Tyntesfield, Hardy's Cottage, and Dunster Castle. The results of which were produced as reports, web pages, databases and as CD-ROMs. He also designed a database system that stores all the data and documents about an historic house and grounds.

He is a recognised teacher at the University of Bristol, and has given lectures at other universities. He also gives talks and leads guided walks to groups and societies. His main work in this area has been writing and performing guided walks at historic sites across the west country, and along the Thames Path and Ridgeway, as part of Longshanks & Talesman. They also wrote and recorded a radio series. He studied Archaeology at Bristol University and Drama at Warwick University. Between the two he worked as a music promoter at the Fleece and Firkin in Bristol.

He was a founding director of the Slaughterbridge Training Excavation Project (STEP) and the Tintagel Environs Survey Project (TESP), which continues to be directed by Dr Niall Finneran of Winchester University.

His research interests include:- Ritual Space (ancient and modern). Space and Place. Ritual Theory. Applied Philosophy.

He has provided historical research for several feature films including Talos the Mummy, Wing Commander and The Lighthouse.

He is dyslexic.