In November and December 2022 Jamie, an undergraduate history student at Queen Mary University of London, was placed with the Museum of the Order of St John to carry out projects, and gain an insight in to the work of a bustling museum and a busy heritage team. Jamie has written about his experience.

My time at the Museum of the Order of St John as an intern has entirely changed my perception of how a museum functions and the array of people and teams working behind the scenes to make it so. Did you know that a museum is not just galleries and displays? The work the team puts in to preserve our history, even when the public eyes do not see, is monumental. By working alongside the staff here and having invaluable one-on-one talks with team members from each of the different organs that make the body of this museum exist, I came to understand this.

My first talk was with Amie from the Learning and Engagement team, who showed me how museums and heritage are not just designed for adults, but also for children. I have seen from touring the Learning Centre and experiencing the interactive displays in the galleries that younger generations can also get involved with, ranging from learning how to tie triangular bandages to St John Ambulance Brigade cosplaying. This approach has taught me the misconception that museums only appeal to the senior population is completely untrue!

Even more shocking was learning that museums are also a business! Thanks to Claudia from Events Management explaining the logistical side of the museum industry, I know that the Museum heavily relies on commercial work to maintain income for its upkeep. What is even more fascinating is how the museum utilises its spaces for venue hires, from grand weddings to filming locations. This even includes filming in the Priory Church for the most recent series of The Crown!

Now turning away from the public-facing divisions, I engaged with Sophie the archivist, who gave me unique access to the almost unending wealth of documents in the Museum’s archives. After touring the archive, I had the opportunity to take part in the Harrow ‘Archive-athon’, which was a four-day event with the mission to catalogue all the Harrow unit’s photographic collections. A whole team of people was required for this one event, but we managed to scan and list over 1000 photos!

Lastly, by attending the public programming meetings, the full extent of how each area of the Museum interconnects to benefit the whole organisation becomes clear. Amidst the rapid pace and bombardment of information that materialises in that 1-hour meeting, Anna, who is Head of Collections and Engagement asks for updates from each department. Then collectively the team provides their thoughts on how best to approach these new projects. It’s truly enlightening to witness how many obstacles and tasks a museum can face at any given time, but even more fascinating to see how the team members come together to tackle them.

With this privilege of having unlimited access to all the Museum’s departments and having the time to have meaningful conversations with each staff member here, the museum industry has been completely altered in my vision. I now understand the true extent to which a museum team must work across multiple platforms to preserve and showcase its history!