Isabel of Mar, the heiress to the ‘of Mar’ title in Scotland, took up the placement at Tankerdale Conservation in Waterworks Lane after furthering her professional training at West Dean College in West Sussex.
She is in her second year of the Postgraduate Diploma in Conservation specialising in furniture and related objects at West Dean College
She said: “I’m so grateful for the opportunity to work with the conservation team at Tankerdale which is giving me the opportunity to apply the skills I’ve learnt so far on the programme at West Dean. Everyone is so helpful and willing to share their knowledges and expertise, and I’ve been developing my skills in gesso and pigments, woodworm consolidation and fill materials.”
Isobel says that in addition to her family’s interest in furniture she ‘fell in love’ with the beautiful wood panelling in the Memorial Library at Bedales School in Steep her former school.
John Hartley of Tankerdale said: “Isabel is settling in well and is on a very interesting 16th century intarsia panel from the National Trust’s Hardwick Hall.”
West Dean College conservation spokesman David Horning said: “The college has an excellent international reputation for producing highly-skilled ceramics, clocks, books, metals and furniture conservators.”
Student conservators spend their placements at a range of organisations in the heritage sector, including Hampshire Records Office and Brighton Pavilion.
Placements further afield include the British Museum, Imperial War Museum and the Bodleian, Oxford, and outside the UK at Amsterdam City Archives, National Archives of Ireland, Yale University Library, USA, and Notarial Archives, Malta.
West Dean College offers scholarships and bursaries to talented students. The next open day for those considering pursuing a career in the heritage sector is Saturday, February 4, 10am to 2pm. For more information and to register visit the website www.westdean.org.uk