To develop the core narrative and new interpretation for Dyrham Park, a William and Mary era property built by William Blathwayt, the man who effectively administered the financial machinery of the British Empire. 

This was part of the National Trust's wider Transformation programme, reimagining the stories of its most significant properties through new voices, new media and new interpretive approaches.

Core Narrative Development | Interpretation Planning | Content Development | Experience Design | Design Integration

We developed a new narrative framework centred on William Blathwayt himself, his role in the Empire, the global connections on show in every room of the house, and the human stories those rooms reveal (and sometimes conceal).

The interpretive design layers physical, digital and immersive media throughout the property: bible boxes in each space offering tactile deep-dive content, immersive audio, projection mapping and media that dramatise key moments, and a digital support scheme for visitor-facing teams.

Four distinct experience zones extend the traditional house visit into something more immersive, participative and surprising, giving visitors multiple ways into a story that is both challenging and compelling.

The most powerful interpretive decision was to make Blathwayt's global story sensory and personal. Visitors encounter the impact of Empire through smell, touch, sound and integrated media rather than wall text and chronology.

This approach allowed the National Trust to engage with a complex and sometimes uncomfortable history in new ways while creating an experience that is absorbing rather than didactic.

Dyrham Park shows how difficult stories, told with craft and respect, draw people in rather than pushing them away.

Client: The National Trust

TGA: Interpretation Planning, Content Development, Design Integration

Partners: Haraclark (Exhibition Design), Lai Couto (Graphic Design), SCENA (Fit Out), David Atkinson (Lighting Design)