Abstract
This thesis analyses the use and application of longform narrative podcasting as an interpretation method for heritage sites. Penrhyn Castle, a prominent National Trust property in Wales, is used as a case study for demonstrating best practice in heritage podcasting and provides the focus for the creative portion of this doctoral project. Podlediad Penrhyn is a five-part podcast that has been created to addresses and communicate core themes and narratives associated with the history of the site. The design of the podcast is based on an assessment of the prominent traditional form of site-specific heritage interpretation, namely the sequence of guidebooks published by the National Trust for Penrhyn Castle, coupled with the utility to be found in the multilayered storytelling methods of a digital audio text. This text was created in part due to the massive popularity of longform narrative podcasting within the true crime genre, which has enraptured a global audience in recent years. Whilst digital practice within heritage is a prevalent area of study, this thesis adds to the slimmer body of literature examining digital storytelling in heritage and makes an original contribution to the still emerging application of podcasting to heritage spheres. My primary research question is: ‘How can podcasting be used to communicate the multilayered narrative of a heritage site?’ The nature of my case study, Penrhyn Castle, allows this question to be more specifically directed at the interpretation of county houses and landed estates. This research was conducted across the period of the global coronavirus pandemic. Serendipitously, the rapid adoption of digital connectivity during the lockdowns dovetailed with this research into a novel heritage interpretation method. By utilising a digital creative artefact, I encourage an assessment of heritage interpretation methods that enable heritages sites to reach and, importantly, connect with audiences off-site, through use of digital and globally accessible methods. This research shows that practitioners can use podcasting to highlight the multilayered narrative of a site’s history in ways that are unachievable through more traditional forms of interpretation. Whilst country house interpretation has traditionally tended to focus on family, art, and architectural history in their narratives, as seen in the guidebook analysis, my approach allows for the interconnected stories of landed estates to be presented as multilocational, multigenerational, multicultural, and evolving for digitally connected audiences. Heritage organisations are currently searching for novel methods of telling well-rounded narratives and through this study I offer an alternative framework to deliver on this sector objective. This study also informs heritage practitioners that a modern approach to storytelling within historical interpretation is not only possible but can touch upon aspects of a site’s narrative that are otherwise difficult to communicate in single-channel media like the guidebook. Podlediad Penrhyn is presented as a model to be readopted and reapplied to other heritage sites internationally.