Introduction • Research • The Process • Image Gallery

Research

The Children’s Castle was an educational and historical project, so it demanded a certain amount of research. The research consisted of oral interviews, talks from experts, personal tours of the castle (even at night!) and our own personal knowledge and findings.

Some of the key figures in the play that needed to be well researched were members of the Drewe family and Edwin Lutyens, the castle’s architect. This brought us closer to the characters we would be playing, as it gave us a detailed look into their lives. After collecting enough information to create a rough list of the main events in Castle Drogo’s history, we selected the moments that appealed to us as intriguing stories to present to an audience. These things were the evacuation of a group of orphans to the castle during the 2 nd World War and the building of the castle itself.

One of the experts we consulted was Tom Greeves a local historian. He told us where the stone for the Castle had been sourced, at local quarries such as Blackingstone, and showed us the maps of the area before the castle was built. We also talked to Ruth Lewis, the education officer at the castle, who told us personal stories from people who worked and lived at the castle who knew things about the evacuees.

At the end of all this, everyone involved in the project felt closer to the castle and the interesting characters that permeated throughout its history.