Real Work Real Lives project at Saltram

The National Trust’s Saltram, in Devon, has received support amounting to £238,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, which will be used to help connect people to nature and heritage.

Made possible by National Lottery players, this funding aims to improve access to Saltram, develop skills and improve the health and wellbeing of local communities. Working with partners, the National Trust will work to conserve local landmarks on the estate, provide better access to nature and heritage and tell new stories that explore the histories of Saltram and its connection to Plymouth.

Part of the grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund has been used to uncover the lives and work of historic staff at Saltram between1841-1921The Real Work Real Lives pilot project seeks to bring the stories of the people who lived and worked on the Saltram estate to light in partnership with The Box museum, gallery and archive in Plymouth.

The project saw nine volunteers recruited to undertake the research. With the help of the archive team at The Box and Debbie Lister, a freelance Archivist, they undertook training to develop archiving and research skills. The newly developed skills were put straight into practice at the 10 sessions, with each participant looking at a different facet of research, utilising local archive collections held by The Box.

Beginning with the census, the volunteers transcribed over 800 entries relating to Saltram and its estate properties over the 5-month project. Through this work, the participants rediscovered the lost stories of the people who came and went over the decades, the families they lived with, and the places they were born.

Among the stories the team discovered was that of John Sarah. John was The Earl’s Steward in the mid-19^thcentury, which meant he was responsible for taking in all the rents from tenants across the Earl’s land. He died suddenly in 1868, and the RWRL project found a bill in the archive which shows the Parker family paid for his funeral in recognition of his service to the estate.

The team also discovered the Vosper family, whose connection with Saltram began in 1835 when John Vosper took on the tenancy of fields and houses at Merafield on the Saltram Estate. Two years later John leased the Malthouse too. His son Thomas and grandson William renewed the tenancy and worked as farmers and maltsters – making the raw material for beer brewing across Plymouth.

When William died in 1911, he was living in the grand Merafield House, had served as a County Councillor, and was a Director of the Plymouth Belle Steamship Company and the ESSA Brewery Company based in Saltash.

Thanks to the development grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the researchers can now search, navigate and interpret archives and we’ll be looking to share some of their findings in the coming months.

With lots more still to discover, it is hoped that the Real Work Real Lives project will continue and that the histories uncovered will be used to support the development of new displays at Saltram.

The Real Work Real Lives pilot represents just one of the innovative ways the National Trust is looking to enhance heritage access in Plymouth. Supported by National Lottery funding, this initiative will expand opportunities for local residents to engage with Saltram’s rich heritage and enjoy its green spaces.

Looking ahead, the National Trust is hoping to secure additional support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund in 2025. This prospective funding would enable a dynamic range of access improvements at Saltram, further integrating the estate into Plymouth's health and wellbeing initiatives. This will ensure that Saltram can play a more pivotal role in supporting health and wellbeing in the city, connecting more people to nature and green space and providing skill development for Plymothians.