‘I think the Wolsey Angels should be saved and remain on display at the V&A because they’re beautiful and enigmatic, and a great example of early renaissance sculpture in Britain.’
In this series of blogs we’re interviewing various members of staff who come in contact with the Wolsey Angels which we are currently trying to reunite, to try and find out just what it would mean to each of them if we could save the Angels.
Tell us a about yourself
My name is Jenny Wedgbury and I’m the Acting Programme Manager for Families in the Learning Department. I’ve only been at the V&A for 3 months but already love working here. We run an exciting and diverse programme of activities for families at the Museum, with over 65,000 families taking part every year. We want families to come and explore, enjoy and be inspired by our wonderful collections and spaces. There is a regular daily, weekend and holiday programme designed to appeal to a wide range of ages. We have Pop-up Performances every Saturday and Drop-in Design workshops every Sunday.
I love my job as it’s always very creative and no day is the same. My background is in Art History and History, I studied Combined Arts at Newcastle University and then went on to do a Masters in Museums and Galleries in Education at the Institute of Education. I have a particular interest in early modern England, especially the Tudor period and have always had a soft-spot for Henry VIII.
This much I know
Before coming to work at the V&A, I was an Education Officer at Historic Royal Palaces. This meant, literally following in the footsteps of the Tudor monarchs. Spending time in the Royal Apartments, Kitchens, Chapel and Courtyards at Hampton Court you feel like you’re stepping back in time and could imagine turning a corner to find Henry flirting/arguing with Anne Boleyn or Thomas Cromwell settling someone’s account.
Hampton Court was originally built by Cardinal Wolsey as his own private residence but was the sequestered by Henry when Wolsey fell from power. Whilst working there I learnt a lot about Wolsey; his taste for fine living and as his role as a patron of the arts. I remember a talk Hilary Mantel gave, where she said that her obsession with Wolsey and the road to writing Wolf Hall, had begun when, as a teenager she’d visited Wolsey’s Closet at the Palace and had been overcome with the spirit of the past and was inspired to find out more about Wolsey. I completely adored reading Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies when they came out and found it fascinating how she had brought the court of Henry VIII and the cast of extraordinary characters like the two Thomas’s, Wolsey and Cromwell, to life. I then went to see the RSC’s adaptation of both books in Stratford earlier on this year. I find Cardinal Wolsey a fascinating character. A self-made man (a butcher’s boy) who managed to ‘manage’ the young Henry and give him what he wanted; until of course he could not deliver the divorce the King so desperately needed.
My favourite thing about the angels is that they’re a physical representation of this story of a man who was once one of the most powerful men in the country but died in ignominy in Leicester on route to stand trial in London for treason. Their role was to protect his tomb in death but in the end they never fulfilled this task. Perhaps also because of my job here, I often look at the angels and try and make out their different personalities and give them characteristics. As part of our families programme for the autumn we’re running an activity called Angels and Knights, part of our Drop-in Design offer, where we’re asking children to design their own sculptural guardian, inspired by the Wolsey Angels but also all the other knights and angels represented in the Museum.
An interesting aside
The marble sarcophagus Wolsey commissioned for his tomb can now be seen in St Paul’s Cathedral, where it serves as the final resting place of Admiral Lord Nelson.
Donate online and Save the Wolsey Angels here.
Text VAWA14 £5 to 70070
The V&A will receive 100% of your text donation. The minimum text donation is GBP £1 and all donations must be in whole pounds sterling. The maximum text donation allowed is GBP £10 for all mobile operators. Donations sent via text will incur your standard text message fee. Please refer to your tariff for details. Should fundraising exceed the appeal target, or if the Museum is unsuccessful in securing the angels, funds will be used to further the objectives of the V&A.
