We are pleased to welcome Miles McIntosh to the DHBT team. Miles has joined us as an intern from the University of Derby.
We are fortunate to be part of 'The Derby Talent Programme', a University initiative that provides funding towards student and graduate internships.
Having seen the benefits (for both parties) of working with a student intern (Victoria Dickerson) as part of the Wingfield Station project, we were keen to maintain this relationship and appoint a student or graduate for our current National Lottery Heritage Fund project.
Between now and June 2025 Miles will be working c.20hrs a week across all areas of DHBT, but particularly those relating to the Buildings at Risk (B@R) Volunteer App project.
He has already attended the B@R app support session in Ripley, prepared himself to be able to train others on how to get started with using the survey app, inputted evaluation survey responses and, most importantly, attended the DHBT Christmas lunch!
We asked Miles to introduce himself and share a little bit about his interests and what attracted him to this opportunity:
Q. Welcome Miles! Tell us where you live?
I live in Belper, Derbyshire
Q. When did you first become interested in historic buildings?
Growing up in rural Wales, one of my earlier memories is accompanying my mother, who was involved with the Friends of Friendless Churches, to St Marks Church, near Brithdir, Gwynedd. While I would never say that this “sparked a lifelong interest” in historic buildings, I do think that it is a testament to the power of architecture that I have retained detailed memory of the church.
My actual interest in historic buildings is much more recent and academic. I am currently studying history at the University of Derby, with a particular focus on the history of trauma, my second-year research project was related to how 78 Derngate, a house in Northampton designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, can be seen as a direct response by the architect to the trauma of the First World War.
My secondary research interest concerns how people in the nineteenth century engaged with the past, specifically in the context of Medieval Revivalism.
I am interested, overall, in how buildings serve as a way for people to represent ideas within a demarcated space, becoming not only relics of the past, but serving as spaces for exchanges between the past and present.
Q. Where did you work before joining DHBT?
Before joining DHBT, I was attached to a National Lottery funded project in Winster, where I helped to create a community archive for the Winster Wakes festival. I am also doing similar work, in a voluntary capacity, for the Peak District National Park. I have completed internships with Derby Museum and the Museum of Making. I have also worked for Holland and Barrett in Matlock.
Q. What first attracted you to the Heritage Development Support Officer internship with DHBT?
I was initially attracted to the role due to my academic interest in architecture and local history. I think that this internship will provide me with a great opportunity to sharpen skills that I have begun to develop whilst at University.
Q. Outside of work, do you have any interesting or unusual hobbies?
My most unusual hobby is probably my interest in collecting and repairing vintage typewriters, I find the process to be very rewarding. I also enjoy using them for my writing.
I also enjoy photography, I have a small collection of 35mm film cameras, as well as a couple of vintage digital cameras. I mostly shoot landscape and wildlife photography whilst out hiking. I enjoy mid twentieth century popular fiction; I am writing my dissertation on the 1950s Western radio show ‘Gunsmoke’.
Beyond this, I am interested in classic menswear, and collecting Japanese stationary. I also play the guitar and banjo.
