St Stephen’s Chapel, Westminster: Visual & Political Culture, 1292-1941
Minutes of a Project Website Meeting held at the Humanities Research Centre, The University of York, on
Monday 2nd June 2014, with Agreed Revisions and Action Points
In attendance:Tim Ayers, Pat Gibbs, James Hillson, Louise Hampson, James Jago & Anthony Masinton.
Nota bene:These Minutes are to be read in conjunction with the ‘Minutes of Project Website Revisions and Action
Points’, prepared following the previous meeting of Friday 22nd April, and to which the following Items,
their decisions and action points appertain.
1. Homepage:a.) Screenshots for revisions to the picture tabs at the base of this page had been prepared by P.G., in
consultation with J.J. The second screenshot, an arrangement of diagonal images of alternating tiles and
‘portrait’ images (taken from the Palace of Westminster’s Estates Directorate and the Works of Art
Collection), was deemed to be successful. Comment was made bearing upon the relationship between
the sub-headings and the diagonal tabs themselves and it was felt advisable that pop-up captions for
each tile should be introduced; a feature in keep with the images in the rolling banner at the top of the
Homepage. It was agreed that the image of the ‘Blog’ tile and the ‘About Us’ tile should change places.
Action:- P.G. to replace the current picture tabs according to the second screenshot, with the respective
‘portrait’ tabs reversed. J.J. to write captions for these tiles, following the format already established by
the images in the rolling banner, and other captioned images on the site.
b.) It was agreed that the text on the Homepage required revision, and much of its current content could
be moved to the revised ‘About Us’ page (see Item 2.a. below).
Action:- It was agreed that J.J. would revise this text, and circulate to T.A. and J.C. for approval prior to its
uploading onto the Homepage.
c.) An additional ‘Privacy and Cookies’ tab had been introduced to the footer of the homepage,
explaining such issues to the website’s visitors. P.G. reported that Google Analytics had now been set up
to monitor site traffic, allowing statistical data on this to be compiled. Further to previous discussions, it
was again agreed that implementing a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ option would be deferred to a
future date, when such a feature was felt to be desirable.
2. About Us:a.) It was also agreed that J.J. is to revise the text for this page and include links to partners, affiliates and
on-line projects organised by the Palace of Westminster (e.g. Living Heritage, Art in Parliament, &c.).
Action:- J.J. to revise the text and circulate to T.A. and J.C. for approval prior to its uploading onto the
‘About Us’ page.
3. Project Team:a.) J.J. had contacted Rosemary Hill for a suitable biography and photograph for the ‘About Us’ page.
This will be uploaded when she commences work in the July 2014. T.A. noted that Dr Anthony
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Geraghty (of the History of Art Department at York) should be listed amongst members of the Project’s
Executive Board.
Action:- P.G. to upload Rosemary Hill’s biography and photograph in due course, and to add Anthony
Geraghty to the list of Executive Board Members.
4. Project Blog:a.) It was noted that a ‘Comments / Questions’ option for site visitors had been introduced for each blog
entry. The entry contributed by Liz Hallam Smith (Chair of the Project’s Executive Board) had been
uploaded. For the present this fulfils the opportunity for public engagement with the website, and the
Project itself, which the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ option could be expand upon at a future date (see
Item 1.c. above). Blog posts from James Hillson and Dr Mark Collins had been forward to P.G. for
uploading. The desirability of illustrations to accompany posts was also noted; J.H. was asked to supply
a suitable illustration for his own entry. It was agreed that a new post should appear at least once a
month, and that they should reflect the different hierarchical levels of the Project itself. It was noted that
Caroline Shenton (an Executive Board member) had contacted J.J. offering to write a post on George
Scharf’s ‘Panorama’ of the Old Palace, painted after the 1834. This was deemed to be most apposite,
since this painting is the leading image on the Homepage’s rolling banner. J.J. also offered to write a blog
entry explaining the design of the Project’s logo.
Action:- P.G. to upload James Hillson’s blog, followed by Mark Collins’s in due course. J.J. to solicit
further blog entries from Project members, to create a ‘pool’ of contributions, which will be uploaded by
P.G. at a rate of at least one a month. J.H. to forward an image to accompany his blog entry to J.J. and
P.G. J.J. to write a blog entry on the Project’s logo and to forward to P.G. in due course.
5. Events:a.) It was noted that the in-page subheading “Events and Timeline” should now be revised to correspond
with the tab heading “Events Timeline”. It was also agreed that events which are external to the project
itself will be included here, and that subsequently a re-categorising of events was desirable at a future
date.
6. Members’ Area / Password Protected Pages:a.) It was noted that P.G. had uploaded a complete series of Minutes for the V.S.S. meetings for the
period October 2013 to April 2014 inclusive, to the Project Area of the website. The report on the pilot
project undertaken by Dr Maureen Jurkowski, had also been uploaded, and it was felt desirable to
upload Simon Neal’s pilot project report to this area. It was agreed to include 'Leverhulme Project' in the
title, as it related to the Leverhulme-funded project, rather than to the St Stephen’s Chapel project proper.
Discussion turned to the future development of this area, with specific regard to the creation of an
additional sub-section to host renders of the on-going Virtual St Stephens model. A.M. noted that their
display was intended to encourage conversations and comment from Project members whilst the
modelling was in progress, and that this could be facilitated by a private blog. It was agreed that P.G.
would devise a suitable format for posting still renders of the model, perhaps as a series of gallery
photographs, and create a facility for commenting upon the renders, ideally as a blog. It was also agreed
that the format of this section should allow for ease of navigation in future, and that still renders could
more easily facilitate this.
Action:- J.J. to forward Simon Neal’s pilot project report to P.G. to be uploaded to the ‘Reports’ area of the
Project Area. P.G. to retitle Maureen Jurkowski’s report, including 'Leverhulme Project'. P.G. to create a
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VSS sub-section within the Project Area, with the facilities for displaying still renders of the on-going
modelling (supplied by A.M.) and with the facility to comment upon the latter, in a private blog format.
7. Project Presence on Twitter & Social Media:a.) A report prepared by E.B. on the Project’s Twitter Feed was noted, and thanks were moved for her
work. Its recent activities and growing presence (currently twenty-seven followers at the time of writing)
were noted and the tone and content of Tweets were deemed to cover the right balance between
information and informality. The growth of the Project’s profile here was warmly anticipated.
8. Date of Next Project Website Meeting:a.) It was subsequently agreed amongst attendees to schedule the next meeting to discuss the Project
Website and Virtual St Stephen’s model for Thursday 24th July 2014, in the above location, commencing
at 10.00 a.m.
Author:- James Jago
S.S.C. Project Code:- R.A.1
Date: Thursday 5th June 2014
 Feast of Saint Boniface of Mainz
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