The Centre for Victorian Literature and Culture at the University of Kent is pleased to announce the launch of its website for display of the Sherborne House Macready-Dickens screen at https://www.kent.ac.uk/macready/index.html

The Macready-Dickens screen is a four-leaf, folding scrap-work screen that was created at Sherborne House, Dorset, by William Macready and Charles Dickens (according to family report) in the 1850s. The screen was donated to the Trustees of Sherborne House by Sir Nevil Macready. It has just been restored and conserved and will shortly go on display at the Sherborne Museum. Covered with almost 500 images cut from prints, it provides a unique window onto the world of nineteenth-century theatrical, literary, historical and political cultures. Approximately 70% of the images have so far been identified.

The website has been created to provide for public display of the screen. It enables users to study individual images in detail and provides research information about them where it is available. It forms an ongoing resource for anyone interested in Macready, Dickens or the ways in which Victorian objects relate to the lives of those who owned or made them.

For further information, please contact Professor Cathy Waters at c.waters@kent.ac.uk