Meet our team: Brook Bishop, Volunteer Interpretation Assistant
In this blog series we look forward to introducing our team here at the CCT. We hope you will enjoy learning more about the scope and variety of the work that we do.
Brook Bishop has recently joined us as a Volunteer Interpretation Assistant, and is helping to create new online audio guides for several of our churches.
Why did you start volunteering with the CCT?
I enjoy learning new things, educating others and telling stories, which is why the opportunity to volunteer with the CCT as an interpretive assistant was something I couldn’t pass on. I have worked for English Heritage for six years, most recently as a marketing assistant, and I aspire to move into a role focused on the creation of amazing visitor experiences and bringing history to life. I’m so grateful to the CCT for offering this opportunity to get some experience under my belt and play my part in helping the churches in their care thrive.
What do you like doing outside of your volunteering role?
Besides my work, I enjoy going for walks amongst nature around Bristol and visiting historic sites. I studied music at university and enjoy practising on my bass and writing short pieces of music for piano and chamber ensembles. I’m also guilty of binging Netflix series’ from time to time.
How are you finding volunteering at CCT so far? Has anything surprised you?
I’ve really enjoyed getting stuck into the task of researching for and writing an audio tour for Everleigh church. Working on this from home has been welcome, though it would be great to meet people throughout the CCT and visit some churches! I've most enjoyed, strangely, to work out the best way to grab the listener’s attention and hold on to it. Explaining the sometimes-complex history of the church and adapting my writing style and vocabulary to make the topic accessible has also been a useful experience. I’m looking forward to recording and publishing the final product and hope visitors find it evocative and enjoyable.
What’s your favourite thing about volunteering for the CCT so far?
The flexibility and freedom of the role has been great. The fact it’s homebased and I can log on and do a bit after work throughout the week has been great and with no travel expense! It’s also been really interesting to work with another heritage organisation to better understand how we all work to support the historic environment.
