Exhibition: Egham and the Empire

19 – 30 July 2022

This exhibition has been curated by Royal Holloway Public History MA student Katie Smith.

At it’s height, the British Empire covered a significant portion of the earth’s surface. It encompassed
millions of people from across the globe, many of whom were subject to colonial violence and
control. Yet back in Britain, how much did the ordinary person understand about what it meant to
be part of an empire, and what it meant to rule one? And how was the empire present in material
and popular culture as well as in other areas of British society?

With a focus on nineteenth and twentieth century artefacts from our collections, this exhibition will
address the increasing interest in Britain and its overseas empire that is present today. This area of
history has previously been seldom explored in museums and other heritage sites in Britain.