Industrial Heritage Networks

The CBA Festival of Archaeology 2026 – How to Take Part

March 25, 2026mikenevell

The Council for British Archaeology‘s Festival of Archaeology is back for 2026, and the theme for this year is “Archaeology and Nature”. The Festival will take place across the UK from Saturday 18th July to Sunday 2nd August. Last year over 120,000 people attended events across the UK in July. For 2026, the opening event is heading to Westonbirt, Gloucestershire, to explore Archaeology and Nature.

Event listings and resource submissions for the 2026 Festival of Archaeology are now open. Dozens of industrial heritage sites and industrial archaeology societies took part last year, putting on a variety of events, from talks and walks to exhibitions and tours. If you would like to find out more about the Festival activities or are interested in organising an event in 2026 please sign up for CBA newsletters via the link below and check the event organisers area where you’ll find lots of useful information on developing and delivering your activities.

To submit an event follow this link: Festival Council for British Archaeology

The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) is a UK wide educational charity that helps champion and promote participation in archaeology. We run the Young Archaeologists’ Clubs for young people aged 8-16 and the annual Festival of Archaeology to encourage the exploration of the places and spaces around us and their stories.

AIA’s 10th East-West Workshop on Industrial Archaeology

March 23, 2026mikenevell

The next East-West Workshop on Industrial Archaeology, co-run by the Association for Industrial Archaeology (AIA), will be on the 9th May. This is 10th online, free, workshop in the series and takes place exactly five years after the AIA co-hosted the first edition in May 2021.

The East-West Workshops on Industrial Archaeology were not created to endure; at least, not in a purely virtual format. When the first workshop was held in May 2021, it was mainly a way to prevent the COVID pandemic from disrupting our academic activities and international exchanges. However, the experience exceeded expectations. Five years on, the AIA are launching the 10th edition of a series of workshops that has become increasingly popular in the West, the East, and beyond.

To mark this special occasion, this workshop focuses on the archaeology, heritage, and history of alcoholic beverages. The speakers will examine the architecture of malt production in Britain and continental Europe (a key component of beer, whiskey, and other spirits), the history of winemaking and wine consumption in Spain, and the landscape of baijiu production in China. While the workshop acknowledges the serious consequences of alcohol abuse, it also recognises it as a significant element in many cultures worldwide, their social practices, and their heritage.

The East-West workshop series aims to exchange ideas and knowledge between Western and Eastern colleagues to develop a more international and diverse industrial archaeology. The event is jointly organised by the Institute for Cultural Heritage and History of Science & Technology (USTB, China) and the UK Association for Industrial Archaeology.

SPEAKERS & TALKS

Amber PATRICK (Association for Industrial Archaeology, Britain): “Malthouse Developments – The Late 18^th Century to the Mid-20^th Century”
Pablo ALONSO GONZÁLEZ (Spanish National Research Council, Spain): “Craft Vs. Industrial? A Critical History of Spanish Wine”
Yuchen WANG (University of Science and Technology Beijing, China): “Symbiotic Cityscape: Luzhou Baijiu Cultural Heritage as an Urban Cultural Landscape”

DATE & TIME

9 May 2026, Saturday. 10.00-12.00 London time

PLACE

Zoom (online meeting). More info and free registration:

Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester, to Hold Volunteering Open Event in April

March 20, 2026mikenevell

The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester is hosting a volunteering open event on Thursday 9 April from 11.00–13.00, offering visitors the chance to discover how they can help operate and demonstrate thge historic machines that powered Manchester’s industries.

*The ‘Rocket’ locomotive on display at the museum in 2018.*

The museum is particularly seeking Volunteer Historic Machinery Operators, who will work alongside its expert Technical Services team to bring these engines and machines to life for visitors by supporting with live demonstrations and conversations about how they work and their impact. The museum’s volunteer programme plays a key role in making sure that knowledge isn’t lost, while also inspiring a new generation of engineers, makers, and creators. Katie Powell, Volunteer Manager at the museum, said: “Nothing inspires our visitors quite like seeing our historic machinery in motion. By volunteering with us, you’ll help bring these extraordinary machines to life, share their stories, and inspire the next generation of innovators.”

Further details caon be found on the musuems website here: Volunteering | Science and Industry Museum

If you are interested in attending, please contact MSI at volunteering@scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk with your name and contact details.

*The recently renovated power hall at the Science and Industry Museum, Manchester. Image copyright Dr Michael Nevell.*

Walsall Leather Museum Given Listed Status

March 14, 2026March 13, 2026mikenevell

The Walsall Leather Museum in the Midlands, which is housed in the 19th century brick-built, multi-storey, buildings of the former Withers and Son and Samuel Llewellen leather works buildings, was given Grade II listed status earlier this month. The museum is facing closure on the 11 April, although Walsall Council has purchased new premises in the centre of the town for the proposed site of the re-located museum. A time-frame for the re-opening is yet to be announced.

In announcing the listing, Historic England noted that “We recommended listing the buildings at Grade II due to their historic and architectural interest. Leather working is strongly associated with Walsall, and the town is still a major centre for the industry. The workshops on Wisemore are among a very small group of such buildings of this date surviving in Walsall, and so are of particular significance for the town as they embody the industry that played a major part in the lives of many local people.”

In response to the listing, Walsall Council’s leader Mike Bird was quoted in the local press as saying: ‘It might be heritage to them but at the end of the day it’s an old factory, simple as that.’

More details about the listing, proposed closure, and move of the museum can be found here: Walsall Leather Museum’s listed status ‘won’t affect move’

The listing details can be found here: Two former leather goods works, Wisemore, Non Civil Parish – 1495986 | Historic England

*The Walsall Leather Museum. Image courtesy of the museum.*

Mills Now & Then – SPAB Call for Your Mill Histories

March 13, 2026mikenevell

To celebrate Mills in 2026 the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) is producing a compilation of individual mills’ histories. The SPAB Mills Section wants to create a new and comprehensive picture of mills of all types throughout the UK, Ireland, and Europe and are calling for submissions from owners, volunteers, millwrights, or anyone interested in the history of a mill or a linked group of mills, to write about how they evolved.

SPAB would like to understand a mill’s origins and how the structure and uses have changed over its lifetime. This can be a post mill, smock or tower mill, a watermill or tide mill, or an industrial mill. The mill can be located in the UK, Ireland or Europe. The entry can be about mills stil existing, derelict, or lost.

The chosen entrants will receive a copy of the published booklet, which will be available at SPAB Mills Section events. A digital version of selected submissions will also be available.

The deadline for submissions is Friday 1 May 2026. All entries to be submitted via email to: nmwsubmissions@spab.org.uk

Further details can be found by following this link: Mills Now & Then – Call for your histories | The SPAB

*Windmill in Lincoln. Image copyright Dr Michael Nevell.*

Next Greenwich Industrial History Society Free Online Talk – 10 March

March 6, 2026March 6, 2026mikenevell

The next Greenwich Industrial History talk will be on Tuesday 10th March – 19.15 for 19.30. Jeffrey Borinsky will be talking about the Broadcast Engineering Museum, the 100th anniversary of Baird’s first demonstration of television and 90 years since the start of the world’s first regular high definition TV service from Alexandra Palace. The Broadcast Engineering Museum is a hands-on museum where many exhibits are working.

Jeffrey Borinsky spent his working life designing equipment for use in TV studios. He is one of the founding trustees of the Broadcast Engineering Conservation Group. The BECG started the Broadcast Engineering Museum in 2021. The free talk – by Zoom, and open to members and non-members of GIHS – will start at 19:15 for 19:30 on Tuesday 10th March. For details of how to register, see below.

How to reserve your place for this free online talk

You can book a place now by emailing greenwichindustrial@gmail.com with the subject line “GIHS Broadcasting Engineering Museum talk”. Zoom log-in details will be sent just before the talk starts.

SS Great Britain Launches Fundraiser to Complete Museum Renovation Project

March 5, 2026mikenevell

The SS Great Britain Trust is looking to raise the final £180,000 over the next six weeks to help complete the major reinvention project of the museum, which lies next to the historic ship in the Floating Harbour. On 23 February, the old Dockyard Museum closed to make way for a refreshed museum scheduled to open in July 2026. This will bring to life the remarkable stories of the passengers and crew who travelled and worked aboard the SS Great Britain. Alongside the revamped museum there will be a new community hub, a safe and accessible space for local groups to gather, research, and host workshops.

With £1.3m in investment already secured, the Trust are calling on visitors, local businesses, supporters worldwide, and the people of Bristol to get involved and help make the new museum a reality. The Dockyard Museum is being redesigned as an immersive experience focused on the “untold stories” of passengers who travelled aboard the SS Great Britain to destinations including New York, India and the Falkland Islands. The Trust has said that the “much-needed makeover” will “reveal stories from more of the passengers on board the SS Great Britain, but it will also allow today’s audiences to resonate with her history in an entirely new way”.

Further details on how to donate can be found here: All Hands On Deck – SS Great Britain

Friends of Bennerley Viaduct Launch Crowdfunder to Build New Footbridge

March 4, 2026March 3, 2026mikenevell

The Friends of Bennerley Viaduct were formed in 2019 as a community charity to help save and make accessible the Bennerley Viaduct and its surrounding environment. The Bennerley Viaduct is a Grade II* listed former Railway Viaduct connecting Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire through the towns of Kimberley and Ilkeston. The Friends‘ goal is to preserve the viaduct and its immediate surrounding area for future generations. As part of this aim they are looking to secure funding to create a new crossing over the River Erewash and to pay for materials that will help to secure the river bank that the bridge will cross.

Not only will the new footbridge over the River Erewash increase access to the viaduct and its surrounding environment, but it will also help to secure the riverbank to prevent its erosion, and so help to secure the future of the viaduct. The Friends target is £10,000, which will act as match-funding for a National Lottery Heritage Fund bid.

To contribute follow this link: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/new-footbridge-next-to-bennerley-viaduct-second-pledge

*Image of the proposed new footbridge beneath the ‘iron giant’. Image courtesy of the Friends of Bennerley Viaduct.*

Museum Association Bids Farewell to the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust

March 3, 2026mikenevell

The 2nd March 2026 marked the start of a new era within the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site, as the National Trust took over the 10 museums, 35 scheduled monuments and listed buildings, and 400,000 archives of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust (IGMT). The museums closed for the last time under IGMT control on the 22 February, which was marked by a special parade and ceremony of staff, volunteers, and friends at Blists Hill open air museum, the final site to close on that day.

To celebrate 60 years of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, the Museums Association interviewed the Collections team for their thoughts on IGMT and its legacy. You can read the full article, and reminescences by Kate Cademan (Collections Curator) and Jo Smith (Registrar), here: https://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/people/2026/02/bidding-farewell-to-the-ironbridge-gorge-museum-trust/#

The National Trust is planning a phased reopening of each site over the following months. The  anticipated reopening timeline is as follows:   

Museum of the Gorge and Toll House from late April 2026 
Blists Hill, Museum of Iron and The Old Furnace from mid-May 2026 
Enginuity from summer 2026 (school visits from April 2026) 
Coalport China Museum, Jackfield Tile Museum, Darby Houses, Tar Tunnel and Broseley Pipeworks will open later.

Further details here: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/shropshire-staffordshire/our-work/our-work-in-shropshire/ironbridge-museums

**Staff, volunteers, and friends gather at Blists Hill to say farewell to IGMT, on 22 February 2026.**

SAVE Britain’s ‘Heritage Buildings at Risk Register’ – Call for Entries

February 26, 2026February 25, 2026mikenevell

SAVE Britain’s Heritage has issued a call for nominations for historic buildings at risk which will be considered for their 2026 Buildings at Risk register. SAVE want to bring attention to historic buildings at risk across the UK.

They are interested in vacant or partially vacant historical buildings that are at risk from stalled projects, neglect or lack of action. Unlike some other risk registers, the building does not need to be listed to be eligible,l which means that many threatened industrial structures could be included. Their central aim is to raise awareness of these forgotten spaces and provide a platform to advocate for their retention and reuse.

To nominate a building:

Click on this link to the ‘Buildings at Risk’ register on their website
Check if your building is already on SAVE Britain’s Heritage Buuildings at Risk Register
If it’s not already on the Register, fill in a quick form with what you know including a (copyright-free) photograph and as much address information as you can.
You can also email your nomination to: amy.popham@savebritainsheritage.org