mikenevell

Heritage Open Days, 2024: Still Time to Register Your Industrial Site

July 15, 2024mikenevell

There’s still time to register your industrial heritage site for 2024’s Heritage Open Days. Last year more than 200 industrial heritage sites took part, offering free events across England, and raising awareness about their activities and history.

Overall, there were more than 923,000 festival visits across 5,282 heritage events in England – the highest number of visitors for England’s largest festival of history and culture ever recorded. More details for the 2023 event here: https://heritageopendays.org.uk/resource/festival-review-2023.html

Heritage Open Days offers free access to organisers to a wide range of support materials and guidance including bunting and risk assessment templates. Its also a chance to connect with people across the country, with over 2,000+ organisers meeting to share ideas.

For more details about online registration by 8 August follow this link: https://bit.ly/England_Heritage_Open_Days_2024

Festival of Archaeology 2024 Starts 13th July

July 11, 2024July 10, 2024mikenevell

The 2024 Festival fo Archaeology, run by the Council for British Archaeology, will run from the 13th July to the 28th July across the UK. The Festival incorporates hundreds of in-person and virtual events delivered by community groups, heritage organisations, universities, commercial units across the UK.

This year’s festival theme is archaeology and community, and since the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) will be celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2024 its the perfect opportunity to celebrate the grassroots groups, societies, and individuals that share a passion for archaeology across the UK. https://www.archaeologyuk.org/festival.html

Several industrial archaeology and heritage sites are taking part this year. These include the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust who are running a free open day at Coalbrookdale, sponsored by the Association for Industrial Archaoelogy, and the National Trust who have an open day at Force Crag Mine in Cumbria. Other free industrial events include an animation workshop at Nenthead mines in Cumbria and a variety of talks and walks.

To locate an industrial archaeology event close to you follow this link: https://www.archaeologyuk.org/festival/festival-event-listing.html

Industrial Heritage in England Survey Stage 1 Update

July 9, 2024mikenevell

The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and Heritage Innovation are undertaking a survey of the c.600 publicly accessible and protected industrial heritage sites in England. Funded by Historic England, the 2024 survey is gathering data on these sites which will be compared with similar reports undertaken in 2008 and 1998, and will inform Historic England’s draft Industrial Heritage Strategy and future strategy for the Industrial Heritage Support Ofﬁcer (IHSO). Stage 1 of the Industrial Heritage Sites in England Survey 2024 the online survey, has been been completed. Stage 2, targetted interviews with selected sites, is now underway.

The survey is being undertaken by Heritage Innovation, who ran the online survey was in April and May. Some of the initial findings gathered by Heritage Innovation show that:

48.3% of Industrial Heritage sites were owned by a preservation trust or society.
83.6% of preservation trusts or societies had charitable status.
44.8% of sites were accredited museums.
52.6% of sites had found it ‘quite difﬁcult’ to secure public sector funding in the last three years.
73.7% of sites said they found it ‘fairly difﬁcult’ or ‘very difﬁcult’ to attract new volunteers.
72.4% of sites had original plant and machinery in situ.

Stage 2 of the survey, which is running across July, is a series of up to 12 interviews of those running industrial heritage sites across England, from entitely volunteer run sites, to the largest industrial heriage trusts. The results of the project will be published later in the year, including a free online seminar in the autumn.

Royal Gunpowder Mills To Celeberate Engineer John Smeaton On Open Days, 9 & 14 July

July 6, 2024July 5, 2024mikenevell

2024 marks the 300th Anniversary of the birth of the noted engineer and father of civil engineering, John Smeaton (1724-1792). The Royal Gunpowder Mills (RGM), Waltham Abbey, Essex, are commemorating him with special talks and Smeaton-inspired children’s activity on select open days in July.

John Smeaton worked at the gunpowder mills site and the Trust’s volunteers have been working through their archives to research RGM’s connections with Smeaton. Discover how his designs of mills, canals, and more changed the gunpowder mills, the River Lea, and the world!

Follow this link for further details:

https://www.royalgunpowdermills.com/johnsmeaton

Festival of Archaeology 2024: Free Entry to the Museum of Iron, Coalbrookdale, 27 July

July 4, 2024July 3, 2024mikenevell

As part of the national Festival of Archaeology 2024, organised by the Council for British Archaoelopgy, the 27th July will see free entry to Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron, as the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust (IGMT) hosts a special day-long event.

A series of talks, walks, and tours will take place throughout the day, and local historical and archaeological societies and groups will be on-site talking to visitors about their work.

Find out more on the IGMT website: https://bit.ly/3L6QHes

This event is sponsored by the Association for Industrial Archaeology.

hashtag#FestivalOfArchaeology hashtag#Coalbrookdale hashtag#Museums hashtag#IndustrialArchaeology

Britannia Sailing Trust Emergency Funding Appeal

July 2, 2024mikenevell

The Britannia Sailing Trust have launched an urgent appeal for funds to help them complete the restoration of the vessel. Fundraising through the Trust’s regular avenues has been difficult in 2024, and at the moment the money will run out in October. Without additional funding, the entire restoration project and the future of Britannia is currently at risk.

The Trust has the materials ready to re-rig the ship and prepare her for sea trials, but still needs to cover their many expenses, particularly the wages of their skilled boatbuilders and their trainees, which are currently the biggest expense.

Britannia Sailing Trust is a maritime heritage charity, centred around the restoration of a 108-year-old sailing vessel, Britannia, based in Exter. After a decade of dedication from the volunteer-led team, the restoration project is finally on the brink of completion.

Donate to the Crowdfunder page to support the the final stage of the restoration work and help keep Britannia afloat here: Donatation Page

*The SS Britannia was returned to the waves in 2o23. Image courtesy of the Britannia Sailing Trust.*

The Great Engine House Project: London Museum of Water & Steam

July 1, 2024mikenevell

The London Museum of Water and Steam (LMWS) has launched a funding appeal for its ‘Great Engine House Project’. The Great Engine House is home to the Grand Junction 100 Inch and the 90 Inch beam engines which pumped clean water into the homes of millions of Londoners between 1838 and 1944.

The Museum is based in a Georgian water pumping station in Brentford, West London, and is home to a large collection of steam engines. Described by DCMS as “the most important historic site of the water supply industry in Britain” the LMWS shares the history, science, and the stories behind London’s public water supply.

Now it needs public help to preserve this internationally important collection. The Museum has a funding and maintenance backlog due to the COVID lockdowns and lack of funds for expensive scaffolding. The Grade I listed Engine House and the two huge beam engines it contains have all suffered significant degredation over the last few years.

The ‘Great Engine House Project’ aims to return the engine house to a watertight state, remove damaging past repairs, conserve the engines and improve their environmental conditions, improve accessibility, remove any materials containing asbestos, and reduce carbon emissions from running the engines.

To donate follow this link: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/great-engine-house

Brew Up! Industrial Collections Network: Lion Salt Works, Northwich, 4th July

June 28, 2024mikenevell

Brew Up! brings together people who work with industrial collections in the North of England, from mill engines to computers, from agricultural to glass; a chance to learn and share. Join us to connect with colleagues across the region, discuss issues unique to industrial collections and find key advice and insight from experienced professionals.

Run by Museum Development North, this session at the Lion Salt Works in Northwich will focus on the theme of environmental responsibility. Covering topics from green fuels to greening your site, this day will be especially useful for industrial heritage and archaeology sites and groups. It runs from 10:00–15:30. To book follow this link:

ttps://www.museumdevelopmentnorth.org.uk/event/brew-up-industrial-collections-network-lion-salt-works-northwich/

Museum of Carpet New Exhibition ‘Frocks & Floors, Fibre & Fabrics’ Opens July 2024

June 27, 2024mikenevell

A new exhibition of costume and carpet tracing textile sustainability throughout the 20th century opens at the Museum of Carpet, Kidderminster, in July. Running from 3 July to 31 August, this exhibition is a partnership with Kidderminster College.

This is an opportunity to see beautiful vintage dresses and stunning complimentary carpet designs spanning the last century. The exhibition will look at how fibres and materials have influenced fashion and changed the way we live.

The Museum of Carpet is an independent museum, with no regular local or central government funding, and needs help to cover rising costs. For more information, visit the Donate tab on their website here: https://museumofcarpet.org/support-us/

The museum is open Wednesdays to Saturdays and the exhibition entry is included in your museum admission. Children have free entry to the museum.

Industrial Heritage Network Online Meeting Dates 2024

June 25, 2024June 25, 2024mikenevell

The latest round of online meetings for the Industrial Heritage Networks in England are now taking place. Members will be recieving a ‘save the date’ email this week and then links to the meetings in the following weeks. These meetings are run by the Ironbridge Gorge Musuem Trust as part of the IHSO project. The networks provide a chance for those involved in running and maintaining industrial heritage sites, archaeological monuments, or local societies to get together and discuss current issues and experiences.

One of the current themes being explored by this year’s network meetings is how industrial museums, groups, and those supporting industrial archaeology monuments work with their local authority and how that has changed over the years. Membership of the regional networks is voluntary and free. If you would like to take part please email the IHSO at: mike.nevell@ironbridge.org.uk

Dates for the 2024 Online Industrial Heritage Network meetings:

Wedensday 19 June – London – completed

Wednesday 26 June – North West

Tuesday 2July – South East

Wednesday 3 July – South West

Monday 8 July – East Midlands

Wednesday 10 July – West Midlands

Monday 15July – East of England

Tuesday 16 July – Yorkshire

Monday 22 July – Cornwall & Devon

Wednesday 24 July – North East

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Author: mikenevell