Part of the Industrial Heritage Support Project
The latest exhibition by the Wandle Industrial Musuem opens on 9th June 2024. ‘Our Leather Industries’ looks at the history of leather making and some of the products produced in the Wandle Valley in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The exhibition can be found at the Vestry Hall Annexe, London Road, Mitcham, Surrey. Open on Wednesdays, 1-4pm and Sundays 2-5pm, the exhibtion is free to enter.
The deadline for the Industrial Heritage Sites in England Survey 2024 has been extended to the 14th June. The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and Heritage Innovation are undertaking this 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.
The original deadline for response was the 10th May, but in order to capture as many replies as possible we have decided to extend the deadline and will continue to accept responses until 14th June. We hope this will allow as many sites as possible to take part in the once-in-a- generation survey. This work is being carried out by Heritage Innovation, https://heritageinnovation.org/, and can be accessed here:
The questionnaire will take around 15-30 minutes to complete. Please do drop the project a line if you need any support to complete the survey. If you require this questionnaire in an alternative format or have any questions about the survey please let us know at IHSO@ironbridge.org.uk. For general queries contact Zoe Arthurs via email on zoearthursheritage@gmail.com or call 07581 405835.
Join textile artist and London National Park City Ranger Elly for a walk along South London’s River Wandle. The Wandle was a heavily industrialised river in the 18th and 19th centuries and was declared “dead” in the 1960s. It has been restored to life over the last 50 years and is now a beautiful chalk stream habitat and home to a wide variety of wildlife.
Travel back in time as you travel along the Wandle Trail and find out about the Wandle’s rich history as a site of textile production, and how this history is a microcosm of the global textile industry today. Learn about the challenges that the Wandle faces from single use plastic pollution and wastewater discharges, and how local activists have been working to improve this environment for years. The walk will take you from restored chalk stream to culverted urban river, from new housing developments to National Trust gardens, from modern industry to the repurposed buildings of the Liberty Print Works.
Start at 11am at Hackbridge Community Gardens, Nightingale Road, Carshalton SM5 2EN. Nearest station: Hackbridge (Southern, Thameslink)
Finish 1pm at Merton Abbey Mills, Watermill Way, London SM19 2RD. Nearest Station: Colliers Wood (Northern Line)
Access: this walk is over flat terrain, and most of the footpaths have hard surfaces. There are some sections that haven’t been surfaced and these can become muddy in wet weather so please wear appropriate footwear. There are toilets at the LIDL opposite Hackbridge station, at Morden Hall Park and Merton Abbey Mills.
The 6th East-West Workshop on Industrial Archaeology, sponsored by the Association for Industrial Archaeology, brings together historians and archaeologists from the UK, China, and Brazil to examine the ruins of industry as sources of information (archaeological evidence), inspiration and aesthetic experiences. The workshop delves into the ancient and modern ruins of industry as particular archaeological sites that allow, and demand, different explorations. It will take place online on 11 May 2024, 10.00-12.00 GMT.
The East-West series of workshops aims to exchange ideas and knowledge among Western and Eastern colleagues to build a more international and diverse industrial archaeology. The activity is organised jointly by the Institute for Cultural Heritage and History of Science & Technology (USTB, China), the UK Association for Industrial Archaeology, and its Young Members Board. The speakers will be:
More info & free registration here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/6th-east-west-workshop-on-industrial-archaeology-industrial-ruins-tickets-888220470337?aff=oddtdtcreator
The Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society are holding their annual conference on 11th May 2024. The theme is new research, with a focus on local history, family history, and industrial archaeology. It will be held at the friend’s Meeting House, Mount Street, Manchester, M2 5NS from 10am to 3pm.
The talks will include presentations Helen Corlett talking about The Cooper at Old Bridge End: Finding a Place in Early 19c Manchester (a micro study of the experience of an artisan-tradesman family migrating to Manchester from the rural north); Neil Coldrick on Medieval Ironworking in Holcombe Valley; and Kelly Griffiths discussing Scuttled: Excavations on the Historic Canal Basin in Rochdale (looking at excavating late 19th century canal boats).
The conference is free to members of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society and the Manchester Local Family History Society, but donations are gratefully accepted. The fee for non members is £12.00 payable to Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society. Please email secretary@landcas.org.uk to book your place.
Booking is now open for a major conference at Ironbridge looking at the life, work, and legacy of L T C Rolt on the 10th May 2024. L T C Rolt, also known as Tom, was a renowned practical engineer and prolific author who wrote books and articles on industrial history, canals, railways, and cars as well as fiction. Rolt was an early supporter of the work of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and is regarded as one of the founders of the 20th century waterways and railway preservation movements. He was also involved in helping to establish the Association for Industrial Archaeology.
To mark the 50th anniversary of his death, Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust has partnered with academics from Keele University to host a conference on Friday 10th May which will celebrate his life and the continuing legacy of his work. There will also be conference-related events on the 9th and 11th May.
The programme can be seen by following this link:
🗓️ See the programme here: https://bit.ly/42XRI0y
To book tickets follow this link:
🎟️ Get your tickets here: https://bit.ly/49xHcjm
The Working Industrial & Mobile Heritage (WIMH) platform is being developed by umbrella organisations from throughout the industrial and mobile heritage sector in Europe. The European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH) is one of the partners in this project. The group is appealing to ERIH members and other industrial heritage sites in the UK for help in collecting evidence to protect a hugely important element of our industrial museums across Europe – their heritage in operation. Other partners currently include: TICCIH – The International Committee for Conservation of the Industrial Heritage; FEDECRAIL – Federation of European Museum & Tourist Railways; FIVA – Federation Internationale des Vehicules Anciens; and the Europa Nostra Industrial & Engineering Heritage Committee.
The working industrial and mobile heritage sector embraces historic machinery at industrial heritage sites and museums, railways, steam ships, road vehicles, and aviation. These all constitute a “social testimony” which ensures that the essential “know how” for the operation of steam powered machinery and combustion engines should not be lost for future generations. Cultural heritage enriches the lives of people and plays a role in enhancing Europe’s social capital. Our sector is also an important resource for economic growth, employment and social cohesion. Working industrial and mobile heritage depends on the continued and limited availability of fossil fuels, like coal and oil-based derivatives. Such fuels remain necessary for the dynamics of heritage machines and vehicles.
As set out in in the 2014 document “Towards an Integrated Approach to Cultural Heritage for Europe”, the European Union is committed to promoting industrial heritage. Our sector is currently facing certain challenges, such as reliance on a limited availability of fossil fuels. The European Union, and other national governments such as the UK throughout Europe, need to take a balanced approach to the almost negligible environmental impact of limited fossil fuel usage by the sector and the legitimate objective of preserving this heritage. For example, assisted also by retaining a continued source of suitable coal at a location within Europe.
A key task of the WIMH partnership is to try to gather as much data as possible of the current annual consumption of our sector, especially of coal but also historic oil based fuels. Considerable efforts have already been made in particular by the railway heritage sector in several countries, including the UK, and research is being undertaken by the historic road transport sector.
Who should respond?
Working from this foundation, the next steps are to build up a picture of at least approximate fossil fuel usage from the industrial heritage sector. This survey is for museums and heritage sites for whom fossil fuel power is needed for continued operation of pumps and industrial machines which form such an important part of the interpretation to the public at our sites. Not only coal-fired boilers and equipment, but also other machinery which operate with petrol, diesel, or other traditional oil based fuels. Follow this link to fill in the survey:
For any questions, please contact Hildebrand de Boer, ERIH Board Member + Liaison Officer ERIH + WIMH hildebrandeboer@hotmail.com
The cost of living crisis combined with cuts to Local Authority budgets in England are leading to the closure, or proposed closure, of industrial heritage sites and museums in 2024. Closures and threatened closures cover sites from Kent and Cornwall, to Hampshire and Yorkshire.
The Heartlands Trust and Cornwall Council have announced that the Heartlands Mining Heritage Centre, in Pool, Cornwall, is set to close, although the surrounding park, offices, and shops will remain open managed by the Council. The heritage centre opened in 2012. The Heartlands Trust said on its website (https://www.heartlandscornwall.com/) that it would cease trading at the end of January and “would like to express our gratitude to everyone for their support over the past 12 years”. A joint statement from the trust and the local council said: “Heartlands had never seen itself as a commercial operation but finance has always been precarious. Budget over-runs on the original build project meant vital units intended to provide rental streams were never built and intended developer contributions for playground maintenance were never received.” Further details here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-67924474)
In February 2023, Eastleigh Borough Council, which part funded the day-to-day operational costs of Bursledon Windmill, informed Hampshire Cultural Trust of their intention to withdraw their funding from the end of August 2023. Simultaneously, as part of a project to refurbish and replace the mill sails, Hampshire Cultural Trust commissioned a full health and safety report, the outcome of which was a requirement either to have staff available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to turn the mill, or to install a new tethering system for the sails. As of 14 November 2023, there has been no further decision regarding the long-term future of Bursledon Windmill and if it will continue to be open to the public after 1 April 2024. Hampshire Cultural Trust is continuing to work with HBPT and Hampshire County Council to seek clarity. Further details here: https://www.hampshireculture.org.uk/bursledon-windmill
Just before Christmas 2023 Kent County Council announced a consultation on proposals to change the ownership arrangements of the eight windmills that are currently owned by KCC for eight windmills across the county for which it is currently responsible. The windmills affected are Chillenden Mill, Union Mill, Herne Mill, Drapers Mill, Meopham Mill, Davison’s Mill, West Kingsdown Mill, and Stocks Mill. The move would save the council around £800,000 during the years 2024 to 2029. Several of the mills are run by local voluntary groups who open the sites to the public. The proposal would be a change to the current strategy set out in the Kent Heritage Conversation Strategy and as such needs to go to public consultation. The consultation ends on January 29th 2024. Further details here: https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/have-your-say-on-plans-to-sell-off-kent-s-windmills-297729/
The future of Thwaites Mill Museum in Leeds, where the local council is considering end its lease with the Canal and River Trust in 2025 (see https://industrialheritagenetworks.com/2023/12/18/thwaite-watermill-museum-under-threat-from-local-authority-budget-cuts/), remains unclear.
During the period 2020 to 2022 no industrial heritage sites nor industrial museums closed in England due to the COVID pandemic.
The latest industrial heritage title by Historic England/Liverpool University Press has recently been published: ‘The Buildings of the Malting Industry: The production of malt from prehistory to the 21st century’ by Amber Patrick.
Malt is one of the main ingredients of beer, yet the buildings in which it was and is now produced have received very little attention. Although most towns and many villages had their own malthouse and kiln, this is the first book to address this important building type. Today, evidence for a malthouse may just be a name on a building or street, but where they survive the pyramidal roofs clearly demonstrate the presence of a malthouse as do other less recognisable features. This book shows how they changed over the centuries with accompanying illustrations, including those that have been converted to new uses. Further details can be found here – https://liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10.3828/9781837644285
This complements our previous publications: ‘Built to Brew: The History and Heritage of the Brewery’ (https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10.3828/9781848022386) and ‘Oasts and Hop Kilns: A History’ (https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10.3828/9781789622515)
Over the past couple of years talks on Zoom for Greenwich Industrial History Society have been recorded on Youtube. The talks listed below are now available and more will be added soon. They can be accessed via Youtube. The general link is https://www.youtube.com/@GreenwichIndustrialHistorySoc The talks available are as follows:
GIHS continues to lobby Greenwich Council to restore a properly functioning archive and museum service in the borough. Follow this link to sign the petition: https://chng.it/cS7TtpzyHj
Industrial Heritage Networks 