industrial archaeology – Page 14 – Industrial Heritage Networks

Lincoln’s Industrial History: Industrial Archaeology Conference 18 November 2023

November 3, 2023mikenevell

The Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology (SLHA) is running an industrial archaeology conference on ‘Lincoln’s Engineering History’ on the 18 November at Lincoln College, Lincoln. A series of talks will celebrate Lincoln’s remarkable engineering history – and its 100-year-old Engineering Society.

The programme includes talks on: ‘Commemorating Lincoln Engineering Society’s Centenary: It’s Origins and Early Years’; ‘Lincoln Engineering – Why and How? Factors leading to the start of engineering in the City of Lincoln’; and ‘ The Engineering Heritage of Lincoln’. Tickets cost £30 for the public and £25 for SLHA members, and the day includes lunch and refreshments.

SLHA promotes an interest in all aspects of Lincolnshire’s heritage. Details about the society can be found here: https://www.slha.org.uk/index.php

Bookings need to be made before the 10th November on Eventbrite. Follow this link for the booking form: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lincolns-engineering-history-tickets-670627844937

New Funding for Repairs to Gunns Mill Furnace in Mitcheldean

September 12, 2023September 26, 2023mikenevell

Historic England has awarded a grant of £31,020 to the Forest of Dean Building Preservation Trust to help repair Gunns Mill furnace in Mitcheldean. Gunns Mill is considered to be the best-preserved charcoal blast furnace in Britain.

The current furnace structure dates from the mid-17th century when the Forest of Dean was one of the most important centres for iron production in the country. It was converted to a papermill in 1743 but had fallen out of use by the 20th century.

The Forest of Dean Buildings Preservation Trust took on the ownership of Gunns Mill in 2013 and since then has undertaken a number of repairs to the structure with support from Historic England. This most recent round of funding will enable architects and engineers to design a structural solution to repair the timber frame of the roof of the bridge house and provide a usable space within.

The surviving lower tier of the building is a blast furnace built in 1625 on the site of earlier fulling and corn mills. That furnace was destroyed in the Civil War and was rebuilt by 1682, evidenced by cast iron lintels with cast dates of 1682 and 1683. The charge house roof on the upper tier north side has been dendro-dated from this time. It continued as a blast furnace until 1738.

More details here: https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/in-your-area/south-west/gunns-mill-forest-of-dean-gloucestershire/

*Gunns Mill Furnace. mage courtesy of Historic England*

Wiltshire Industrial Archaeology Conference 2023 Now Open for Bookings

August 21, 2023mikenevell

The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society are running a one day conference on Industrial Archaeology on the 21st October 2023 at the Town Hall, St John’s Street, Devizes. For those interested in industrial archaeology the Society acts as a focal point in the county. Its biennial symposium attracts leading speakers and visitors from all over the southwest and Wales.

The topics and speakers for 2023 are as follows:

‘Building Georgian Chippenham – architects, builders and materials’ by Mike Stone
‘Iron stone and Steam: Brunel’s Railway Kingdom’ by Tim Bryan, Director of the Brunel Institute
‘Bath in the 1970s: Industrial Heritage, Environmental Conservation and Festivals’ by Stuart Burroughs, Director of the Bath at Work Museum
‘Restoring the Wilts and Berks Canal’ by John Farrow
‘Taking to the road in Georgian Wiltshire’ by John Chandler

To book down load the form here:

wilst-ia-conf-2023-booking-form Download

The aims of the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society are to educate the public by promoting, fostering interest in, exploration, research and publication of the archaeology, art, history and natural history of Wiltshire for the public benefit. The Society was formed in 1853. The Society has an extensive Archive and Library held at Wiltshire Museum in Devizes, which is open to visitors and researchers and holds a comprehensive collection of printed material relating to all aspects of the archaeology, topography, genealogy, history, industrial history and natural history of Wiltshire. The Wiltshire record of milestones is held here and the society are the county co-ordinators for the Milestone Society.

New Visitor Centre Opens at Masson Mills

August 4, 2023July 31, 2023mikenevell

A new visitor centre has been opened at Masson Mills. Part of the mills complex, which sits within the Derwent Valley World Heritage Site, was previously occupied by a retail village which was forced to shut at the start of the pandemic in 2020 and never recovered. However, the textile museum remained open for tour bookings. The mills were bought by the Derwent Hydro group of companies, a business owned by the Needle family which has operated hydropower stations since the 1980s, in 2022.

The new visitor centre, which was once the manager’s officers, is accessible at the front, roadside, of the building and has an array of historic mill-related artefacts, photographs, and equipment, and is open Monday to Friday, 11am to 4pm. Guided tours of the mill and its working machinery are now available every weekday at 2pm. Visitors are encouraged to book in advance to avoid missing out but walk-ins will be possible subject to space.

Jamie Needle, director at Masson Mills and Derwent Hydro, said: “It’s really exciting to be able to welcome people back through the doors to learn more about the history of industry in the World Heritage Site. There is nothing like being able to hear and touch the old machinery to illustrate the realities of early factory working. Our business started with water power and it’s hugely significant to me that factories also began with water power, this museum brings the two together in a fantastically tangible way.”

The new owners are also improving the existing hydropower scheme at the mill, which was installed in 1995. The entire site is supplied with renewable energy produced by its hydroelectric turbines with any surplus fed into the National Grid. The hydroelectricity produced emits no emissions to air, land or water, thereby minimising the carbon footprint of Masson Mills and those visiting the site.

Industrial Heritage Network Survey of Stationary Steam Engines in Museums

July 31, 2023mikenevell

The Industrial Heritage Support project is conducting research on the current state of stationary steam engines on industrial heritage sites and museums in England. In partnership with Keele University we are looking to establish how many sites in England run stationary steam engines, as op[posed to just static exhibits. We are also gathering data on the costs of maintenance, the types of fuel used to run these engines, and the skills required to keep them running.

Many sites have already been contacted individually to discuss how they run their machinery and this has helped to inform a questionaire which is now being emailed (early August 2023) to more than 30 sites. This research is a follow-up to the recent ‘Industrial Heritage and Climate Change’ seminar the project ran in July, where presentations from Claymills, Crofton Beam Engines, and The Arkwright Society showed how eco-fuels and water power are being used on industrial sites. This research will be published at a later date.

If you haven’t received a questionaire but think that your site could help with this research please email: mike.nevell@ironbridge.org.uk

*Horizontal steam engine at Cambridge Technology Museum*

In-person IHN Meetings for Yorkshire, East Midlands & East of England Now Booking for July

July 17, 2023August 20, 2023mikenevell

The next three in-person meetings of the Industrial Heritage Networks will be taking place on the 26, 27, & 28 July 2023. These will be for the Yorkshire, East of England, and East Midlands Networks. These free events will be the first in-person meetings for these networks, which were set up during the COVID pandemic.

Like the other seven IHN groups in England, these in-person events are designed to bring together those industrial heritage sites open to the public in each region, and local groups and individuals working or volunteering on industrial archaeology and heritage subjects and sites in the area. The format will be a round-table discussion in the morning with a tour of the site in the afternoon.

Details on how to book on Eventbrite can be found here:

Yorkshire IHN: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/industrial-heritage-network-yorkshire-tickets-669399360507

East of England IHN: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/industrial-heritage-network-east-of-england-tickets-669417976187

East Midlands IHN: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/industrial-heritage-network-east-midlands-tickets-669430985097

Online meetings of each IHN in England will take place over the winter of 2023/4.

Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and Keele University Join Forces to Research Industrialisation

July 1, 2023June 30, 2023mikenevell

Keele University and Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust have joined forces in a new partnership that will develop student opportunities and open doors for new research into 300 years of industrialisation. To find out more, go online and watch a short video, which includes a few words from Nick Booth, IGMT Collections and Learning Director, and Dr Mike Nevell, Industrial Heritage Support Officer for England.

To coincide with the launch, a roundtable discussion will take place on the evening of Monday 3 July to discuss the lessons that our industrial heritage might hold for the world’s transition to a zero-carbon economy. It will be chaired by Professor David Amigoni, Professor of Victorian Literature, Director of the Keele Institute for Social Inclusion and a member of Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trusts Collections and Learning Committee; Abbie King, IGMT’s Chief Operating Officer, will be one of the speakers.

To attend the roundtable discussion online use the link below. Please register no later than 4.00pm on the day of the event.

Ironbridge, Innovation, and Imagination: Industrial Memory as Global Challenge
Monday 3 July 2023 6.00 – 7.00pm
Online only via Microsoft Teams

http://www.keele.ac.uk/ilas/whatson/

Heritage Open Days Events Directory 2023 Live

June 20, 2023June 19, 2023mikenevell

Heritage Open Days has released their events directory for the 2023 festival that will take place from 8-17 September. The events directory will enable interested individuals to search for events nearby during the festival, with more to be added in the run-up to it. In 2022 there were over 100 industrial heritage and archaeology sites open to the public.

2023 industrial heritage sites open to the public include the Armley Mills in Leeds, Finch Foundry in Devon, Forge Mill Needle Museum in Redditch, the 1900 cable station at Cuckmere Haven in Sussex, Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire, Somerset brick & Tile Museum, Torr Vale Mill in Derbyshire, Thwaite Watermill in Leeds, Wheatley Windmill in Oxfordshire and many more.

You can explore the directory via the link here

General Booking Open for Spring Industrial Heritage Network Meetings

May 25, 2023mikenevell

For the first time since 2019 the Industrial Heritage Support project (IHSO) will be holding in-person industrial heritage network meetings this summer and autumn. The first of these will be the IHN West Midlands which is scheduled to take place at Blists Hill, Ironbridge, on Wednesday 31^st May, 11am to 3pm. The second will be the IHN South East which is scheduled to take part at Amberley Museum, West Sussex on 1st June, 11am to 3pm.

The meetings are open to Industrial Heritage Networks members and to all those interested in supporting and helping the industrial heritage and industrial archaeology sector in England. Each network meeting will be split into two parts. There will be a business meeting from 11am to 1pm looking at volunteer engagement since COVID, followed by a tour of the Blists Hill and Amberley sites, respectively. Each network meeting is free and tea, coffee, and water will be provided. Please bring your own lunch. To book please follow the links below:

Industrial Heritage Network West Midlands Tickets, Wed 31 May 2023 at 11:00 | Eventbrite

Industrial Heritage Network South East Tickets, Thu 1 Jun 2023 at 11:00 | Eventbrite

East of England Region Industrial Archaeology Conference, June 2023

May 9, 2023mikenevell

This year’s East of England Industrial Archaeology Conference will be on the 10th June 2023. EERIAC is held once a year and rotates round the region. 2023 is the turn for Essex, and will be held at Chelmsford Museum. EIAG (Essex Industrial Archaeology Group) is bringing to you EERIAC 2023, focussing on the Industrial Heritage of Chelmsford.

Talks include Chelmsford’s industries, Marconi, and visits to industrial sites in the Moulsham area, on the Chelmsford’s Industrial Trail. Please bring your own lunch. If you are interested in booking a place contact Jane Giffould via email: jgiffould@aol.com

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