Industrial heritage – Page 9 – Industrial Heritage Networks

Historic England Launch New Book: ‘England’s Lost Transport Heritage from the Air’

June 13, 2025mikenevell

Historic England and Liverpool University Press have recently published ‘England’s Lost Transport Heritage from the Air’, our latest industrial heritage title – https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/englands-lost-transport-heritage-from-air/. Written by Allan Brodie, this book uses Aerofilms’ remarkable photographic collection to tell the story of England’s lost transport heritage, from Roman roads to supersonic Concorde.

Flying across the country from 1919 onwards Aerofilms recorded England’s complex infrastructure of road, rail and maritime transport. The book complements Historic England’s earlier publications ‘England’s Railway Heritage from the Air (https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/englands-railway-heritage-from-the-air/) and ‘England’s Motoring Heritage from the Air’ (https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/englands-motoring-heritage-from-air/).

*Heston Airport, Heston, Greater London (August 1932). Image copyright Historic England. Aerofilms Collection*

Annual Museum Survey: Five Year Trends Published

June 10, 2025June 7, 2025mikenevell

Each year, Museum Development and the Arts Council conduct the ‘Annual Museum survey’; a comprehensive survey of all things museums (including industrial sites), from visitor numbers to social media followers to staff numbers. Each year’s report holds valuable data that better allows us to understand the sector’s priorities, needs and challenges.

In collaboration with PS Research, all of the Annual Museum Surveys from 2019 – 2024 – have been analysed giving a comprehensive insight into the evolving state of the museums sector right from the eve of Covid-19 to last year. The key findings are:

Opening hours have shown a gradual and sustained recovery since the pandemic. However, opening hours in more than a third (36%) of museums are down from 2019-20.
While opening hours have recovered, visitor numbers are yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Museums are engaging more education providers than they were in 2019-20.
Social media following of museums has grown significantly since 2019-20.
Overall, staffing numbers have changed little since 2019-20. However, contract hires as a percentage of hires is increasing.
The number of museum volunteers has generally recovered to pre-pandemic levels, but 2 in 5 museums still record lower numbers.

The report is interactive and available now, you can read it on the Arts Council website.

Ironbridge ‘Getting Us Winding Again’ Appeal Recieves Significant Donation

June 7, 2025June 7, 2025mikenevell

The Winding Engine at Blists Hill Victorian Town is one of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust’s earliest and most significant exhibits. One of the very few preserved steam winding engines – and of even fewer able to wind up and down a historic mine shaft – it has been out of action since 2018. To repair and restore this machinery will cost £100,000. A fudn was setup in 2024 to raise this amount, and it has recently recieved a genrous donation from the 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust.

*Winding head gear at Blists Hill, Ironbridge. Image copyright Dr Michael Nevell.*

When it is working, the Winding Engine exhibit can bring the sounds, smells and sights of a working engine to life for our visitors. It helps us tell the story of the men, women and children who worked in Shropshire mines and the daily dangers they faced. It also demonstrates a vital feature of mining and the development of mining and engineering during the Industrial Revolution.

The phased plan for work will see the pit head, boiler house, and engine house refurbished, the mine shaft inspected and cage refit. The work will primarily be carried out by IGMT’s Steam Team, expert volunteers, supported by our Steam Engineer and outside contractors.

More money still needs to be raised, so if you would like to contribute to getting the engine winding again follow this link:

https://www.ironbridge.org.uk/about-us/support-us/get-us-winding-again/

*The winding engine at Blists Hill, Ironbridge, spring 2025. Image coyrigth Dr Michael Nevell.*

Energy Resilience Fund 2025

June 6, 2025mikenevell

The Energy Resilience Fund (ERF) provides a blended funding package of loan (60%) and grant (40%) to bolster the energy resilience of eligible charities and social enterprises in England.   The Fund is the successor to the pilot Energy Resilience Fund managed by Key Fund and its primary purpose is to enable the supply of renewable energy to an organisation’s own building (s). Many industrial heritage sites may find that they qualify and are suitable for such a fund.

The Fund is delivered by a partnership made up of Social Investment Business, Big Issue Invest, Charity Bank, Co-operative and Community Finance, Groundwork UK, Key Fund, Resonance Ltd, The Architectural Heritage Fund, and The Ubele Initiative.

Applicants must have fewer than 250 employees, £35m assets, or £40m turnover, but a turnover of more than £100,000, and be based primarily in England. For further details follow this link:

Cheddleton Flint Mill to Host ‘Flint Garretaw: Music at the Mill’ Fundraising Event

June 3, 2025mikenevell

On the 28th June 2025 the Cheddleton Flint Mill Industrial Heritage Trust will be hosting a live music festival at the listed 18th century bone mill. This is a festival fundraiser to mark the centenary of the Garretaw carnival on the Caldon Canal in 1925, hence the ‘Flint Garretaw’ naming.

The festival village will be situated on the Flint Mill car park between the river and the canal with a specially built stage utilising the Mill as a uniquely lit backdrop to an afternoon and evening of music and various activities with both water wheels turning. All proceeds from this event go to the charity Cheddleton Flint Mill Industrial Heritage Trust. (Registered Charity No: 254196)

Book your place via any of the following:

Online: https://wegottickets.com/event/654925

Or in person at Cheddleton Flint Mill (open Mondays & Wednesdays).

All enquiries: flintgarretaw@gmail.com

Cheddleton Flint Mill is a fine example of a water mill that ground flint for the local Staffordshire pottery industry. The site features two listed water mills, a small museum, a period cottage, the canal, and many other exhibits. The site is open to the public and is run by The Cheddleton Flint Mill Industrial Heritage Trust which was formed in 1967.

Industrial Heritage Network Meetings for 2025: West Midlands Date Released

May 27, 2025May 27, 2025mikenevell

2025’s in-person Industrial Heritage Network (IHN) meetings will be taking place over the summer and autumn. Established in 2018, these regional meetings 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 is a round-table discussion in the morning, with a tour of the site in the afternoon.

The first meeting for 2025 will be for the West Midlands IHN, which will be held at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust in the Glass Classroom on the Coalbrookdale site on 25th June. After a general meeting in the morning, there will be an afternoon tour of current conservation works at Blists Hill.

All IHN members are very welcome to attend. A booking link via Eventbrite can be found here. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/west-midlands-industrial-heritage-network-meeting-tickets-1377368599559?aff=oddtdtcreator

These meetings are part of the Industrial Heritage Support project for England, run by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and funded by Historic England and the Association for Industrial Archaeology.

*Colliery headgear and canal at Blists Hill, Coalbrookdale, Ironbridge. Image copyright Dr Michael Nevell.*

Historic England Launch Local Heritage Hub Webpages

May 21, 2025mikenevell

Coinciding with this year’s Local History Month, Historic England has launched a new Local Heritage Hub. With nearly 400 locations, every county, city, district, major town, and national park in England now has a dedicated digital page that uncovers its rich and layered history.

Offering a wide range of content, from fascinating aerial photographs showing towns and villages through time, to curated selections of listed buildings, videos, blogs, and podcasts, the Local Heritage Hub invites members of the public to discover their local area through a new lens.

According to Savanta polling for Historic England in August 2024, 71% of those polled wanted to see more recognition of heritage in their area. Further Savanta polling for Historic England in February 2025 showed that 58% of those responding agreed that local heritage enhances their daily lives. The new platform will reflect what people are looking for in their local areas, and it’s designed not only to inform, but also to also encourage people to see familiar places in unfamiliar ways.

The new service – which will continue to expand with new places, information, and sections added over time – will make local heritage and histories more relevant, relatable, and engaging to more people’s everyday lives, inspiring conversations, unlocking memories, and sparking new interests.

To explore your local area on the Historic England website follow this link: https://historicengland.org.uk/local

*Connor Hat Factory, Bute Street, Luton. Image courtesy of Historic England*

Crowdfunder Launched for New Footbridge Next to Bennerley Viaduct

May 20, 2025May 19, 2025mikenevell

As part of increasing access to the Bennerley Viaduct and its surrounding environment, the Friends group want to build a new footbridge over the River Erewash. They also want to secure the riverbank to prevent its erosion. The Friends already have support from a variety of funders for this project, but need to raise the rest of the amount needed to build the new footbridge bridge.

All the monies raised will go towards to providing the materials for the bridge and river erosion works, which will involve supportive sustainable material used to protect the bank from erosion. They are planning to use local volunteers and students from the University of Kent to help build the footbridge. This new bridge will provide an important access route to the structure and its surrounding environment, so people can enjoy this hidden gem from top to bottom.

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 sandwiched between the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire near the towns of Kimberley and Ilkeston.

Follow this link to contribute to the new footbridge: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/new-footbridge-next-to-bennerley-viaduct

Summer Solstice 2025 at Bennerley Viaduct

May 14, 2025June 3, 2025mikenevell

Join the Friends of Bennerley Viaduct to see the sun rise on the longest day of the year, 21st June, on the Iron Griant and mark the arrival of astronomical summer when the northern hemisphere tilts towards the sun. If you thought you were an early bird for the dawn chorus, try this 03:00 start!

The event is quickly filling up, so Hadley Trueman urges you to book your place. “Although our events are always free, please consider making a suggested donation of £3 per person,” says Hadley. “Due to the early start time of this event we ask you to find your own way up onto the viaduct from the Cotmanhay/Ilkeston, Derbyshire side. The FoBV team will be there to greet you.”

To find out more, or to book your place, follow the link:

https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/guided-walks-of-the-iron-giant-882859?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=creatorshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=odclsxcollection&utm-source=cp&aff=escb

If eventbrite says SOLD OUT, we can often book you in by email, as we sometimes have no-shows or cancellations: community@bennerleyviaduct.org.uk

A History of Stoke-on-Trent in 8 Places: New Historic England Blog

May 9, 2025May 8, 2025mikenevell

The latest Historic England blog, under their ‘Heritage Calling’ banner, looks at the historic and industrial heritage of Stoke-on-Trent.

The Potteries encompassed the towns of Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke, and Tunstall. Together, these towns created the world’s leading centre for ceramics production, with famous names such as Wedgwood, Royal Doulton and Spode centring their work there.

Eight site shave been chosen to highlight this industrial history. These are: Middleport Pottery; Chatterley Whitfield Pottery; Bethesda Methodist Chapel; the Former Wedewood Institute; Trentham Mausoleum; Hanley Park; Stoke-on-Trent townhall; and Price and Kensington Teapot Works.

The full blog can be found here:

https://heritagecalling.com/2025/05/02/a-history-of-stoke-on-trent-in-8-places/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=brand&fbclid=IwY2xjawKJZa1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHuIOlYHFQLuCVzlN5Is74h22tI-cCFn5H-TC1A_9qsFVoil3riZG12xL_qcM_aem_IyEcaG7deiYUiV6TrbcWKA

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Category: Industrial heritage