Category: training

Friends of Chain Bridge Forge Launch Crowd-Funding Appeal to Teach Teenagers Blacksmithing Skills Using VR

Friends of Chain Bridge Forge Launch Crowd-Funding Appeal to Teach Teenagers Blacksmithing Skills Using VR

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The Friends of Chain Bridge Forge have lunched a crowd-funding appeal to teach traditional Blacksmithing to young individuals aged 13-16, blending heritage craftsmanship with cutting-edge virtual innovation. Through collaboration with the National Saturday Club, and led by experienced Blacksmith Ryan Atkin, participants will develop foundational skills in metalwork and have the chance to craft unique handmade items.

This new project follows on from 2024’s successful National Saturday Club, where Chain Bridge Forge trained young people in blacksmithing. To donate to the new VR project follow this link: https://www.spacehive.com/forging-futures-skills–vr-fusion.

Chain Bridge Forge is a short walk from Spalding town centre, alongside the Welland river and is open for bespoke commissions or blacksmithing workshops. The Forge has its origins in the mid-1700s, but the current building was constructed in the early nineteenth century. In the 1980s, nearing retirement and with the building in a poor state of repair, the then blacksmith, Mr Dodd, approached the South Holland District Council (SHDC) to take on the forge. After two years of discussions the site was purchased from him by SHDC for the nominal fee of £1, on September 20th 1988. In 2011 The Friends of Chain Bridge Forge were formed and took over the Forge on a 25 year lease. The Heritage Lottery Fund subsequently awarded the Forge £50,000 to restore the site and make it accessible, which opened in 2012. This award was followed by a further £10,000 to record the history of the community.

Follow this link for more news about the forge: https://chainbridgeforge.co.uk/

Teenagers being taught balcksmithing skills. Image courtesy of Friends of Chain Bridge Forge.
Historic England Technical Tuesday Webinar: Chain Bridge Conservation, 25 November & 9 December

Historic England Technical Tuesday Webinar: Chain Bridge Conservation, 25 November & 9 December

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Historic England’s next free Technical Tuesday: Technical Conservation Webinar takes place tomorrow, 25 November, from 1300 – 1400 looking at the historical and technical challenges associated with the refurbishment of the Union Chain Bridge. To book follow this link: https://historicengland.org.uk/education/training-skills/training/webinars/technical-tuesdays/.

Opened in 1820 and listed Grade I (https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1042214), the Chain Bridge is the world’s oldest vehicular bridge and connects England and Scotland spanning the River Tweed. A second webinar dealing with the refurbishment scheme will be held on the 9 December 2025.

Union Chain Bridge, spanning the River Tweed. Copright Leon Walsh.
Open Discussion Event on Steam & Heritage Engineering Training, Ironbridge 25th April 2025

Open Discussion Event on Steam & Heritage Engineering Training, Ironbridge 25th April 2025

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The heritage sector faces many challenges but if it is to have a future it must commit to more and better engineering training. To that end BESTT (Bolier & Engineering Skills Trainign Trust) is holding a “New directions in Training” event for 25th April at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum in Coalbrookdale. The event is free and all concerned with training in the heritage sector at any level are welcome.

There will be a range of speakers across the sector and topics will include proposals to extend the current range of BESTT short courses to cover diesel locos, sustainability (eg energy and fuel) challenges, training for under 18s and other identified needs and solutions across the wider industrial heritage sector. There will be a brief outline of BESTT courses, a panel discussion and a Q and A session.  The aim of the event which will run from 10am to 1pm  is to look also at areas where there is a training gap and where BESTT could realistically do more.

It is hoped to include a tour of the operational heritage engineering at Blists Hill in the afternoon. 

The event is FREE but please email  enquiries@bestt.org.uk  to reserve a place and to get further details. To find out more about BESTT  see http://www.bestt.org.uk  

Carbon Literacy Training for Heritage Organisations

Carbon Literacy Training for Heritage Organisations

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On the 24th February 2025, the Carbon Lieteracy Project will be holding an online Shareable Courses Launch Event. At the event they will be launching six ready-to-use Carbon Literacy courses that can be used to deliver internal Carbon Literacy training within archives, heritage organisations, libraries, theatres, public leisure/culture trusts, and across the cultural sector.

The online launch event is free, and will involve the course creators and people who have been delivering the courses. There will be presentations about the creators’ ambitions for the courses, how to access them, and how they can be used. One of the six new courses is for Heritage Organisations. This course is an affordable, flexible, and sector-specific training programme for heritage organisations based in the UK.

The Shareable Course for Heritage Organisations is built on the success of the Carbon Literacy for Museums Toolkit. Developed by Historic England and Historic Buildings and Places, the course aims to support the wider heritage sector, from organisations that manage heritage sites to those who provide heritage services. Book your place here.

Museum Development Midlands ‘Recruiting Volunteers’ Training, January 2025

Museum Development Midlands ‘Recruiting Volunteers’ Training, January 2025

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Museum Development Midlands (MDM) is running an evening online training session in January 2025 around how Museum Trustees can recruit volunteers.

Many of the Midland region’s museums rely on volunteers and since the Covid-19 pandemic it’s been increasingly tough for industrial museums across England to recruit and retain the volunteer capacity they need to operate. This reflects a wider picture across the voluntary sector with surveys suggesting that the majority of organisations are finding volunteer recruitment difficult. In this tough climate, what can museums do to attract and retain the committed, skilled, volunteers that they need?

This practical session of ideas and approaches to volunteer recruitment will be held on 20 January 2025, online, 6pm to 8.30pm. More details here.

Icon Industrial Heritage Conservation Accreditation Workshop

Icon Industrial Heritage Conservation Accreditation Workshop

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Icon is hosting an industrial heritage conservation accreditation workshop at Imperial War Museum Duxford on 28 October. If you work in industrial conservation and are interested in finding out more about Icon accreditation, then this is the workshop for you.

This free workshop event will cover:

  • Learn about the basics of Icon accreditation, what it involves and how it can benefit your you and your organisation.
  • Listen to real examples of Industrial conservation projects and understand how these meet the Icon assessment criteria.
  • Discuss the unique challenges of industrial conservation and explore how these can be presented in an Icon assessment.
  • Lots of opportunity for Q&A!

To find out more and to book follow this link

Sign Up for the Next Historic England Industrial Heritage Webinar on Canals

Sign Up for the Next Historic England Industrial Heritage Webinar on Canals

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The next Historic England free industrial heritage webinar will be on October 24th, from 13.00 to 14.00. It will focus on the canal network and the work of the Canal & River Trust in England and Wales.

Presented by the Canal & River Trust, it will describe the organisations establishment and role, the nature and significance of the canal network, its operation, management and maintenance, and how the Trust works in partnership with others.

To sign up for the free webinar follow this link – https://lnkd.in/ezJZPsCP .

The flight of locks at Audlem, Cheshire, on the Shropshire Union Canal. Image copyright: Dr Michael Nevell.

Historic England ‘History in the Making’ 2024 Funding Announced

Historic England ‘History in the Making’ 2024 Funding Announced

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Historic England is inviting applications from youth groups who want to explore fascinating local stories and have innovative ideas for place markers to commemorate them so these histories can be shared with the whole community and beyond. The History in the Making fund will enable underrepresented young people aged 13 to 25 from across England to research, discover and mark a part of their local heritage that has been overlooked or forgotten.

Funding is available for up to 15 projects across England. The successful applications will be chosen with the help of Historic England’s panel of Young Advisers, aged 18 to 25. History in the Making was originally launched last year (2023) in northern England, with Historic England funding 11 projects. Young people living in deprived areas will be helped to explore and celebrate untold local histories thanks to the launch of a national grant scheme by Historic England.

Museum Development English Regional Grants Now Open for Applications

Museum Development English Regional Grants Now Open for Applications

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In April 2024 the new Museum Development regions in England came into being, along with a new set of regional grants. The five English MD regions are now up and running delivering support to museums and heritage groups, including industrial heritage sites, though a variety of training, capacity building, networking, and grant support initiatives.

Details of the first round of grants for museums and heritage groups are as follows:

MD North Opern Grants: 1st round deadline, 7th June, with grants avalable up to £5,000 https://www.museumdevelopmentnorth.org.uk/find-funding/md-north-grants/open-grants/

MD South East: Collectiosn Care Grants (deadline 24th June) and Collections Review and Rationalisation Grants (deadline 1st July): https://mdse.org.uk/grants/mdse-grants/mdse-grants-collections/

MD Midlands: Open Grants and Workforce Development Grants will be open for applications from late May 2024 https://www.mdmidlands.org.uk/

MD South West: Talking Nature and Capacity Builder grants close on 17th June. https://southwestmuseums.org.uk/what-we-do/grants/

MD London grant schemes continue as before. https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/supporting-london-museums/development-grant-programmes

Coalport China Works, Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.

Museum Development Support in England Reorganised for 2024

Museum Development Support in England Reorganised for 2024

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April marks the re-organisation of the Museum Development (MD) support scheme in England. Arts Council England will support the new MD regional partnerships from 1 April 2024 until 31 March 2027. These new partnerships build on the English regional teams’ experience of collaborative working since 2018, with the programme for the next three years continuing to support museums, and the people who work for, and volunteer in them.

The new English regional partnerships are:

  • MD North
  • MD Midlands
  • MD South West
  • MD South East
  • MD London

There are new websites and new newsletters to sign up for, so be sure to explore the the refreshed structures. Follow this link to the new regional partnerships: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/supporting-arts-museums-and-libraries/supporting-museums/museum-development-programme/museum-development-2024-26/museum-development-2024-27-partners

For an overview of the changes in England follow this link: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/supporting-arts-museums-and-libraries/supporting-museums/museum-development-programme/museum-development-2024-26