Industrial Heritage Networks

The Balkerne Water Tower, ‘Jumbo’, Recieves £8m NLHF Grant

February 18, 2025February 17, 2025mikenevell

North Essex Heritage (NEH), which has a 150 year lease on the Balkerne Water Tower, Colchester’s last intact listed water tower, has recieved an £8m grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Affectionately known ‘Jumbo’, the money will help conservere the water tower and open it up to the public as a heritage attraction. The work to secure the future of the water tower will start in spring 2025 and be completed in mid 2027, when Jumbo will be open to the public for the first time in its 143 year history.

The grant will be used to make the 40m (131ft) tower fully accessible to the public for the first time as a heritage and events space. Simon Hall, chair of North Essex Heritage, the site’s leaseholders, said “This breathtaking support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund is a game-changer for our project and our city.”

The 131ft tall Grade II* Listed tower was originally constructed using 1.2m locally produced bricks in 1883. It could hold up to 1,000 tonnes of water when it was in use. It was used for its original purpose until 1984 and has been empty ever since.

Further details here: https://www.savejumbo.org.uk/

*The Balkerne Water T*ower, known as ‘Jumbo’. Image courtesy of North Essex Heritage

Dean Heritage Centre & Cambridge Museum of Technology Recieve NHLF Grants

February 17, 2025mikenevell

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has granted £164,000 for the Dean Heritage Centre’s “Investing in the Past, Future, and Present” project, and a grant of £99,932 to the Cambridge Museum of Technology for their ‘Full Steam Ahead’ project.

*Horizontal stam engine, Cambridge Museum of Technology. Copyright: Dr Michael Nevell*

Cambridge Museum of Tehcnology’s grant will fund the ‘Full Steam Ahead’ project. This will see two new heritage roles recruited to expand the Museum’s capacity for both general opening, and for increased education and community outreach work. The funding will also re-invigorate existing space in the Engineer’s House to be used as a space for community hires. Building on existing partnerships within the local Abbey community, the Museum will offer more opportunities for engaging with industrial heritage and their collections, through events and workshops. The Museum will be able to expand its schools programme, reaching more young people and engaging with teachers to form lasting links.

*Dean Heritage Centre. Copyright: Dr Michael Nevell*

The Dean Heritage Centre, which reflects the history of the Forest of Dean, is based in a listed cornmill and will use its grant for the “Investing in the Past, Future, and Present” project, which aims to “transform the museum”. Volunteers, local groups and schools will be able to take part in the project through “citizen science” activities, including sampling water that runs through the site. “We want to have new galleries, develop the site, and actually make it a viable place for the future,” Mark George, centre manager, said.

Further details about the Dean Heritage Centre here: https://www.deanheritagecentre.org/

Further details abou the Cambridge Msuem fo Technology’s plans can be found here: https://www.museumoftechnology.com/full-steam-ahead

Thaxted Windmill Recieves £1.6m for Restoration Work

February 13, 2025February 10, 2025mikenevell

The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England have given grant funding worth £1.6 million (£1.3 million from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and £300,000 from Historic England) for the restoration of Thaxted Windmill in Essex.

*The Stone Floor at Thaxted Windmill. Credit: Trustees of Thaxted Windmill.*

The project will repair and restore the building and its millwrighting machinery, improve visitor access, and enable volunteer involvement and community engagement. Repairs to the brick tower will halt the decaying process and protect the building from water leaks. Windows, doors and wood panelling will be repaired. The Windmill mechanism, including the sails, winding gear and internal milling machinery, will be restored, enabling the historic windmill to grind grain once more.

In addition, there will be public open days, sensory experiences will be created, and the Windmill landscape will be managed for biodiversity.

For further details follow this link: https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/projects/thaxted-windmill-conserved-its-community

Thaxted Windmill, Essex. Credit: Acabashi, Wikimedia Commons.

Carbon Literacy Training for Heritage Organisations

February 11, 2025February 10, 2025mikenevell

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.

Wandle Industrial Museum Talk 18 Feb: William Kilburn – Botanical Illustrator & Eminent Calico Printer

February 10, 2025July 8, 2025mikenevell

The Wandle Industrial Mseum ‘s latest talk is a chance to learn about a boy from Ireland, who became the most highly skilled, but little known, calico printer of his day. His designs were particularly loved by Queen Charlotte, wife of George III. This illustrated talk by Alison Cousins of the Wandle Industrial Museum, will reveal the legacy of Kilburn’s designs and the role he played in copyright law.

The talk is part of the Society’s monthly West Barnes Local History Group programme. This talk is free of charge: Tuesday, February 18, 10:30am-12:00noon, West Barnes Library, Station Road, New Malden, KT3 6JF.

For more details about the society visit their website: www.wandle.org

Canal & River Trust Launch Emergency Appeal After Winter Storms Damage

February 7, 2025mikenevell

The Canal and River Trust, who cares for a 2,000-mile network of canals and navigable rivers in England and Wales, has launch an emergency appeal for funds to help the network recover from the ‘devastating and widespread’ damage inflicted by a series of winter storms in late 2024 and early 2025.

The Trust reports that Storm Bert’s high winds and torrential rain left boats adrift and flooded locks across the country in December 2024. Shortly after, at the beginning of January 2025, high winds and flooding risks returned as Storm Darragh hit the UK. This triggered a rare Red Warning from the Met Office, and felled over 400 trees along the network, blocking navigable waterways, damaging lock gates, and causing landslips. The charity estimates that it will cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to repair the canals and rivers affected.

Storms and flooding not only destroy towpaths and damage historic locks. They can also pollute and damage the habitats of the wildlife in and around the canal network. CRT teams have been working around the clock to deal with the impacts of these storms but the charity needs further funds to deal with future storm events.

For more details on how to donate online, follow this link: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/support-us/our-campaigns/perfectstorm

*Landslip on the the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in Saddleworth as a result of Storm Darragh, Janaury 2025. Image coutersy of Canal & River Trust.*

Moira Furnance Conservation to Go Ahead in Spring 2025

February 5, 2025mikenevell

North West Leicestershire District Coucnil has agreed to provide £160,000 of extra funding to repair the Moira Furnace museum buildings. Repairs are due to begin later in February and are expected to take around 22 weeks.

Moira Furnace is one of the best preserved iron blast furnaces in England. Built in 1806 the site is now a Scheduled Monument owned by the local council. Initial plans to repair the structure and museum pre-date the COVID-19 pandemic. In that time the cost of the repairs has risen from £3330,000 to £490,000. The short fall is being made up from council reserves and £65,000 from the UK Shared Prosperty Fund. More details here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp3j71141v5o

The current site comprises a museum of iron making and social history, a vintage 100+-year-old narrowboat for trips along the canal, fishing along its banks, and woodlands for exploring. More details here: https://www.moirafurnace.org/

*Moira furnace. Image courtesy of Moira* *Furnace museum & country park.*

New Job Opportunity at Catalyst Science Discovery Centre & Museum

January 29, 2025January 27, 2025mikenevell

Catalyst Science Discovery Centre and Museum is undertaking an exciting new project and are seekign to appoint a manager for the Synergy Project. In 2022, the National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded Catalyst the funding for the Development Stage of the Synergy Project which aims to make our heritage accessible to new and underrepresented audiences in an entertaining and meaningful way. The project will physically redevelop the heritage galleries and transition spaces, as well as implement a heritage education offer to complement our already successful STEM programme. In September 2024, Catalyst was awarded the funding for the Delivery Phase of the Synergy Project which will see the physical implementation of the new heritage galleries and heritage offer.

Details of the post can be found here:

Synergy Project Manager – Job Description Nov 24 final Download

To apply please send a covering letter and CV to Nikki Burton Mallett, Chief Executive Officer at nikki@catalyst.org.uk by Tuesday 11 th February. In the event of a large volume of applications Catalyst reserve the right to close applications ahead of this date. Interviews will take place the week beginning 24th Feb.

Historic England Consultation on Draft ‘Tool Kit for Managing the Ownship of Archaeological Finds’

January 27, 2025mikenevell

Historic England has developed a draft Toolkit for Managing the Ownership of Archaeological Finds in England, as part of the Future for Archaeological Archives Programme. It has benefitted from initial advice from members of the programme’s Advisory Panel and from Queens Counsel legal advice.

The new toolkit is designed as a resource for individuals involved in the management, recovery, and archiving of archaeological materials. It offers guidelines to ensure the secure and legal transfer of ownership of archaeological material, thereby supporting effective archival practices and planning policy. The toolkit consists of a model deed of transfer and guidance covering principles of ownership, advice on transferring ownership of the material archive, procedures for arranging transfer of ownership, guidance for planners, landowners and planning applicants/developers and guidance where landowner consent cannot be obtained.

The Toolkit includes sections on:

Ownership – the principles of ownership of archaeological finds
Advice on transferring ownership of the material archive from an archaeological project
Procedures for arranging transfer of ownership
- for a development project
- for a research or community project
Guidance for planners, landowners and planning applicants/developers
Guidance where landowner consent cannot be obtained
Objects already in museum/repository collections
Material assemblages stored by archaeological contractors

The draft toolkit is subject to a consultation period of nine months between January and September 2025. Historic England very much welcomes all feedback, which can be submitted via this short form https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=RG4RMHlNwESowevAcH2jyWGl58Stc09CpJPQVx986upURTJWV0hYSEZURzFQMFFEQTJCNE5TMEpSVy4u&route=shorturl

or by emailing FAAP@historicengland.org.uk.

Results of the survey will be analysed in Autumn 2025 and will inform the toolkit’s further development.

Avoncroft Craft Skills Workshops for 2025

January 21, 2025January 20, 2025mikenevell

Avoncroft Museum has published their 2025 craft workshops programme. These workshops include a number of subjects relevant to industrial heritage sites, including blacksmithing, traditional signwriting, and basket weaving.

The workshop programme runs from Febraury through to November. During the workshops you’ll get expert guidance, all the materials needed, and free museum entry. No experience is needed. Costs vary, and there is a discount for Members of Avoncroft Museum. Follow this link for more details:

Workshops & Courses