Industrial Heritage Networks

Claverton Pumping Station Launch Flood Appeal

April 4, 2024mikenevell

*Flooding in the wheel pit at Claverton, 2024. Image courtesy of The Claverton Pumping Station Trust*.

Claverton Pumping Station have launched an online appeal for funds after suffering 17 floods between October 2023 and April 2024. The aim of the appeal is to replace rotten timber, and to make the site’s operations more flood resilient. The Grade I listed building was restored by volunteers between 1969 and 1976, and is maintained and run by the volunteers of The Claverton Pumping Station Trust CIO, though it is owned by the Canal and Rivers Trust.

Claverton Pumping Station was built between 1809 and 1813, to a design by the engineer John Rennie, to overcome problems of water supply for the Kennet and Avon Canal near Bath. A 17 foot (5 m) diameter by 24 foot (7 m) wide water wheel powers a large beam engine that pump 50 gallons of water every two seconds from the River Avon up 48 feet into the Kennet and Avon canal. The pump operated from 1813 until 1952. It is the only working example of a waterwheel-driven pumping station on the national canal network.

The Claverton Pumping Station Trust observed that ‘as flooding is predicted to become more frequent and more severe having extra money ring-fenced for flood repairs and flood resilience will allow us to continue proactive maintenance and to make timely repairs when necessary.’

For details on how to give follow this link: https://justgiving.com/campaign/claverton-floods

*Flooding at Claverton Pumping Station, 2024.* *Image courtesy of The Claverton Pumping Station Trust*.

Canal & River Trust to Use AI to Protect Historic Canal Bridges from Vehicle Strikes

March 28, 2024March 26, 2024mikenevell

The Canal and River Trust (CRT) have announced how they are trialling an innovative AI CCTV system on the Lancaster Canal to catch hit-and-run motorists damaging 200-year-old stone bridges. Annually, vehicle strikes on CRT bridges cost up to £1 million in repairs, diverting vital funds away from work waterway conservation.

The new system is controlled by AI using a mobile phone signal and doesn’t continuously record but takes a few photos when it detects vehicle movement. The AI then assesses if the bridge has been impacted. If there is no strike, the photos are deleted and if damage has been caused, Trust staff receive a notification, allowing them to identify number plates to track down the offenders and claim full repair costs on their insurance.

Andy Dobson, CRT asset engineer, said: “Hump-back bridges, an iconic part of Britain’s canal network, were built for the passage of horse-drawn carts, not for today’s modern vehicles and HGVs. Due to the large number of rural, narrow roads crossing the Lancaster Canal, it has more bridge strikes than any other. The bridges are part of the canal’s special character and heritage, and each time one is hit a small piece of history is lost.”

More details of the experimental scheme can be found here: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-and-views/news/artificial-intelligence-helps-to-protect-historic-canal-bridges-from-vehicle-strikes

*A typical humped-back bridge on the Lancaster Canal near the city of Lancaster*

Crofton Beam Engines Given Grant to Expand Children’s Activities

March 26, 2024mikenevell

Crofton Beam Engines has secured a grant of £6,120 from the Association of Independent Museums under its ‘New Stories New Audiences’ programme funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund for their ‘Crofton for Kids’ project. The grant will fund the development and production of a class set of working models of the pumping station, buildable by children and designed by volunteers.

Visiting groups of children will visit the station to learn how it works. They will be helped to build the models and will then work in small groups to create short videos about the station. These videos will be made accessible to visitors to the station through the use of QR codes, taking advantage of the intranet installed around the site.

Whitney Cawley, the Learning and Community Engagement Officer at Crofton Beam Engines said: “This is an exciting opportunity to develop our activities with children. We have already signed up three local schools to work with us, and are talking to others. We will then be able to use the models created as part of the project in our existing learning sessions and incorporate them into a more regular family workshop which we hope to offer throughout the year”. Graham Snook, a Trustee and Chairman of the Crofton Branch, said: “This grant recognises the value of the work we are doing at Crofton to develop our learning and engagement programme. We are grateful to the Association of Independent Museums for their continuing support to small museums such as Crofton Beam Engines.”

The New Stories New Audiences programme is designed to support small museums to stay relevant to their audiences and to increase their impact by identifying new stories and by working with a new partner, to work differently and to try something new.

Crofton Beam Engines is owned by the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust, a registered charity. It is managed by the Crofton Branch of the Trust. For more information follow this link: https://www.croftonbeamengines.org/

Historic England Funding More Projects to Uncover and Celebrate Working Class Heritage

March 20, 2024mikenevell

Historic England’s Everyday Heritage Grant programme aims to shine a light on the diversity of heritage and is part of Historic England’s commitment to ensuring that a wider range of people are able to connect with, enjoy and benefit from the historic environment. Building on the success of Historic England’s first round of Everyday Heritage Grants in 2022, they are funding an additional 56 projects that celebrate working class histories and the historic places that make up everyday life.

The grants are for creative projects that focus on heritage connecting people to historic places, specifically those people and places that are overlooked or underrepresented. The community-led projects will explore the diverse stories of people and places, such as homelessness in Waterloo, a pen factory in Newhaven, and roller-skating in Birmingham. The total amount of funding awarded by Historic England is £875,000, ranging from £6,800 to £25,000 per individual project.

For details of all these projects and those funded in 2023 follow this link: https://historicengland.org.uk/campaigns/help-write-history/everyday-heritage-grants/

L T C Rolt: Life, Work, Legacy. Ironbridge Conference Booking Now Open

March 14, 2024March 12, 2024mikenevell

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 team responsible* *for the recent re-archiving of the Rolt collection at IGMT*

Industrial World Heritage Workshop April 2024

March 12, 2024March 8, 2024mikenevell

World Heritage UK, in conjunction with Bangor University, is delighted to be hosting the 2024 World Heritage workshop on the 10th and 11th April 2024. The workshop will explore aspects of Industrial World Heritage as well as broader topics that will be of interest to all World Heritage and heritage professionals.

The two-day workshop will cover topics such as regeneration, events, tourism, STEM, intangible heritage, slavery and more. Included are afternoon guided site visits to Dinorwig Quarry, the National Slate Museum, Penrhyn Castle and Quarry and the Slate Landscape of NW Wales WHS, refreshments and buffet lunches. There is a social event on Wednesday evening with local food and live local music. Tickets for this social night are sold separately.

In-person workshop tickets are £100 for National Trust members, £115 for non-National Trust members and £75 for digital tickets. The social night is £30 pp. Sadly there is no wheelchair access to the social night.

For more details and to book, please go to https://worldheritageuk.org/events/world-heritage-uk-2024-spring-workshop/

There you’ll also find details on how to get to Bangor, and suggestions on where to stay, including discounted accommodation at the university’s management centre.

Thefts Cause Temporary Closure of Island Warehouse at National Waterways Museum

March 9, 2024March 5, 2024mikenevell

Eleven exhibits missing from the National Waterways Museum in Cheshire are thought to have been stolen from its collection between Friday 9th and Monday 12th February 2024. The Canal and River Trust, who run the museum said that a recent ‘significant’ cataloguing exercise had allowed it to quickly spot that exhibits were missing. The museum’s Island Warehouse room, where smaller objects are displayed and where the thefts are thought to have taken place, has been temporarily closed.

A security review is now being completed and the museum is working with police to recover the items. The Canal & River Trust, which operates the museum, has released a document which details the missing exhibits. Included is a model boat, along with several small model engines and three large ‘Tilly’ lamps.

The Canal & River Trust said that “We understand that a closure of part of our museum is disappointing for visitors and thank everyone affected for their patience and support. We hope people appreciate how serious such a theft is and the importance of the investigation and security review currently taking place.”

Anyone with information into the missing items is being urged to speak to police.

The museum’s collection includes the majority of the UK’s inland waterways Collection, more than 15,000 objects and more than 50 boats. For more details follow this link: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-and-views/news/theft-from-the-national-waterways-museum-ellesmere-port

Restoration Work is Helping to Preserve Craft Skills at Paradise Mill in Macclesfield

March 7, 2024mikenevell

The Grade II listed Paradise Silk Mill in Cheshire reopened to the public in February 2024 after a £309k National Heritage Memorial Fund backed restoration project, supported by building owners Allmand-Smith Ltd. This grant has helped the Silk Heritage Trust acquire a 125-year lease of the top floor of the mill. Paradise Mill, which produced luxury silk goods from 1862 until 1981, will once again be home to silk production, after restoration of two of the mill’s 19th century Jacquard looms.

Silk weaving has now joined the list of Endangered Heritage Craft Skills. The Silk Museum has secured funding from The Radcliffe Trust to develop a plan for the conservation of the looms alongside creative placements for emerging craftspeople. Director of the Silk Museum, Emma Anderson, said: “The looms tell remarkable stories of silk production in Macclesfield. It is essential that they are kept in working order so that visitors can experience the incredible sights and sounds of these historically-important machines. We need to revive and expand the technical knowledge of how to operate and care for them so they can continue to inspire future generations of weavers for years to come.”

The Museum is planning to return more of its collection of 26 Jacquard handlooms to working order . Tour guides at the museum, Daniel Hearn, and Trish Halloran, alongside Rebecca Faragher, who is a trained weaver, are undertaking the conservation of the building’s handlooms, in work supported by funding from the Association for Industrial Archaeology. Hearn said the restoration had required considerable effort. “Establishing a strong foundation in acquiring these skills means we are taking the first critical steps in ensuring that this niche type of Jacquard handloom weaving remains operational within the extraordinary time capsule that is Paradise Mill.” As part of the restoration project textile students Bea Uprichard and Ruth Farris, from Manchester Metropolitan University, have designed and woven a new silk – the first one to be created at the mill in decades.

Guided tours of the Silk Mill resumed in February. For more information follow this link: https://www.thesilkmuseum.co.uk/

*Warping drum for silk thread, Paradise Mill. Image copyright Dr Michael Nevell*

‘Kids in Museums’ Family Friendly Museum Award 2024 Nominations Now Open

March 4, 2024mikenevell

Judged by families, this award celebrates museums, galleries, and heritage attractions that go the extra mile to provide an excellent family friendly experience. Nominations open on 19 March 2024 and close on 3 June 2024.

Each year Kids in Museums awards the prize to one museum, gallery, historic home, or heritage site that has made outstanding efforts to welcome children and families and respond to their feedback. It is the only museum award in the UK to be judged by families. The overall winner of the Family Friendly Museum Award 2023 was Craven Museum in Skipton Town Hall, with five other categories celebrating family friendly museums.

To learn more view the Kids in Museums Family Friendly Museum Award.

ACE Public Investment in English Museums Report 2024

February 29, 2024February 28, 2024mikenevell

In late 2023 the Arts Council England (ACE) commissioned a report on public investment in English museums. The report, published in January 2024, shows that local authority funding per capita in museums during the 14 years from 2009-10 to 2022-23 reduced by 23%. It also shows that the East of England has above average spend per capita, whilst Northern and South West England have the highest levels of local authority funding for museums.

The research was commissioned with the aim of producing a comprehensive set of data that can support museums, local authorities, and stakeholders with budget planning, and encourage a strategic and collaborative approach to considering the funding challenges facing both museums and local government. The report concludes with a set of potential actions in response to changes in local authority funding, highly relevant to industrial heritage museums and sites, focussing on:

the current financial position and outlook;
workforce issues;
skills and capacity;
making the case for museums;
and levers for change

To download and read the report follow this link: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/research-and-data/research-understand-levels-public-investment-museums