Industrial Heritage Networks

Shrewsbury Flaxmill Friends Seek Volunteers Ahead of Site Opening

March 15, 2022mikenevell

Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings will be opening to the public later in 2022. The Friends of the Flaxmill Maltings will manage the new interactive visitor experience, which will bring the past, present, and future of the site to life. They will also offer guided tours and run the shop.

The Flaxmill Maltings is recognised as the first iron-framed building in the world, and has undergone a £20.7 million renovation. The Friends are calling for additional volunteers ahead of the opening. From front of house to behind the scenes roles, the Friends need more people who have some time that they can give to this internationally important landmark.

As part of their recruitment drive they are holding a series of volunteer recruitment events. This will include manning a stall at the Shrewsbury Museum and Arts Gallery between 10am and 4pm on March 19, with further events planned to be held on April 8 and April 9 at the Flaxmill Maltings site. At these events you’ll be able to meet the Friends staff and some of their existing volunteers, and find out what’s involved in being a part of their friendly team.

Further details here: https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/shrewsbury/2022/03/10/flaxmill-friends-seek-volunteers-ahead-of-site-opening-later-this-year/#

Museum and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief Service from ACE

March 11, 2022March 10, 2022mikenevell

The Arts Council England’s new Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR) Support Service is designed to enable more organisations to benefit from this relief. In addition to a new guide, companies based in England can also benefit from a new helpdesk service. The service is completely free.

The support service will help address some of the common questions and misconceptions associated with the tax relief, as well as providing a straightforward, step-by-step guide to preparing and making a claim. The Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief is an important source of additional funds that is applicable to a large number of arts and cultural organisations. Up to 40p in each £ could be claimed as cash-based support to invest in your organisation’s ambitions.

Click here to find out more>>

AIA Liverpool Weekend Tours June 2022 – Booking Open

March 5, 2022March 4, 2022mikenevell

Last year the Association for Industrial Archaeology (AIA) had to cancel or postpone most of its planned activities, including their annual conference, scheduled for Liverpool. However, AIA have announced a long weekend of tours in and around Liverpool from 17-19^th June 2022, organised by the Merseyside Industrial Heritage Society. The event includes three days of tours and a Saturday evening dinner, at which AIA’s awards for the past two years will be presented.

The event costs £160 and includes the trips and dinner at the Liverpool Marriott Hotel, where delegates may book accommodation at a preferential rate; details will be provided at the time of booking. Alternatively, delegates may make their own accommodation arrangements. Places are limited so early booking is advised. The planned tours are as follows:

Friday 17^th June – a day touring the dock area of Liverpool, including the Old Dock of 1716, Jesse Hartley’s magnificent Royal Albert Dock of 1846 and associated buildings, and many other historic docks and warehouses, including the Tate & Lyle reinforced concrete sugar silo of 1957.

Saturday 18^th June – a day on transport, starting with a drive through the Mersey Tunnel to the Wirral Transport Museum for a tram ride to the Woodside Ferry terminal of 1861, moving on to the Hooton Park Trust with its Belfast Trusses and historic aircraft before returning via the 1938 terminal of Speke Aerodrome. That evening there will be a dinner at the Marriott Hotel, close to Lime Street Station.

Sunday 19^th June – visiting Edge Hill on the way for evidence of the original 1830 Liverpool & Manchester Railway, its 1836 station, the cutting, and tunnels to the docks, the rest of the day will be spent at St Helens including parts of the Sankey Canal and the glassworks.

Click for more information and booking

Ironbridge Launch Online Appeal for Conservation Works on Blists Hill Steam Engines

March 3, 2022March 2, 2022mikenevell

*The replica of the Trevithick Locomotive at Blists Hills, Ironbridge*

The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust has launched an online appeal to raise funds for conservation and repair work that is vitally needed on three iconic steam engines at Blists Hill Victorian Town. They are seeking to protect the Trevithick locomotive replica, ‘Billy’ the Road Roller, and the portable engine and stone crusher in the stonemason’s yard. They would be grateful for any level of donation you could make to their appeal for help towards this significant heritage conservation project.

The Trevithick locomotive is a replica of the world’s first steam railway locomotive, which was designed by Richard Trevithick (1771-1833) and constructed by the Coalbrookdale Company in 1802-1803. Billy is a 3-ton steam roller constructed by Wallis and Steevens in Basingstoke in 1903. The Portable is a stationary engine located in the stonemason’s yard at Blists Hill Victorian Town, and is constructed from a variety of sources, including a 1920s locomotive boiler and an 1880s engine.

Read more about these engines, and donate, by following this link: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/BlistsHillSteamEngines

Historic England Announce New Everyday Heritage Grants

February 25, 2022mikenevell

*Men working at a Stoke-on-Trent bottle kiln, 1965-68. Copyright Historic England.*

Historic England’s new ‘Everyday Heritage Grants: Celebrating Working Class Histories’ will fund community-led and people-focused projects that aim to further the nation’s collective understanding of the past. These pilot grants will focus on heritage that links people to overlooked historic places, with a particular interest in recognising and celebrating working class histories.

From palaces to terraced houses, stately homes to barns, our towns and landscapes are filled with symbols of our past. But not everyone’s stories are told and not everyone’s history is remembered. The Everyday Heritage Grants Scheme aims to engage with the widest possible range of heritage and helps to further the nation’s collective understanding of England’s past. Historic England are inviting applications from community or heritage organisations/museums to apply for grants up to £25,000 to fund projects that will celebrate the built or historic environment near them.

Each project should enable people to creatively share overlooked or untold stories of the places where they live and encourage communities, groups and local people to examine and tell their own stories in their own ways.

Historic England is also looking for projects that provide innovative volunteering opportunities for young people or people facing loneliness or isolation, as well as contribute positively to participants’ wellbeing.

As a result of these funded projects, heritage and stories that have been previously overlooked will be recognised and revealed, with buildings or historic sites acting as the inspiration. People will be able to tell their own stories, in their own way, and be encouraged to connect with others in their local communities.

The Application window opens on the 23rd February 2022 and closes on 23rd May 2022. For more information about the project and how to apply, please visit the Historic England website here https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/news/grants-to-uncover-nations-hidden-working-class-heritage/ or email EverydayHeritage@HistoricEngland.org.uk

£4.5 Million Increase to the Heritage Stimulus Fund

February 23, 2022mikenevell

81 projects across 78 historic sites are set to receive a share of £4.5 million through Historic England, from Round 3 of the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund. This February 2022 further round of funding will ensure essential repairs and restoration can be completed and help bring heritage sites back to life by supporting major building programmes, safeguarding jobs, and generating employment.

The sites supported, which include 33 buildings supported for the first time, include additional monies for several industrial heritage buildings and structures. These include South Wingfield Station in Derbyshire and Wheal Betsy in Devon. The Canal and River Trust will receive further funds to help restore locks on the Ashton, Grand Union, Hertford Union, Leeds Liverpool, Peak Forest, and Walsall canals. For a full list of recipients from all three CRF rounds in England follow this link: https://historicengland.org.uk/coronavirus/culturerecoveryfund/map/recipients-list/

SPAB Awards Deadline Approaching for 2022

February 15, 2022mikenevell

The deadlines for the relaunched SPAB Heritage Awards are rapidly approaching. In 2022 SPAB will be championing excellence in built heritage across the UK and Ireland, bringing established SPAB awards together with fresh new ones, and waving the flag for all the gifted craftspeople, dedicated custodians, and environmentally conscious practitioners that work tirelessly to ensure that our astonishing built heritage has a bright future.

The entry categories for 2022 are: Building Craftsperson of the Year; Best Loved Award; Sustainable Heritage Award; Philip Webb Award; John Betjeman Award; and the Scholarship & Fellowship Presentation. The deadlines are as follows:

Main entry deadline: 28 March 2022
Philip Webb Award entry deadline: 12 September 2022

To submit your own project or nominate exceptional work you think deserves special recognition follow this link: https://www.spab.org.uk/get-involved/awards

Industrial Archaeology Mini-Conference in Essex, April 2022

February 12, 2022February 10, 2022mikenevell

Essex County Council are holding are holding a mini-conference on Industrial Heritage on the 5th April 2022 at the East Anglian Railway Museum. There will be a wide range of speakers plus a chance to look round the venue.

The day is aimed at anyone interested in industrial heritage and architecture, or those who are currently involved in the conservation or sustainable reuse of these kind of sites. The mini-conference will provide insight into a range of industrial typologies across Essex.

The venue, at the East Anglian Railway Museum, was part of the branch line from Marks Tey to Sudbury which crosses the impressive Chappel viaduct. This site is now run as a museum, and is still a working railway station. It is well known for its open days and events, which reveal a rich history. There will be time within the day to explore this impressive site.

Talks will cover water, gas, electric industries, maltings, and breweries, daylight factories, and the challenges of recording and preserving 20th century industrial heritage. The speakers include: Wayne Cocroft of Historic England; Tony Crosby, Chairman of the Essex Industrial Archaeology Group; Tim Murphy, Historic Environment Manager at Place Services for Essex; Mike Tarbard of the Bata Heritage Centre and David Ridler manager of the former Bata factory site; and Elphin Watkin, presient of the Herts & Essex Architectural Society.

Booking and costs here: https://www.placeservices.co.uk/courses/conservation/industrial-heritage/

Balancing Optimism with Realism – AIM Report on COVID Survey

February 10, 2022mikenevell

In January 2022, the Association of Independent Museums surveyed its members on the immediate impact of the Omicron variant and related strengthening of restrictions in all nations of the UK over the Christmas and New Year season. AIM received almost 200 responses.

These responses show a picture of a sector looking ahead to the rest of winter and the rest of the year largely expecting to survive financially, but with significant concerns about visitor figures and income throughout 2022, and a need for support with core funding, capital (including maintenance) projects, one-off projects, and particularly to support staff resilience and wellbeing.

The detailed report can be downloaded here: https://aim-museums.co.uk/balancing-optimism-realism/

Connected Heritage Webinars From Wikimedia

January 28, 2022mikenevell

As part of the National Lottery funded Digital Skills for Heritage initiative, Wikimedia UK is running free webinars to showcase what Wiki-based platforms and digital skills can offer organisations in a heritage context.

Heritage organisations of all sizes are invited to attend. These webinars will cover open knowledge, the digital skills gap, digital preservation and how WMUK is addressing those issues through this project. Participants will be provided with access to resources and materials to take back to their organisations, and the opportunity to follow up with the project and engage in partnership. You need only attend one webinar: sessions are free, open and no prior Wiki experience is required.

Webinar dates

2 February

17 February

4 March

To book follow this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/wikimedia-uk-2325991761

You can follow them on Twitter for project updates, and you can contact the team at connectedheritage@wikimedia.org.uk