Welcome to the Industrial Heritage Networks and Support website. This site is maintained and updated by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust who run the project and the networks. We aim to support industrial heritage in England through networking, information exchange, guidance, and training. Please explore the website and please contribute! For more information you can … Read more Welcome to the IHNs website!
Grace’s Guide Ltd is a charity (No.1154342) whose aim is to advance the education of the history of Industry and Engineering in the UK. Their website contains 169,231 pages and 247,697 images on early companies, their products, and the people who designed and built them. Much of this material is free to access.
The charity is keen to hear from potential contributors able to help with the building of this educational resource by adding something – big or small – to the information already online. You can suggest new information about anything they already have online, or suggest something that might need editing. To do this please email the Editor here: Editor@gracesguide.co.uk
The Festival of Archaeology is back this summer (19th July to the 3rd August 2025), and the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) want you to be part of it! Whether you’re a local society, heritage organisation, youth group, community project, or passionate individual, your event can help open up archaeology to new audiences. This year’s Festival theme is Archaeology and Wellbeing.
Archaeology is a wonderful way to make a positive impact on people’s well-being. During this year’s Festival, CBA will be incorporating the five ways to wellbeing into the events and activities, creating opportunities for people to give, be active, learn, take notice and connect. The Festival of Archaeology brings history to life, inspiring curiosity, learning, and engagement with the past. Each year, CBA connect thousands of people across the UK with archaeology through events, activities, and digital content.
Access to the organiser materials now requires an individual to log in to have access and permission to use the Festival of Archaeology branding materials and ulitise the amazing FREE guidance and training CBA provide to help you with your events. To submit your event follow this link:
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:
The Festival of Archaeology, run by the Council for British Archaeology (CBA), is back for summer 2025. This year’s theme, ‘Archaeology and Wellbeing’, celebrates the ways archaeology can inspire, connect, and enrich our lives. Whether it’s exploring historic landscapes, taking part in hands-on activities, or engaging in mindful moments with the past, there’s something for everyone.
Running from the 19 July to the 3 August, the CBA has announced some key festival events, including the opening in Northern Ireland at Divis and the Black Mountain, and the festival finale in Bradford, the UK City of Culture for 2025. During this year’s Festival, the CBA will be incorporating the five ways to wellbeing into the events and activities, creating opportunities for people to give, be active, learn, take notice, and connect.
In 2024 there were dozens of industrial archaeology events across the country, so if you are an Industrial Heritage site or group lookign to get /involved as an organiser now’s the time to submit your event. Or, if you’re looking for some great events this July, you can start exploring what’s coming up now. In both cases follow this link to the Festival website for how to get involved: https://www.archaeologyuk.org/festival.html
The dealines for several grant streams suitable for Industrial Heritage museums and sites occur in early 2025. To catch up with what is available for industrial heritage sites and museums explore the following websites.
Foyle Foundation Small Grants The Small Grants Scheme is provided by the Foyle Foundation to support smaller, grass-roots, and local charities in the UK with projects that have the potential to make a significant difference to their work. Grants range from £2k to £10k and the closing date for applications is 31 January. Find outr mor eby followign this link: https://foylefoundation.org.uk/how-to-apply/small-grants-scheme-guidelines/
The Heritage Alliance, whilst not a funding body in itself, co-manages the Heritage Funding Directory with the Architectural Heritage Fund. This free resource for the sector includes a directory listing funding sources for heritage projects across the UK (and internationally), and includes some helpful guidance on fundraising. It is regularly updated, so its worth visiting regularly.
Finally, the Association for Industrial Archaeology runs several annual grant and award schemes specifically for industrial archaeology and heritage, with closing dates at the end of January and the end of March. Follow this link for further details: https://industrial-archaeology.org/aia-awards/
Applications are now open for the Association for Industrial Archaeology’s 2025 round of restoration, research, and other awards (including community, dissertaton, publication, and travel bursary). The deadline for most of these awards is the 31st Janaury 2025, although the deadline for the Restoration Grants is the 31st March 2025. Details and links can be found below.
Restoration Grants
The first of these grants were made in 2009, and from the initial modest beginnings we have, by 2024, been able to allocate nearly £1,500,000 since the scheme began. The industrial heritage sector, despite difficulties with volunteer projects during the Pandemic, has continued to be increasingly appreciative of this source of aid. A source which is entirely thanks to the continuing support of our anonymous donors. A brief history of the scheme and details of many of those projects can be found below. Regular updates on progress with these projects appear in I A News, our quarterly bulletin. From 2020 onwards the available Grants pot is divided into two categories:
Major projects where the maximum grant that can be awarded is £30,000. The grant from the AIA must be a significant part of the total project cost, not just a small contribution to a very large project, so that the AIA grant has real impact. The AIA would not normally fund projects where their grant represents less than 20% of the total project costs. Small projects where the grant limit is £10,000, for which the total cost of the project, excluding the value of volunteer labour, must not exceed £12,500.
The AIA research grant scheme underpins the study aim of the Association. It does that by:
Encouraging individual researchers to study industrial archaeology subjects
Encouraging the development of industrial archaeology skills within commercial units, the main repository of professional skills in the subject
Supporting local industrial archaeology and industrial heritage societies in exploring and understanding their local areas
Helping to develop the next generation of industrial archaeologists
The total fund available in any single year is £1,500 and multiple grants may be given up to this maximum in a single year. The AIA may consider part-funding a wider grant application or project as long as the AIA grant is a significant part of the larger application / project.
Click to download full details and an application form: (.pdf)(.docx)
In 2024 Claymills Pumping Station received a major grant for the restoration of boiler No 1 to fully working condition. Image courtesy of Claymills Pumping Station Trust.
Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, Chance Heritage Trust are looking to appoint a Heritage & Culture Coordinator to drive their community engagement activities over the next 3 years. The Trust want to make sure the community are front and centre as they take forward the regeneration of the Chance Glassworks.
Following a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund they are seeking to employ an experienced Heritage and Culture Coordinator. As the Community and Culture Coordinator, the role will be to develop and drive their heritage, culture, and enterprise offer using the rich industrial history and legacy of the Chance Glassworks and other heritage projects as a source of material. Coordinating all strands of the Trust’s community engagement activities, managing their social media and external communications, will all be part of the role.
If this challenge appeals to you, a detailed job description and contact information can be found on their website here: www.chanceht.org
Please include a covering letter detailing your past experience and telling the Trust why you think you can fulfil the role and include a current CV.
The Canal & River Trust is seeking people to join its team of fantastic volunteers and help care for the historic Gloucester Docks and the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal. There are a wide range of opportunities on offer.
The Trust is seeking volunteers to join its Gloucester Task Force, which cares for the environment around Gloucester Docks, making it a special place to visit, popular with boaters, local people and visitors. People who have a passion for teaching and inspiring young people are needed to support the Trust’s Explorers education programme. This role offers the opportunity to bring the waterways and their heritage to life for children and schools through events, visits and the National Waterways Museum.
The National Waterways Museum Gloucester is a popular visitor destination in the heart of the docks. The museum needs volunteers to act as guides and talk to visitors, sharing their passion for local history, the docks and what the waterways has provided for people and wildlife for over two centuries.
The canal boasts 18 historic swing bridges running down its entire length from Gloucester to Sharpness. Volunteer bridge keepers are needed to keep these bridges open for boats to navigate the canal, speaking to people and keeping them safe while operating the bridges.
Once the broadest and deepest canal in the world, the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal still stands out from other navigations because of its sheer scale and impressive engineering. Its rich history in acting as a bypass to protect boats from a treacherous stretch of the River Severn is still alive today, with Gloucester Docks a stunning Victorian inland port, and home to the popular Tall Ships Festival. To discover more about the work of the Canal & River Trust, and how you can volunteer or donate, go to canalrivertrust.org.uk.
19th century canal warehouse at the Glouscester Docks. Image copyright Dr Michael Nevell.
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.
Taking place online from 26 July – 04 August 2022, Chance Conversations will explore some of the biggest current topics in industrial heritage, from the different ways it can revive communities, to how old industrial buildings can reveal the global foundations a town is built on. The talks are being hosted by Chance Heritage Trust and DigVentures as part of #MadeinSmethwick – a programme of public events inspired by stories from Chance Brothers glassworks in Smethwick, and the continuing mission to give this disused industrial building a new lease of life within its surrounding community.
Panellists include Simon Briercliffe (University of Birmingham), Lizey Thompson (Canal and River Trust), Graham Worton (Black Country UNESCO Global Geopark coordinator), Mary Lewis (Heritage Crafts Association), Malcolm Dick (University of Birmingham), Marianne Monro (Chance Heritage Trust), and many more. Each panel discussion will include a live Q&A.
You can see the whole series and join in the discussion by registering for FREE at:
Chance Conversations: The Future of Industrial Heritage Hosted by Chance Heritage Trust and DigVentures as part of #MadeinSmethwick
Global Smethwick: The history of a town in 10 buildings
Tue 26 July 2022, 6pm BST (via Zoom, recording available)
Smethwick isn’t just any old town: from the Red Cow pub to Marshall Street’s Malcolm X plaque and Guru Nanak Gurudwara, it has been built by people from all over the world. Our panel will discuss how the buildings you walk past every day can reveal the foundations of a town, and the global history it is built on.
Art of the Industrial Revolution and the Future of Heritage Crafts
Wed 27 July 2022, 6pm BST (via Zoom, recording available)
During the industrial revolution, artists created murals and paintings showing the skill and craft of its workers, like the dancer-like glassblowers painted by Mervyn Peake inside Chance Glassworks. What can we learn from images like this? And what’s being done to save the skills they depict today? Our panel will discuss the art of the industrial revolution, and introduce some of the people trying to save heritage crafts today.
Revival to Reuse: Can industrial heritage save us?
Tue 02 August 2022, 6pm BST (via Zoom, recording available)
Why is industrial heritage so popular right now? And can its ruins be used to heal some of the wounds created by the human and environmental impact of industrialisation? From museums to canals and even geoparks, our panel will discuss how industrial heritage can encourage revival, reuse, and renewal within our communities, particularly in the Black Country.
Working Class Life: From Industrial Revolution to the Future
Wed 03 August 2022, 6pm BST (via Zoom, recording available)
Working life has changed in so many ways over the last few hundred years, for men, women, children, and families – not just in the UK, but around the world. Our panel will discuss the history of work and working-class life, how it has changed (and how it hasn’t) from the industrial revolution to the present day, and even where we might possibly go from here…
Thu 04 Aug 2022, 4pm BST (Brasshouse Community Centre, Smethwick)
How do you bring an old industrial building back into use? And how do you make sure it contributes to community life? Our panel will discuss the journey, from the different options available and how to get started, to what can be learned along the way – all while hearing about Chance Heritage Trust’s ongoing plans to bring the former Chance Brothers Glassworks back into use in Smethwick.
Industrial Heritage Networks 