environment – Industrial Heritage Networks

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.*

AIM Launch Research to Explore How Land is Used by Museum and Heritage Organisations

November 27, 2024mikenevell

A new piece of research has been launched by the Association of Independent Museums (AIM) to better understand how museums and heritage venues with outdoor space of any size are approaching land management in order to diversify their income streams, broaden their audiences, and contribute to sustainability goals.

The research will explore how museums and heritage organisations (including industrial heritage sites) with outdoor space of any size, from rooftop terraces to those with thousands of acres, are using these spaces. The research will also consider the appetite for further support and funding for developing such outdoor spaces. The intended outcome is to compile some broad data about land ownership in the sector along with a set of robust case studies that can exemplify how organisations of varied size and resource are approaching land management.

A core element is an online survey, which is open to those in the museums and heritage sector with experience managing land or owning land. The survey is being carried out by marketing research company M·E·L Research for the Association of Independent Museums (AIM), National Museum Directors’ Council, Arts Council England, and the Welsh Government.

The online survey is open until Mid-December, and can be completed here.

*Part of the Blists Hill Victorian Town, Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust. Image copyright: Dr Michael Nevell.*

Catalyst Science Discovery Centre & Museum Awarded £1 Million NLHF Grant

November 25, 2024mikenevell

The Catalyst Science Discovery Centre and Museum in Widnes has been awarded a £1 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. This is to help it educate and excite an even wider audience about the relevance of chemistry, the town’s chemical heritage, and how this has shaped modern life today.

Delegates catching up at the North West IHN, October 2024. Copyright: Dr Michael Nevell

Half of the £1,009,930 National Lottery Heritage Fund grant will be used to refurbish two floors of the museum in order to showcase the history and heritage of the chemical industry from the 1800s to the present in a fresher, more engaging, and more accessible way. This includes the top floor Observation Gallery with its 360° views of the surrounding area including the River Mersey and two Halton bridges, which will be revamped with brand new interactive exhibitsd and audio handsets.

A proportion of the grant will be used to digitise the museum’s nationally important, and extensive, archive to both protect and make it more widely available. The remainder of the grant has been earmarked for an extensive activity plan including workshops, events, open days, and resources aimed at connecting audiences to the chemical industry in a new and meaningful way.

The Catalyst charity was launched in 1987. It celebrates the local chemical industry heritage and its influence at home and around the world with unique initiatives, hands-on experiences, and rich industrial heritage archives. The Discovery Centre and Museum welcomes visitors from the local area and beyond, with special events for schools, families, and SEN groups all year round. The museum hosted the North West Industrial Heritage Network meeting in October 2024.

For further details follow this link: https://www.catalyst.org.uk/catalyst-lottery-fund-win/

*The Catalayst Science Discovery Centre andMseum, November 2024. Copyright: Dr Michael Nevell.*

Historic England Webinar Recording on the Industrial Heritage Work of the Canal & River Trust Now Available

November 19, 2024mikenevell

For several years Historic England has been running a very successful lunchtime learning webinar training series. The latest industrial heritage webinar case study on the work of the Canal & River Trust, held earlier this autumn, can now can be viewed online.

Follow this link to watch the webinar: https://vimeo.com/1023201169/d6a3476fc4

One example of the re-use and conservation of canal-related industrial heritage mentioned in the webinar was The Roundhouse, Sheepcote Street, Birmingham. This former horse-shoe shaped stables and stores was built as a mineral and coal wharf, around 1840. Listed Grade II* the site was removed from the Heritage at Risk Register in 2021, renovated with the help of NHLF and CRT, and is now being run as a heritage enterprise by the charity Roundhouse Birimgham providing office space, a visitor centre, and canal-related leisure and outreach activities.

*The Roundhouse, Sheepcote Street, Birmingham. Image courtesy of Historic England.*

Museum Decarbonisation Case Studies

November 4, 2024mikenevell

The National Musuem Directors’ Council (NMDC) has published the findings of a series of case studies looking at the actions and costs required to decarbonise museum buildings. It worked with a consulting engineer and a construction consultancy on a study of potential improvements to the energy performance of six different museum sites across the country, identifying where changes could be made to make buildings more efficient and reduce carbon emissions.

The National Museum Directors’ Council represents the leaders of the UK’s national collections and major regional museums. Aware that many museums haven’t yet carried out baseline surveys or carbon audits due to capacity and affordability, and that some who have done so can’t share results widely due to commercial sensitivities, six museums agreed to share their findings publicly to increase sector literacy about potential improvements and outline costs. Each case study considers three categories: quick wins, maintenance, and capital projects, and within these demonstrates a range of potential carbon savings for individual measures – ranging from reviewing boiler controls or time schedules, to more ambitious interventions such as upgrading roof insulation, window repairs, or replacing gas boilers with Air Source Heat Pumps.The detailed case studies can be read by clicking the link here.

The importance of baseline carbon surveys to identify such measures cannot be overstated, as implementing these may mitigate potentially larger costs of more advanced maintenance or capital work, for which considerably more external funding is necessary.

*all carbon savings and costs are estimates. See case study document for full details.

Emergency and Risk Management Network: Extreme Environments Training for Museums, 5 November 2024

October 28, 2024mikenevell

Join Museum Development Midlands (MDM) and Anita Hollinshead for this session exploring extreme environments and their impact on conditions in museums, collections, visitors, and staff on 5th November. The free workshop will include a number of case studies and measures that can be put in place to minimise risks.

Delegates will be encouraged to share their own experiences of extreme weather conditions, including high temperatures, flooding, and storms and the impact of climate change on collections management, all issues familiar on for industrial heritage sites. This workshop is part of MDM’s Emergency and Risk Management Network, helping museums prepare for emergency situations and develop skills in risk management and mitigation.

Places are limited to a maximum two delegates per organisation. Priority will be given to delegates from non-NPO and non-National museums in the Midlands which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation. You’re welcome to book a place if you are not from a priority museum, including non-Accredited museums, on the understanding we may ask you to release your place if the event becomes oversubscribed. Fololow this linbk to book the free trainbign session: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/emergency-and-risk-management-network-extreme-environments-tickets-1028753909637?aff=oddtdtcreator

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Tag: environment