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!
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.
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.
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/
The news that Cannock Chase Council is proposing the closure of the Museum of Cannock Chase in April 2025, as part of proposed budgets cuts for 2025/2026, has led to the establishment of an online petition against the closure.
The Council is holding a public consultation on the closure of the museum, and the council’s Prince of Wales theatre, which runs from the 29 November 2024 to the 2nd January 2025. The council released a report in November regarding the closure of the msuem and theatre which estimated that closing the two cultural venues would save £350k per annum. This report can be download by following this link (see pages 179 – 187): https://www.cannockchasedc.gov.uk/council/meetings/agendas-reports-minutes/cabinet/2024-11-28
The Museum of Cannock Chase first opened in 1989 on the site of the former Valley Pit, a training pit for young coal miners. It covers the history of the Cannock Chase area across four galleries and also hosts a number of temporary exhibitions throughout the year. Although council-owned, it is operated by the charity Inspiring Healthy Lifestyles (IHL), who who also run the theatre, with a contract until 2027. Vistor numbers to the free musuem, before COVID, reached 46,500 in 2018/19. The number of visitors since the pandemic initially fell to 10,500 in 2021/22, but partially recovered to 21,000 in 2023/24.
The online petition notes that: ‘The museum’s collections tells over 300 years of history of the district and wider area and have become cherished resources. They have collected and safeguarded not only our industrial history but our social history, presenting and preserving the stories of people past and present – of those people who worked to create and shape our communities, and of the people who continue to do so. This entire collection is now at risk of being lost.’
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.
Calderdale Industrial Museum is working to bring life back to its beautiful steam engines and is seeking to raise funds to complete this exciting steam project. These engines include the early beam engine, the vertical steam engine, the Newton Bean and Mitchell horizontal engine, and the Belliss & Morcom twin cylinder steam generator set. Using steam to power these engines again will add a fantastic dimension to the visitor experience at the museum.
The museum has been lucky to have some very generous support from individuals who have donated a considerable amount of money to help fund this, but they are now looking to widen their Appeal, as they still need to raise more money. With the launch of the ‘Full Steam Ahead Appeal’ they hope to raise the final amount of funding to complete the project, which will allow them to refurbish the engines, install a smaller, more efficient boiler and carry out the necessary safety and operation training.
Bringing steam back to the power gallery will be integral to showing how these amazing steam engines drove the development of the Industrial Revolution in this area. Visitors will be able to see how these magnificent workhorses powered the industry of Calderdale, and many could even enjoy specialist experiences and steam days, which will bring enthusiasts from around the country to this vibrant area of West Yorkshire. The introduction of steam to the museum should make a significant addition to the overall visitor experience, further cementing the museum’s place as a major contributor to local heritage and the economy and driving their efforts to reach a wider audience.
Calderdale Industrial Museum
Calderdale Industrial Museum, an Arts Council accredited museum, sits at the heart of the historical quarter of Halifax and makes a considerable contribution to the heritage engagement and economy of this region of West Yorkshire. It tells the story of how the industry of the past grew as a direct consequence of the particular physical landscape and ingenuity of its local people, resulting in the rich heritage and exciting story, relevant to the history of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain.
Since the local authority had to close the museum due to a shortage of funds in 2000, local enthusiasts and industry specialists have fought hard to save this nationally and regionally significant collection of industrial heritage. From the museum’s re-opening in 2017, this group of enthusiasts has continued to grow and now works hard to bring their combined knowledge and experience to deliver one of our region’s most popular visitor attractions. Sitting next to Halifax’s amazing and unique Piece Hall, the museum is central to telling this story of the town of one hundred trades. The museum is now run for the most part by this unpaid volunteer workforce, with all maintenance and conservation work funded by open day takings. Any special projects require additional funding sourced from a wide range of donors.
It has always been the ambition of these dedicated volunteers to bring life back to as many of the collections machines as possible. Work has been going on in many areas of the museum to show looms, sock knitting machines, and many of the worsted industry machines, in working order.
The Horizontal Newton Bean and Mitchell Engine known as Enid part way through restoration and recommissioning. This is just one of the engines that fill soon be powered by steam. Image copyright Calder Industrial Museum.
On 13 September the Great Grimsby Ice Factory Trust (GGIFT) celebrated the completion of the Peterson’s Project on the Port of Grimsby. First conceived in 2017, the project was developed jointly by GGIFT, Associated British Ports (ABP), and North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC), and was instrumental in Great Grimsby becoming a Heritage Action Zone in 2018. Designed to be a catalyst for the regeneration of the historic dock, the Peterson’s Project has brought back into use two important buildings within the Kasbah Conservation Area.
The Grade II listed Peterson’s Smokehouse on Henderson Street had functioned as a kipper house since the 19th century, when the original building was first erected. By 2017 the building had been out of use for some time, and much of it was inaccessible. It will now have a new life as a fully functioning fish processing and smoking factory, using the unique cold smoking process that can only take place in a traditional smokehouse.
The second building, at 89 Wharncliffe Road, was most recently known as Fred’s Fisheries. Built by the Osborne family of fish merchants – again in the 19th century when the docks were developed following the arrival of the railway – it was in dire need of modernisation. Through the project the stunning architectural features, and the lovely proportions of the rooms have been revealed, and it awaits tenants for the offices and retail spaces that have been re-created.
The project has taken seven years to complete, including feasibility studies, appraisal and design, and has cost over £1.4 million. Thanks to National Lottery players, the majority of the funding was provided by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Additional grant funding was from the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF), Historic England (HE) and NELC.
The London Museum of Water and Steam are running an urgent appeal to raise the final funds for ‘The Great Engine House Project’ which ains to restore the Grade 1 listed Great Engine House. This is home to the gigantic Grand Junction 100 Inch and 90 Inch engines.
They have already been promised a funding grant for the entire project of £2.8 million, but they will need to raise a percentage of the grant by crowdfunding £50,000 by mid-August. So far, the London Musum of Water and Steam have raised over £17,000 through their crowdfunder, but are struggling to raise the target by the grant deadline.
To contibute to the fund raiser follow the link here.
Unless work is undertaken in the next two years to stop the decay of the Engine House, then these historically significant engines could be be lost, and central parts of the museum building will have to be closed. The project aims to return the 90 inch engine to steam, which will make the Museum more financially resilient by vastly enhancing the Museum’s visitor experience.
The museum is housed in a Georgian water pumping station in Brentford, West London, and was built around a collection of stationary steam engines which pumped clean water into the homes of millions of Londoners between 1838 and 1944. For more details about the museum follow this link: https://waterandsteam.org.uk/
90 Inch engine levers. Image courtesy of London Museum of Steam & Water.
The Lichfield Waterworks Trust has launched an online appeal to restore the magnificent Cornish Pumping Engine at Sandfields Pumping Station. The engine is currently seized solid after not moving for many decades. However, whilst the Lichfield Waterworks Trust have the expertice to to repair the engine they need money for materials and a means to move the engine.
Lichfield Waterworks Trust is a group of volunteers dedicated to preserving Sandfields Pumping Station with its fascinating history and unique Victorian Pumping Engine. The Trust aims to open access to the Sandfields Pumping Station for public use, including education, arts performance, and community development. At the heart of this public access will be the pumping engine. This engine is one of only four left in the entire country. Built by Jonah & George Davies in Tipton and installed in 1873, it worked for 50 years, pumping clean water to the Black Country during the Industrial Revolution to help eradicate Cholera. The engine was taken out of service in 1927 and has not moved for almost 100 years.
You can help them restore the engine by donating through their Crowdfunder page by following this link:
The Britannia Sailing Trust have launched an urgent appeal for funds to help them complete the restoration of the vessel. Fundraising through the Trust’s regular avenues has been difficult in 2024, and at the moment the money will run out in October. Without additional funding, the entire restoration project and the future of Britannia is currently at risk.
The Trust has the materials ready to re-rig the ship and prepare her for sea trials, but still needs to cover their many expenses, particularly the wages of their skilled boatbuilders and their trainees, which are currently the biggest expense.
Britannia Sailing Trust is a maritime heritage charity, centred around the restoration of a 108-year-old sailing vessel, Britannia, based in Exter. After a decade of dedication from the volunteer-led team, the restoration project is finally on the brink of completion.
Donate to the Crowdfunder page to support the the final stage of the restoration work and help keep Britannia afloat here: Donatation Page
The SS Britannia was returned to the waves in 2o23. Image courtesy of the Britannia Sailing Trust.
Industrial Heritage Networks 