Industrial heritage – Industrial Heritage Networks

Volunteering Opportunties at Northampton Transport Heritage

December 4, 2025mikenevell

Northampton Transport Heritage is looking for volunteers to help keep their historic buses on the road, with increasing demand for its heritage vehicles at a variety of events running from April to November. However, they are constrained by a lack of volunteers – whether that’s helping to maintain the vehicles or assisting during events.

If you’re interested in old buses and want to help keep them on the road, or if you’d enjoy supporting Northampton Transport Heritage at the half dozen or so events they attend around Northamptonshire, please follow this link below:

https://ntheritage.org/

*Historic buses at Northamptonshire Transport Heritage. Image courtesy of Northamptoshire Transport Heritage.*

Petition Opened to Stop the Closure of the Walsall Leather Museum

November 12, 2025mikenevell

A campaign has been set up to persuade Walsall Council not to close the Walsall Leather Museum. In September Walsall Council announced that Walsall Leather Museum will close next year (2026), despite a stay of execution earlier this year. They have approved plans for finding and purchasing a new town centre building for the museum and to sell off the existing museum building, itself a former leather works in Littleton Street West, to the nearby Walsall College.

The petition, which was launched at the beginning of November, accuses the council of “silently stripping away a cherished historical community asset that belongs to all of us”, and adds that “this decision is being made behind closed doors, with no meaningful public consultation and no transparency about how or when these choices were or are made. They have no formal plans to provide an alternative building or protect the museum’s historic collections.”

You can view the petition here: https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-closure-of-walsall-leather-museum?fbclid=IwY2xjawOAFPFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeL5Bk-Bk9UQ43lgNee6A3W3BBJV7NMeeGP2WAhyHwfvmwBIOd5gplTNj7lzA_aem_0shgQFPzBOMV9TAKuQvQ2w

South West Industrial Heritage Network Meeting, 7 November

October 17, 2025October 15, 2025mikenevell

The next in-person South West Industrial Heritage Network meeting will be held at Crofton Beam Engines on Friday 7^th November, from 11am to 1pm. This will be followed, after lunch (please bring your own), by a tour of the site (2pm to 3pm). The themes for the 2025-26 IHN meetings are conservation and maintenance.

All IHN members and friends are very welcome to attend. To book a free place follow this link:

Crofton Beam Engines was built in 1807-9 to supply water to the highest point of the Kennet & Avon Canal which links London and Bristol. It is a rare survivor of the technology which enabled British engineers to drain mines and supply towns and cities with water throughout the world. For more details about the site follow this link: https://www.croftonbeamengines.org/about/

Cornwall & Devon Industrial Heritage Network Meeting, 6 November

October 16, 2025October 15, 2025mikenevell

The next in-person Cornwall & Devon Industrial Heritage Network meeting will be held at Coldharbour Mill, Devon, on Thursday 6^th November from 11am to 1pm. This will be followed, after lunch (there is a cafe on site), by a tour of the site (2pm to 3pm). The themes for the 2025-26 IHN meetings are conservation and maintenance.

All IHN members and friends are very welcome to attend. Follow the link below to book a free place.

Coldharbour Mill is a 200-year-old spinning mill in Uffculme, Devon. It was built by Thomas Fox to spin woollen and later worsted yarns in 1799. It opened as a museum in 1982, and has continued to produce high quality worsted knitting yarn on its period machinery. For more details about the mill follow this link: https://www.coldharbourmill.org.uk/

World of Glass Museum Saved from Closure Through Supporters’ Fundraising

September 24, 2025mikenevell

The World of Glass Museum in St Helens has been saved from closure, ahead of its 25th anniversary year in 2026. The museum was facing a combination of increasing competition for funding across the charity sector, and a steep rise in annual running costs which threatened its immediate future (see blog 2nd July). In response the museum launched an emergency funding appeal.

The Museum reported that a crowdfunding appeal had raised £27,000, and in addition they had received generous support from local firms, grant funders, and community fundraisers. This has brought the total of funds raised to £87,000. Sarah Taylor, World of Glass chief executive, said: “This support has been so inspiring….We’re breathing a huge sigh of relief. Thanks to this funding, we can plan for the future with confidence. We are proud to be a free museum, committed to sharing art, history, and culture with everyone — regardless of background or income.”

For further details follow this link: https://www.worldofglass.com/

*Museum of Glass, St Helens, showing The Hotties furnace. Image courtesy of Museum of Glass.*

London Industrial Heritage Network Meeting, 8 August

July 13, 2025July 14, 2025mikenevell

Bookings are now open for the next in-person London Industrial Heritage Network meeting to be held at Merton Priory Chapter House, Wandle, on Thursday 8th August, 11am to 3pm.

Established in 2018, these regional meetings are designed to bring together those industrial heritage sites open to the public in each region, and local groups and individuals working or volunteering on industrial archaeology and heritage subjects and sites in the area. The format is a round-table discussion in the morning, with a tour of the site in the afternoon.

All IHN members are very welcome to attend. You can turn up on the day or follow this link to book a free place via Eventbrite:

East of England Industrial Heritage Network Meeting, 7 August

July 11, 2025mikenevell

Bookings are now open for the next in-person East of England Industrial Heritage Network meeting at the Royal Gunpowder Mill Mills, Waltham Abbey, on Thursday 7th August, 11am to 3pm.

All IHN members are very welcome to attend. You can turn up on the day or follow this link to book a free place via Eventbrite:

West Midlands Industrial Heritage Network Meeting, 25 June

June 18, 2025mikenevell

There’s still time to book a place on the next in-person West Midland’s Industrial Heritage Network meeting to be held at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust on Wednesday 25 June, at 11am in the Glass Glassroom behind the Museum of Iron, Coalbrookdale.

All IHN members are very welcome to attend. You can turn up on the day or follow this link to book a place: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/west-midlands-industrial-heritage-network-meeting-tickets-1377368599559?aff=oddtdtcreator

The Long Shop Museum Recieves £14,000 Aim Grant for Revamped Gallery

June 14, 2025June 13, 2025mikenevell

The Association of Independent Museums (AIM) have announced the winners of the inaugural Museum Fundamentals grants. Funded by the Pilgrim Trust and The Julia Rausing Trust and launched in December 2024, the AIM Museum Fundamentals grant is designed to respond to the varied needs of AIM members.

Amongst the initial round of 12 grants is a succesful application from The Long Shop Muaseum in Suffolk to redesign and redisplay the ‘Made in Leiston’ gallery. The design and content of the new exhibition is based on audience research conducted over the last two seasons. The new displays will focus on unlocking the social history of the town and the people who lived and worked there over a 250-year span, and on technological change. The Long Shop Museum was founded in 1984. It is housed in a cluster of historic buildings in the Suffolk market town of Leiston. The buildings are survivors of the original 19th century engineering works site of Richard Garrett and Sons who specialised in famring machinery. Further details here:

https://www.longshopmuseum.co.uk/

The AIM Museum Fundamentals grant is funded by the Pilgrim Trust and The Julia Rausing Trust, and launched in December 2024. It combines the valued collections care and conservation funding supported by the Pilgrim Trust with new funding from The Julia Rausing Trust. AIM members can apply for up to £20,000 for funding to undertake a collections-based project. If you’re interested in applying to Museum Fundamentals, expressions of interest for the next round are welcome until Friday 8 August. Further details here: https://aim-museums.co.uk/news/first-aim-museum-fundamentals-awards-made/

*Long Shop, Leiston, Suffolk. Image copyright The Long Shop Museum.*

Historic England Launch New Book: ‘England’s Lost Transport Heritage from the Air’

June 13, 2025mikenevell

Historic England and Liverpool University Press have recently published ‘England’s Lost Transport Heritage from the Air’, our latest industrial heritage title – https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/englands-lost-transport-heritage-from-air/. Written by Allan Brodie, this book uses Aerofilms’ remarkable photographic collection to tell the story of England’s lost transport heritage, from Roman roads to supersonic Concorde.

Flying across the country from 1919 onwards Aerofilms recorded England’s complex infrastructure of road, rail and maritime transport. The book complements Historic England’s earlier publications ‘England’s Railway Heritage from the Air (https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/englands-railway-heritage-from-the-air/) and ‘England’s Motoring Heritage from the Air’ (https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/englands-motoring-heritage-from-air/).

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Tag: Industrial heritage