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!
The 2025 East of England Regional Industrial Archaeology Conference (EERIAC) will take place on Saturday 7th June at the Prickwillow Engine Museum, Ely, Cambridgeshire. This year’s conference is being organised by the Cambridge Industrial Archaeology Group.
The Outline Programme is as follows:
10.00 Free Tea, Coffee, and Biscuits on arrival.
10:30 to 12.30 Lectures on waterways transport in Cambridgeshire and on rescuing the Black Prince, a Fenland lighter.
12.45 to 13.30 Buffet Lunch.
13.30 to 17.00 A tour of the Prickwillow Engine Museum, and a visit to the Stretham Old Pumping Engine, Green End, Stretham.
Costs: £15 (no lunch) and £23 with lunch. Drop-ins on the day are welcome but booking in advice is advised. The booking form is below.
The East-West Workshops on Industrial Archaeology aim to exchange ideas and knowledge among Western and Eastern colleagues to build a more international and diverse industrial archaeology. The workshops are organised jointly by the Institute for Cultural Heritage and History of Science and Technology (USTB, China), and the UK Association for Industrial Archaeology (AIA). The 8th Workshop on 10 May will look at Heavy Metals.
Metallurgy is one of the oldest human activities and was one of the first sectors to embrace modern industrialisation. The production of metals and their alloys has strongly influenced the development of most societies throughout history, and played a key role in the construction of the modern world. The latest Workshop on Industrial Archaeology brings together archaeologists and architects to delve into the long history of metal production, its multiple contexts (technological, economic, social, and its heritage.
SPEAKERS
Chenyuan LI (University of Science and Technology Beijing, China): “The Evolution of Mining and Metallurgical Production Technologies in the Northern Frontier Regions of China during the Qin and Han Dynasties: A Perspective from Archaeometallurgy”
Rhys MORGAN (Black Mountains Archaeology, Britain): “Rediscovering Copperopolis: The Hafod Plate Rolling Mill, Swansea”
María Isabel PAYER IBÁÑEZ (Payer Arquitectura / University of Seville, Spain): “Metallurgy as Industrial and Urban Development in Peñarroya-Pueblonuevo, Spain”
DATE & TIME
10 May 2025, Saturday. 10.00-12.00 (London time)
BOOKING
Zoom (online meeting). More info and free registration:
Videos of all the workshops are available on the AIA’s YouTube Channel, including the latest event from November 2024 on ‘Weaving the Industrial Period’. Follow this link to view the workshops: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCILr2TkRAOIfk_NKchshwZQ
The Industrial Heritage Support Officer (IHSO) role, occupied by Dr Mike Nevell, has been awarded further funding to enable it to continue its work to preserve England’s industrial heritage. IGMT is delighted that our partners at Historic England and the Association for Industrial Archaeology have agreed to fund the post, which is vital for the support of the wider Industrial Heritage sector and a mark of the importance of IGMT as a leading Industrial Heritage organisation.
The IHSO project is funded by Historic England and the Association for Industrial Archaeology (AIA), and began in September 2012. It is managed by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust. The project aims to support the approximately 600 industrial heritage sites preserved and open to the public in England by developing partnerships and promoting best practice, among other things.
In 2024 the project supported more than 400 sites through one-to-one advice, network meetings, site visits, seminars, websites, and social media. At the end of March the first round of Industrial Heritage Network meetings for 2025 will take place online, and on 25 April, Mike will be talking at an event hosted in Coalbrookdale, organised by the Boiler and Engineering Skills Training Trust, about the need for trained engineers to run industrial heritage sites.
Project highlights for 2025 to 2026 include a major report on the industrial heritage sector in England; more online training seminars to support the sector; and the continuation of the Industrial Heritage Networks. These are key to bringing together people working at industrial sites so that they can exchange experience and best practice.
The next round of online Industrial Heritage Network (IHN) meetings is taking place this Spring. The IHN networks are a chance to meet those working, volunteering, or researching in the industrial heritage sector.
Four lunchtime IHN meetings will be held in late March, and will run from 12noon to 1pm, and there will be an IHSO update followed by news and updates from members. The first round of 2025 IHN meetings will take place on the following dates and will include the following groups:
21 March – East of England
25 March – South East
26 March -North East
31 March – London
Zoom links for the meetings will be sent to each region nearer the dates. If you would like to join any of these Industrial Heritage Networks as a member please email the IHSO here: mike.nevell@mikenevell
The Heritage Trust Network is launching a pilot programme of learning and skills development sessions for heritage organisations, including industrial heritage organisations and sites, in the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. The programme has been commissioned by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority as a pilot to facilitate resilience and capacity building in heritage organisations, particularly grass-roots, community-led organisations.
The pilot programme will be delivered in partnership with Locality, the national membership network supporting local community organisations to be strong and successful (see their website here: https://locality.org.uk/). There will be an in-person discovery event for organisations/groups that are interested in participating on the 13th February in Bradford, and an online discovery event on the 27th February where they can find out all about the programme.
If you’d like to take part, or you know an organisation who might please book a place via Eventbrite or share details. Any queries can be sent to: admin@heritagetrustnetwork.org.uk
The next round of in-person Industrial Heritage Network (IHN) regional meetings will be taking place this autumn. These regional network meetings take place twice a year in the spring (online) and in the autumn (in-person). They are a chance to bring together volunteers and professionals from industrial heritage sites around England to exchange experiences, catch up with the latest news and practices, and make or renew contacts. There are ten regional networks in England run by the IHSO project at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, and funded by Historic England, with the support of the Association for Industrial Archaeology.
The first four in-person IHN meetings will be held this autumn for the following regions:
North West England, Catalyst Museum, 25th October 2024.
Cornwall & Devon, East Pool Mine, Redruth, 7th November 2024.
South West, Westonzoyland, 8th November 2024.
West Midlands, Claymills, 22nd November, 2024
Further dates for other regions will be published in October. Regional network members will be emailed details of the venues and how to attend. For further details contact the Industrial Heritage Support Officer for England: mike.nevell@ironbridge.org.uk
Brew Up! brings together people who work with industrial collections in the North of England, from mill engines to computers, from agricultural to glass; a chance to learn and share. Join us to connect with colleagues across the region, discuss issues unique to industrial collections and find key advice and insight from experienced professionals.
Run by Museum Development North, this session at the Lion Salt Works in Northwich will focus on the theme of environmental responsibility. Covering topics from green fuels to greening your site, this day will be especially useful for industrial heritage and archaeology sites and groups. It runs from 10:00–15:30. To book follow this link:
The mine headstocks at Blists Hill, Ironbridge. Copyright Dr Michael Nevell
The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust has announce that IGMT, in partnership with Leicestershire County Council, has been awarded the Arts Council England (ACE) contract to deliver the new region-wide Museum Development Midlands programme from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2026.
Museum Development UK (MDUK) is a network of all national Museum Development providers and practitioners in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. MDUK’s overarching goal is to support diverse, inclusive, and innovative museums that welcome people from all backgrounds. The networks are an important resource for industrial heritage museums and sites.
IGMT are currently the providers of the West Midlands Museum Development programme. From April 2024 their team will join with the team at the East Midlands programme to create a new Midlands team, to provide continuity to the sector.
Arts Council England has said that it will give this new Midlands programme a grant of £571,420 per year for two years (2024-26)to fund its work providing business development support to museums and their workforces across the Midlands.
This is part of a wider re-organisation of the UK Museum Development Network that will see mergers of the existing services across England. The new Area programmes will be known as:
Museum Development London
Museum Development Midlands
Museum Development North
Museum Development South East
Museum Development South West
It will bring the various partner organisations together to share insights and learning through a national programme, known as Museum Development England.
The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society are running a one day conference on Industrial Archaeology on the 21st October 2023 at the Town Hall, St John’s Street, Devizes. For those interested in industrial archaeology the Society acts as a focal point in the county. Its biennial symposium attracts leading speakers and visitors from all over the southwest and Wales.
The topics and speakers for 2023 are as follows:
‘Building Georgian Chippenham – architects, builders and materials’ by Mike Stone
‘Iron stone and Steam: Brunel’s Railway Kingdom’ by Tim Bryan, Director of the Brunel Institute
‘Bath in the 1970s: Industrial Heritage, Environmental Conservation and Festivals’ by Stuart Burroughs, Director of the Bath at Work Museum
‘Restoring the Wilts and Berks Canal’ by John Farrow
‘Taking to the road in Georgian Wiltshire’ by John Chandler
The aims of the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society are to educate the public by promoting, fostering interest in, exploration, research and publication of the archaeology, art, history and natural history of Wiltshire for the public benefit. The Society was formed in 1853. The Society has an extensive Archive and Library held at Wiltshire Museum in Devizes, which is open to visitors and researchers and holds a comprehensive collection of printed material relating to all aspects of the archaeology, topography, genealogy, history, industrial history and natural history of Wiltshire. The Wiltshire record of milestones is held here and the society are the county co-ordinators for the Milestone Society.
The next three in-person meetings of the Industrial Heritage Networks will be taking place on the 26, 27, & 28 July 2023. These will be for the Yorkshire, East of England, and East Midlands Networks. These free events will be the first in-person meetings for these networks, which were set up during the COVID pandemic.
Like the other seven IHN groups in England, these in-person events 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 will be a round-table discussion in the morning with a tour of the site in the afternoon.
Details on how to book on Eventbrite can be found here:
Industrial Heritage Networks 