seminar – Industrial Heritage Networks

AIA 9th East-West Workshop on Industrial Archaeology: Full Steam Ahead!

October 2, 2025mikenevell

The East-West series of workshops aims to exchange ideas and knowledge among Western and Eastern colleagues to build a more international and diverse industrial archaeology. The activity is organised jointly by the Institute for Cultural Heritage and History of Science & Technology (USTB, China), and the UK Association for Industrial Archaeology.

The 9th East-West Wiorkshop takes as its theme the industrial archaeology of railways. Modern railways were born in Britain 200 years ago in 1825 with the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway (although the concept of using rails to move bulk goods around the landscape is much older). From there, they spread to the rest of the world, reducing travel and transportation times, and fostering modernisation, industrialisation and urbanisation.

Facing both continuity and continuous change (including the expansion and contraction of networks, new traction technologies, and instances of nationalisation and privatisation), in the 21^st century, the railway is the most efficient and sustainable mode of transport and, particularly in the East and Global South, is expanding its tracks into the future. To honour its 200th anniversary, the 9th East-West Workshop on Industrial Archaeology travels to the railway past to examine the international circulation of treaties, technologies, materials, and people that defined the early development of railways in Eurasia.

Speakers & Talks

Yibing FANG (Chinese Academy of Sciences, China): “A Review of Research on China’s Early Steel Rails Heritage”
Paulina ROMANOWICZ (Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland): “Rediscovery of a Brickworks Narrow-Gauge Industrial Railway Tunnel in Stołczyn, Poland”
Arida Fitriana YASMIN (University of Groningen, Netherlands): “Follow the Tracks: Railway Heritage Management at the Ombilin Coal Mining Heritage of Sawahlunto, Indonesia”
Juan Manuel CANO SANCHIZ (University of Science and Technology Beijing, China / Association for Industrial Archaeology, UK): “European Early Railway Architecture in Beijing: A Perspective from Building Archaeology”

Date & Time

15 November 2025, Saturday. 10.00-12.00 (London time)

This ia free online workshop via Zoom. For more information and to book for free follow the below link:

Association for Heritage Interpretation: September Interpretation Panels Webinar

August 23, 2025mikenevell

The Association for Heritage Interpretation (AHI) is running a seminar on 17 September on interpretation p[anels. The seminar will look at how to make interpretation panels work for your site. This will be led by Bill Bevan, author of the AHI best-practice guideline about panels. Bill will introduce some key considerations when commissioning, locating, writing, and designing a panel, and take questions and discussions.

The AHI promote excellence in the practice and provision of interpretation and to gain wider recognition of interpretation as a professional activity. They believe that interpretation enriches our lives through engaging emotions, enhancing experiences, and deepening understanding of places, people, events, and objects from the past and present.

To book a place follow this link: https://ahi.org.uk/events/

Europa Nostra UK : Shrewsbury Flax Mill Free Webinar, 24 April 2025

April 23, 2025April 24, 2025mikenevell

Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings recently won a European Heritage Award/ Europa Nostra Award 2024 for Conservation and Adaptive Reuse. A free webinar has been orginsed with the architects who led the project, Geoff Rich and Tim Greensmith, who will share with the fascinating story of the project.

Established as a Flax mill in 1797, the site of Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings includes the world’s first iron-frame building which has been described as the ‘grandparent of skyscrapers’. Its combination of cast iron beams and columns, brick arches, and cast iron ties made its construction fireproof, while large windows admitted natural light for its numerous employees. A century later, it was converted into a maltings through a second state-of-the-art design, with windows either blocked up or made smaller, boiler houses demolished, a timber hoist and new tower added, and a large kiln built.

The brief for this project called for an exemplar of sustainable refurbishment to support the next 100 years of use for a building with a particularly innovative design heritage. Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (FCBStudios) have conserved the enduring elements of both uses to provide four floors of flexible working space, while weaving in a contemporary layers to accommodate a visitor centre and café.

The online meeting will end with a Q&A session. Please find more information about the project and the speakers below. To register please follow the link on Eventtbrite (though hurry as the webinar is at 5pm on the 24 April!):

Industrial History Research Event at the Discovery Museum, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, February 2024

February 4, 2024February 2, 2024mikenevell

Calling all family, social, and industrial historians! Together with Bluegrass Research, the Science Museum Group invite you to take part in-person in a free research workshop all about the Congruence Engine.

The Congruence Engine project uses the latest digital techniques to connect industrial history collections held in different locations. It aims to create a prototype ‘digital toolbox’ for everyone fascinated by industrial past, to connect items from the nation’s collection to tell the stories about history that they want to tell.

The free research event is being held at the Discovery Museum, Blandford Square, Newcastle- upon-Tyne, NE1 4JA, on Tuesday 13th February 6pm – 9pm. Attendees do not need to have any prior knowledge of the Congruence Engine project to participate, but active participation in event discussions will be required. As a thank you for time and participation, and to cover expenses, all registered attendees will receive £25 after the event.

As event numbers are limited, please register your interest by emailing lydia.neave@bluegrassresearch.co.uk with your phone number and a brief description of your area of historical interest. Following this, your place will be confirmed with a registration email on a first come first served basis.

ABTEM One Day Seminar, October 2023

September 5, 2023September 4, 2023mikenevell

The Association of British Transport & Engineering Museums (ABTEM) is holding its 2023 seminar on 4 October at the London Transport Museum Depot and London Museum of Water & Steam. The seminar will focus on how transport collections are facing the challenge of climate change and sustainability and how carbon reduction and environmental impacts are being tackled by museums large and small.

The emphasis of the day will be on best practice solutions that can inspire curators, volunteers, and others to help address climate change and embed environmental sustainability into their operation and work. We have assembled a great selection of speakers from a variety of organisations; the morning session will be held at the LT Museum Depot (with a chance to tour the collections) and then a heritage bus will transport delegates to the London Museum of Water & Steam for an afternoon walk and talk session.

The delegate fee is only £20 for a packed day and includes lunch. For further details and how to book follow the link here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/going-greencarbon-reduction-challenges-for-transport-museums-collections-tickets-708550974037?aff=oddtdtcreator

For more about the work of ABTEM follow this link: https://abtem.co.uk/

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