Following the Climate Change Committee’s warning to the UK Government to prepare for 2oC warming by 2050, the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) has produced a first-of-its-kind map revealing the likely impact of 2oC degrees warming on Britain’s 5,000-mile network of canals and navigable rivers, as well as other risks. IWA has examined the risks facing…
Tag: climate change
Industrial Heritage Exhibitions for Autumn 2025
With summer definately over and wetter weather bringing welcome relief to parched landscapes, many industrial museums have a varied round of indoor autumn events getting under way. This includes a new crop of industrial heritage exhibitions. At the Jackfield Tile Museum, part of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, there is new temporary exbition of work…
2025 Spring Drought & Heat Waves Impacting Opening of Industrial Heritage Sites
The spring and early summer heatwaves in the UK, combined with an exceptionally dry spring (leading in some areas of England to drought conditions), have had a noticeable impact on industrial heritage sites, with temporary closures and changes to ways of working. In England, the Canal and River Trust have closed parts of the Leeds…
Historic England Looking for Heritage Sites to Take Part in their ‘Pilot Carbon Bookkeeping & Carbon Reduction Training’
This spring, Historic England will launch a new training programme to follow on from the successful Heritage Carbon Literacy courses. Guided by discussions and feedback from the sector, this new training will support heritage organisations to measure their carbon footprint and write a carbon reduction action plan. The aim is to help demystify what organisations…
Christmas 2024 & New Year 2025 Storms Higlight Vulnerability of Transport Industrial Heritage
The December 2024 storms, particularly Storm Darragh, and the New Year snow storms and flooding in England and Wales, once more highlights the vulnerability of Industrial Heritage sites to the increasing number of severe weather events brought about by Climate Change. Storm Darragh (7-8 December 2024) affected large areas of Britain and Ireland with high…
Claymills Research on Use of Biofuels in Lancashire Boilers
Comparative tests by the Claymills Pumping Engines Trust (CPET) across the three final ‘steaming weekends’ of 2023 and the first ‘steaming weekend of 2024, suggests that the use of biofuel in heritage Lancashire boilers is both possible and can be cost-effective (no more expensive than current coal costs), using rape seed briquettes. CPET is a…
Historic England Guidance on Flooding & Historic Buildings
With the UK experiencing its wettest autumn/winter for many years the impact of flooding on historic buildings, especially industrial sites such as the Museum of Making in Derby, is once more in the news. As Historic England notes, ‘flooding is one of the most significant risks to historic buildings from climate change’. Furthermore, many historic…
Museum Leaders Meet for First ‘UK Museum COP’ with Joint Climate Change Commitments
In November 2023 representatives from 68 UK museums, sector bodies, and funders met for the first UK Museum COP meeting, organised by the The National Museum Directors’ Council and hosted at Tate Modern. The meeting took place to solidify the collective action museums can take to reduce carbon emissions within the sector and address the…
Carbon Literacy Training for Industrial Heritage Museums, June 2023
Museum Development West Midlands are running free Carbon Literacy Training tailored towards those working or volunteering in industrial heritage, with tailored case studies from Industrial Heritage sites across England, and with specialist support from Dr Mike Nevell, Industrial Heritage Support Officer for England and Ian Bapty, Museum Development Manager, North East. The course will use the Carbon…
Keighley Heritage Railway Trials Boost Bio-coal Progress
The first ever trial of bio-coal in a full size, standard gauge, locomotive took place on February 14 2022. The trials, featuring British Railways Standard ‘2MT’ 2-6-0 No. 78022, were conducted on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. They pitted a trial batch of Homefire Ecoal, developed by CPL Industries Ltd for use in steam locomotives,…
Industrial Heritage Support 