Yorkshire Industrial Heritage Route Unveiled

[Unitedite Returns]

Not quite certain as to how important a development this will be, but I thought that I should share it with you anyhow. Certainly, there is no mention of additional funding, which is how one might truly measure its' worth.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-28856109

[Bayleaf]

It can't do any harm, but I hope SIMT will raise also awareness of Abbeydale Hamlet and especially Shepherd Wheel, which frankly seems a bit of an afterthought rather than an integral part of our industrial history. The three sites make an integrated story, but that doesn't seem to be their approach at present.

[lysander]

Can I be a complete "misery" and say that when I recently took my Granddaughter to Kelham Island how disappointed both she ( aged 6) and I ( aged somewhat older)were. The childrens, "touchy-friendly" section was notable for virtually none of it being in working order and the rest bored her silly ( which I half expected)...Is it a "serious" attempt to explain Sheffield's industrial heritage or a semi-functioning children's playground? I ask because in the course of some research I was privileged to examine what is in store and not on display...and much of what is there was, in my opinion, far more interesting than the current displays...some of which are unchanged in years.

As for the trail....what a good idea!

[Markbaby]

Having visited all three places, my own thoughts are:
1: I totally agree with lysander's comments about Kelham Island. It's trying to cater on many levels and failing. Instead of concentrating on one clear objective and excelling at it.

2: Elsescar Heritage Centre over the years has been reduced to, some trains, a Newcomen Beam Engine and lots of tea rooms / shops/ antique markets and exhibition halls.

3: The Mining Museum at Wakefield is still an interesting day out. They seem to have got the mix right. Plenty of original buildings and fittings remain to give it some atmosphere, Exciting things for kids like the underground tour and the pit ponies, and plenty of educational stuff too. It's a firm favourite place for school educational outings.

A good example, is the Summerlee industrial museum at Coatbridge near Glasgow. This deals with the lost industries of the area.
http://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/summerlee

[Unitedite Returns]

Unfortunately, most of the museums within South Yorkshire seem to exist as a rather inconvenient obligation that has been imposed upon the local authorities, rather than as a genuine opportunity to seriously and actively promote tourism within the County.

As a consequence, they seem to be generally badly managed, underfunded, and seriously under promoted and unpublicised.

I recently visited Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, one of my favourite places and I was genuinely disappointed to see as to how neglected and dirty and dusty the exhibits appeared to be. I accept that such workshops would have always been grimy places, but to me, the site has all the appearance of dirt by neglect.

I see that they have built an adjoining "café and exhibition centre" from the lottery funding grant that they recently received, but I cannot but wonder as to whether such money would have been better spent in extending and improving the range of exhibits on display.

Sheffield spent over £800 million on funding what to me, must represent one of the biggest sporting none events in world history, namely the World Student Games, and an accompanying debt which we will not be rid of until 2024, or thereabouts. And where is the sporting legacy from that? Mostly demolished!

Such moneys would have been much better spent in funding a long term opportunity for the city, on the same lines as the Summerlee Museum above, or even the Beamish Museum in County Durham, [over 500,000 visitors last year], or the Black Country Museum, [over 300,000 visitors last year].

Accepted, such attractions in themselves, may actually loose money, but tourism creates jobs - fact, and it changes peoples' perception of a region.

[duckweed]

I think your view of Abbeydale Hamlet a little premature. I happen to know there is a lot going on to tidy the site and refit the rooms with appropriate furnishings. The Visitors centre has been moved so that the old buildings can be brought back to life. There is work going on to create living history days but these things do take time and money is tight. Museums especially have had funds cut so severely that most of their staff are on casual contracts. I don't know the figures for SIMT but MS had its education employees cut from 200 to 2. Abbeydale, Kelham, Manor Lodge, National Emergency Services Museum, Weston Park are all extending and improving facilities despite the recession. Some really exciting work happening across the city re Sheffield's heritage but biggest problem is that there are not getting National publicity. Hopefully the heritage route will help but even within Sheffield people don't realise what is available and others talk Sheffield down. Manor Lodge for instance is the fastest growing outdoor museum in Yorkshire but although visitor figures are fantastic for events well into thousands, visitors from outside the city are few. National Emergency Services Museum has gone from 7'000 visitors to well over 40'000. Even MS that has cut their hours is still getting increasing numbers of visitors. Sheffield is on the up and so are its museums but without Arts funding and with cut funding from other sources too it's a long hard slog for those in the museums.