Essex's Industrial Archaeology - one day conference this Saturday, 6 July

So what is industrial archaeology?  A series of talks will enlighten those interested in local history this Saturday, 6 July (9.30am to 4.30pm), when the Essex Record Office holds a one-day conference in association with the Essex Society for Archaeology and History.

Tickets for the seminar day cost £15.00 including refreshments and buffet lunch. Please book in advance on 01245 244614.

The Essex Society for Archaeology and History will have a stand and a bookstall selling back volumes of its Transactions and other books not required for accession to its Library. 

Subjects covered during the day will be:

David Alderton: Why Industrial Archaeology?

Prof. Roy Simons OBE: Marconi, the Father of Wireless

Paul Gilman: The Essex Historic Environment Record (EHER) and the Industrial Archaeology of Essex

David Morgans: Beeleigh Steam Mill

George Courtauld: The history of Courtaulds Ltd. in Essex– the first 100 years

Tony Crosby: Industrial housing inEssex

More about some of our speakers and their talks:

David Alderton: Why industrial archaeology?

It may not be immediately obvious why an archaeological approach is appropriate or necessary to deal with a relatively recent period of history for which there is a wealth of records: documentary, photographic artistic and indeed oral. This introduction looks at why an archaeological approach investigating the tangible remains of Britain’s industrial past is also needed to gain full understanding of the uniquely important period during which Britain became an industrial nation.

David Alderton first became interested in industrial archaeology while teaching in a textile  area of Yorkshire in the 1960s. He joined the Association for Industrial Archaeology shortly after it was formed and has held many offices within it including President, Secretary and for many years Conference Secretary. He was responsible for covering Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire in the Batsford Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of East Anglia published in 1981, and has written other articles and short publications relating in particular to the use of industrial archaeology in teaching. He moved into teacher training in 1971, ending as a Lecturer in Education at the University of East Anglia. He moved to Essex in 2010.

Professor Roy W. Simons OBE CEng FIEE CPhys FInstP: Marconi, the Father of Wireless

In 1898, Guglielmo Marconi chose Chelmsford to establish the world’s first wireless factory. The Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. Ltd, and the other Marconi companies which formed later, are hugely important in Chelmsford’s history, and the technologies they developed – from radio to radar – changed the world forever. Currently there are active plans to set up a Marconi Heritage Centre in Chelmsford.

Roy was educated at Southend High School, Northampton Polytechnic (now City University) and Mid Essex Technical College (now Anglia Ruskin University). He joined Marconi Research Labs at Great Baddow in 1943, developing specialist receivers for wartime Direction Finding Systems. In 1965, he was appointed Technical Manager of the Radar Division, with responsibility for all Radar development activities, and was Technical Director at Marconi Radar Systems Ltd from 1969 to 1981. He retired from Marconi Radar Systems in 1986. Roy has lectured at, amongst others,Queen Mary College, University of London, and was Visiting Professor at the University of Sussex. Roy is Vice-President of the Chelmsford Engineering Society, and was the sole civilian lecturer on the Senior Engineering Management Course at RAF Cranwell (1980-86). Roy has researched the early history of the Marconi Company, was actively involved in preventing the public sale of the Marconi archives, and is a past President of the Marconi Veterans’ Association. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Birthday Honours in June 1986.

Paul Gilman: The Essex Historic Environment Record (EHER) and the Industrial Archaeology of Essex

The EHER has its origins as the Essex Sites and Monuments Record (ESMR) which the County Council started to compile in the 1970s. To begin with the ESMR mainly held records of ‘traditional’ archaeology such as round barrows and Roman villas, and relatively little on post-medieval and industrial archaeology. This changed in the 1990s following the appointment of an industrial archaeology specialist to the county council’s team. This resulted in a programme of thematic countywide surveys designed to systematically enhance the ESMR’s coverage of industrial archaeology in Essex. The step change involved in the ESMR becoming the Essex Historic Environment Record resulted in the addition of Listed and other historic buildings. This in turn was followed by other surveys of recent heritage, such as seaside heritage and defences. Paul will outline the progress and success of these developments and their importance, since the EHER is the most comprehensive and up-to-date inventory of the county’s historic environment. As such it plays a vital role in the protection of this heritage via the planning system, as well as providing an invaluable information base for the benefit of all who are interested in the county’s historic environment.

Paul now works as a European projects manager with Essex County Council where he is responsible for two projects concerned with historic defence heritage. However, he has 30 years of experience of working with Sites and Monuments Records (SMRs) and Historic Environment Records (HERs), and from 1990 until April 2012 he was the manager of the Essex Historic Environment Record (EHER). He is chairman of the Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers’ Historic Environment Records Committee and has published a number of papers on SMRs and HERs. His work with SMRs and HERs was recognized when he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. He has also co-edited two editions of the national guidance for operators of HERs, known as Informing the Future of the Past. During his time with the EHER, Paul oversaw an extensive programme of enhancement of the EHER’s coverage of the county’s industrial archaeology. Paul also obtained European funding for the development of a regional network of industrial archaeological sites, the Industrious East, via the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH). He was also elected to serve on the international board of ERIH for three years and, in recognition of his work for this association, in 2012 he was elected as an honorary member of ERIH.

David Morgans: Beeleigh Steam Mill

The most enigmatic of the County Council mills, Beeleigh is slowly giving up its secrets. Unusually surviving intact after the fire of 1875, that devastated the adjoining water mill, Beeleigh beam engine and its dedicated circular flour mill are proving to be a fruitful area of research. Built in 1845, the circular hurst design had already been superseded by the horizontal layshaft and its Woolf Compound engine by high pressure steam. Was it then a second-best option for a cash-strapped owner or does it represent the preferences of a conservative miller?

David Morgans was educated at the University of Lancaster and City University Business School, before developing a career in the construction industry. A lifelong interest in archaeology and historic buildings led to an opportunity for career change in 2004 and project management within the Historic Environment Branch of Essex County Council. Working with Paul Gilman, he developed and launched Industrious East, the ERIH Regional Route of Industrial Heritage in the East of England, and developed the popular travelling exhibition Working Lives. Since 2009, he has given adult education classes in economic and local history at the University of Essex. He was appointed Mills Support Officer for Essex County Council in 2010 and his spare time is currently spent developing an industrial heritage project in South Yorkshire.

George Courtauld: The History of Courtaulds Ltd. in Essex – the first 100 years

Courtaulds was founded by George Courtauld in the 1790s, manufacturing silk, crepe and other textiles. The business grew and grew, and by the 1850s employed over 2,000 people in three mills. The current George Courtauld will describe the story of the company, from its beginnings in Pebmarsh in 1798, development in Bocking, Braintree and Halstead, to world-wide expansion from about 1910.

George Courtauld is Vice Lord-Lieutenant for Essex; a farmer; an author (5 books); President and former Chairman of The Haven Gateway Partnership, Chairman The Essex Environment Trust, The Rural Community Council of Essex; and co-founder and Chairman of the Essex Women’s Advisory Group. Previously, he was Chairman of The North-East Essex Strategic Learning & Skills Council (2004), the Prince’s Trust (Essex) and the Harwich & Stour Valley Group, and Vice-Chairman of the Lord Chancellor’s Essex Advisory Committee. He was a High Sheriff of Essex (2001/2); and a District Councillor (Independent) for 18 years. President and patron of several charities and institutions including the Friends of Essex Churches, the Scouts (Essex) and the ECF. Education included Halstead Girls Grammar School (briefly), Gordonstoun and Pembroke College, Cambridge. Commissioned into the Grenadier Guards; then employed in Courtaulds Ltd for 20 years. Appointed a Queen’s Messenger in 1986, he served for 14 years, travelling 3½ million miles worldwide. He is married to Dominie, with 4 children and 11 grandchildren.

Copies of Volume 37 will be availble
for sale at the Conference

Tony Crosby: Industrial housing in Essex

Tony will begin by exploring what motivated industrialists and companies to provide housing for their workforces. He will continue by tracing the development of industrial housing from the 18^th to 20^th centuries, highlighting the industries and companies concerned, analysing the location, quality of accommodation and community facilities also provided, and the architectural styles used.  Tony Crosby et al wrote an article on this topic which appears in 'Third Series, Volume 37' of the Society's 'Transactions'.

Tony Crosby studied Industrial Archaeology at the Ironbridge Institute and since graduating has been involved in six of the thematic surveys undertaken by Essex C.C., as well as undertaking historic building surveys on industrial sites in Hertfordshire. He has published a number of articles in Industrial Archaeology Review, other history journals and has contributed to four books. He sits on English Heritage’s Industrial Archaeology Panel, is a Council member of the Association for Industrial Archaeology, and member of the Friends of Great Dunmow Maltings. He recently retired from the Heritage Lottery Fund where he was a policy advisor on industrial, maritime and transport heritage, and now works as a freelance consultant on industrial archaeology and heritage.

The day will also include the launch of a brand new industrial archaeology sub-group of the Essex Society for Archaeology and History, affiliated to the Association for Industrial Archaeology, for those wishing to share their common interest in the county’s industrial past, its archaeology and heritage.