Tosh Warwick Tees Transporter Bridge / University of Huddersfield.

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1 Utilising business records to bring Teesside s industrial heritage to life: the British Steel Collection and the Tees Transporter Bridge Visitor Experience Project Tosh Warwick Tees Transporter Bridge / University of Huddersfield tosh_warwick@middlesbrough.gov.uk

2 Introduction A brief historic overview of Middlesbrough and wider Teesside s industrial heritage The British Steel Archive Project: Origins of the British Steel Collection (BSC) Uses of the BSC to date The Tees Transporter Bridge Visitor Experience Project Using the BSC: Research On-site interpretation Augmented reality Education and Outreach

3 Infant Hercules This remarkable place, the youngest child of England s enterprise it is an infant but it is an Infant Hercules William Gladstone at the Old Town Hall, Middlesbrough during a visit to the town in 1862 The Hercules spirit needed now on Teesside A BBC survey has highlighted Teesside s weakness in being able to cope with the economic downtown and the looming spending cuts Evening Gazette, 10th September 2010

4 Historic Context: The Manufacturing Town The Victorian boom town that expanded vastly from a small hamlet in 1801 to one with a population exceeding 100k by 1911 with vast expanse from the grid plan town to one moving rapidly southwards The centrality of the iron and steel manufacturing along the banks of the River Tees made for a highly polluted town with high infant mortality rates and poor living conditions Iron and steel continue to form internal and external perceptions of the town

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7 Bolckow Vaughan Programme c.1929, TA, BS.BV

8 British Steel Collection In early 2000s the business records of Teesside s major iron and steel firms were deposited In 2000s The British Steel Archive Project was launched in partnership with Teesside University The key aims of the Project were:

9 British Steel Collection Includes the records of famous firms including Bolckow Vaughan (the leading early ironmasters behind Middlesbrough s Victorian Boom), Bell Brothers who shifted their interests from Tyneside to Port Clarence and Dorman Long The British Steel Collection has been accessible to the public since c The records are now searchable online by accessing the Teesside Archives catalogue at They offer potential for research by historians, engineers, genealogy researchers, planning departments, companies and economists

10 British Steel Collection Catalogue

11 Bridge Records The British Steel Collection holds records relating to the construction of a number of landmark bridges These include plans for: Tyne Bridge (Newcastle Gateshead Bridge) Correspondence files, minute books, reports, blueprints, photos and exhibition panels for the Sydney Harbour Bridge Numerous African and Asian Bridges including the Birchenough Bridge In addition to the Dorman Long bridges, Teesside Archives holds an extensive collection of material relating to the Tees Transporter Bridge. This information is currently available in catalogues in the search room.

12 Dorman Long overseas representation c.1950s

13 Tees Transporter Bridge

14 Tees Transporter Bridge

15 Tees Transporter Bridge NEFA footage, 1911

16 Tees Transporter Bridge

17 Tees Transporter Bridge Visitor Experience Project

18 Informing the Visitor Experience research process Dorman Long Directors Minute Book No , TA, BS.DL/1/2/8

19 Heritage Lottery Fund Tees Transporter Bridge Visitor Experience Project Drawing upon British Steel Collection and other archival materials in developing a new heritage trail Extensive photographic holdings in BSC particularly useful in bringing the company records to the wider public contextualise the place of Bridge in the wider industrial story Draft in-development Transporter Heritage Trail App, courtesy of Indigo Multimedia

20 Tees Transporter Bridge Heritage Trail Early Town Trail: Draft indevelopment Transporter Heritage Trail App, courtesy of Indigo Multimedia

21 Tees Transporter Bridge Heritage Trail Interactive smart phone/device App uses material from the minute books of Bolckow Vaughan catalogued and contextualised by the BSAP as part of the Collaborative Doctoral Placement to bring the ironmaster John Vaughan to life! Able to draw upon images from the archives that were digitised to enhance interactive experience

22 Interactive Heritage Trail: Bolckow & Vaughan ironmaster John Vaughan Draft in-development TeesTransporter Heritage Trail App, courtesy of Indigo Multimedia

23 Onsite heritage resources and interpretation Encourage visitors to explore the Bridge and the area s engineering and industrial history through interpretation onsite Images from the British Steel Collection supplements material from council archives and footage from the North East Film Archive

24 Education and Outreach Activities Bridge building activities drawing upon plans and famous bridges featured in the Bridge steel collection Developed talks using the material from the BSC to showcase the area s industrial, bridge building and river heritage STEM projects with Middlesbrough and Newcastle Colleges exploring science, technology, engineering and mathematics reflected in historic structures

25 Education and Outreach Activities: The Green One and the Blue One Archival photographs of the Tees Newport Bridge, the world s largest vertical lift Bridge, were utilised to celebrate the 80 th anniversary of the Transporter Bridge s neighbour (2014) Research student utilised the company records of Dorman Long in developing information for the Exhibition, held at the Heritage Gallery the former offices of the Cargo Fleet Iron Company

26 Education and Outreach Activities: The Green One and the Blue One

27 Social Media and Networks: Facebook example Use social media to promote outputs and use of the British Steel Collection

28 Blogs and Newsletters Bringing Teesside s Iron and Steel Heritage to Life: The British Steel Collection and the Tees Transporter Bridge Visitor Experience Project Business Archives Council Newsletter, No.176, Winter

29 Some conclusions The BSC has played a key role in the Visitor Experience Business Archives have proven to be a valuable source for heritage The Transporter Bridge Visitor Experience has enabled business archives to reach new audiences Strong potential for future use across heritage and education projects