The Archaeology of Industrial Processes

A two-part conference, on 2nd October and 6th November 2004

The conference covers the results of archaeological investigations of industrial processes and production sites. Over the last decade, many aspects of industrialisation in the more recent past have been looked at for the first time using archaeological techniques. In some cases this has shown up interesting contradictions between the historical and archaeological records; in others there are close parallels. The aim of this conference is to explore those processes which have traditionally received less prominence in the archaeological literature. These include glass, industrial ceramics, enamel production, printing, as well as other manufacturing practices.

The conference is jointly organised by the Society for Post-medieval Archaeology, the Historical Metallurgy Society, Ironbridge Archaeology and Pre-Construct Archaeology Ltd, with support from the London Archaeological Archive and Research Centre

Delegates may chose to attend either conference, and a special discounted rate of £45.00 will be available for those who wish to attend both. Lunch and tea and coffee is included in the conference fee. For those delegates who wish to attend either the London or the Ironbridge venue alone a rate of £25.00 is charged. Please make cheques payable to 'the Society for Post Medieval Archaeology', and send a copy of the attendance form to:

Paul Belford, Ironbridge Archaeology (Industrial Processes Conference), Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, Coalbrookdale, Telford, TF8 7DQ
Part one: the London Archaeological Archive and Research Centre
Part one at the London Archaeological Archive and Research Centre (LAARC), Mortimer Wheeler House, 46 Eagle Wharf Road, London on the 2nd October 2004.

Programme:

Morning moderator: Frank Meddens

10.00 am	Coffee
10.30 am	Gustav Milne (University College London/ Museum of London) Post-medieval shipyards on the Thames foreshore
11.00 am	Märit Gaimster (Pre-Construct Archaeology Ltd) Battersea: an 18th-century enamelling industry
11.30 am	Coffee
12.00 noon	Hugh Willmott (University of Sheffield) Glassmaking in 17th-century London, the characterisation of an emerging industry
12.30 pm	Marylin Palmer (University of Leicester) A comparative archaeology of lead and tin dressing in the 19th century
13.00 pm	Lunch & AGM SPMA

Afternoon moderator: Gary Brown

14.15 pm	Roy Thomson (Leather Conservation Centre Northampton) Post-medieval Leather manufacture
14.45 pm	Chris Mayo (Pre-Construct Archaeology Ltd) The manufacture of weapons and munitions at the Woolwich Arsenal, recent discoveries
15.15 pm	Tea
15.45 pm	David Dawson and Oliver Kent (Staffordshire University, Faculty of Art , Media and Design) The development of the bottle kiln in pottery manufacture
16.15 pm	Kieron Tyler (Museum of London Archaeology Service) Where is the archaeological evidence for London's industries?
16.45 pm	Discussion
17.15 pm	Post conference drinks, venue to be announced

Part two: at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum, Coalbrookdale, Telford, Shropshire

Programme

Morning moderator : Paul Belford

10.00	Coffee
10.30	Lynn Willies (Oxford Archaeology) 18th century underground quarrying of freestone at Combe Down, Bath
10.55	Shelley White (Ironbridge Archaeology) China clay mining in Cornwall - the landscape evidence
11.20	Coffee
11.45	Stuart Blaylock (Exeter Archaeology) A bell and cauldron foundry in Taunton, Somerset
12.10	Austin Ainsworth (Ironbridge Archaeology) The archaeology of the hot blast process in the nineteenth century iron industry
12.35	Anna Badcock (ARCUS) Large- and small-scale steel manufacture in Sheffield (provisional title)
13.00	Lunch

Afternoon moderator : Justine Bayley

14.15	Steve Litherland (Birmingham Archaeology) Title to be confirmed
14.40	Jon Goodwin (The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent) Bottles, skeletons and muffles: the rediscovery of the 19th-century pottery kiln
15.05	Paul Belford (Ironbridge Archaeology) Gwasg Gee - nineteenth century printing and Welsh nationalism
15.20	Tea
15.45	Sarah Paynter (English Heritage), Caimin O'Brien and Jean Farrelly Excavation and analysis of a 17th century glass furnace, Shinrone, Co. Offaly, Ireland.
16.10	Ian Miller (Oxford Archaeology North) Percival, Vickers and Company British and Foreign Flint Glass Works, Manchester
16.35	Discussion
17.00	Concluding Remarks Paul Belford and Frank Meddens
17.15	Post-conference drinks at the Coalbrookdale Inn, Coalbrookdale

For further information, please contact either:

Paul Belford at paul.belford@ironbridge.org.uk
Or by post at Ironbridge Archaeology, Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, Coalbrookdale, Telford, TF8 7DQ

Frank Meddens at meddens@vossnet.co.uk
Or by post at Pre-Construct Archaeology, Brockley Cross Business Centre, 96 Endwell Rd, London, SE4 2PD.

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