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Category: Forging Ahead

  • BCLM: Forging Ahead – Gas Showroom begins its journey

    BCLM: Forging Ahead – Gas Showroom begins its journey

     The demolition schedule of the first of Forging Ahead’s translocated buildings, the West Bromwich Gas Showroom, is being set on Tuesday, 24 October.

    As such, the following day we’ll be launching our public call-out for memories of the building in the hope that lots of people will come forward with interesting stories surrounding the building from the 40s-60s.

    If you hear of anyone – member of the public or visitor – who would like to share a memory or story of the showroom with us, please put them in touch with our Collections team either via email – [email protected], phone – 0121 557 9643 or in person (via reception).

    Please do not take any personal details yourself.

    Likewise, if you have any personal stories you would like to share, please pop in and see the Collections team in the Rolfe Street offices.

     

     

    A bit about the showroom:

    The Gas Showroom gives us the opportunity to tell a range of stories from the 40s to the 60s – from the bombing of the Black Country in World War Two to Cannon’s innovation in gas cookers – and allows us to recreate 1950s cookery demonstrations.

    Whilst the condition of the building means we can’t take it ‘brick-by-brick’, we are specifically hoping to save the central stone staircase – perhaps the most memorable feature of the showroom – as well as the Gas Service signage, bricks, windows and lintels to allow us to rebuild the frontage exactly as it would have been in the 1950s.

  • Diary Dates – BCLM: Forging Ahead All Staff Meetings

    Diary Dates – BCLM: Forging Ahead All Staff Meetings

    At 9am on Monday 25 & Tuesday 26 September, there will be two opportunities for all staff & volunteers to attend a session about progress on BCLM: Forging Ahead to date.

    Andrew will give an update on the project since we were granted permission to start work on the Development Phase on 14 June this year and then offer the chance for staff & volunteers to ask questions.

    Please feel free to attend either session – whichever suits you best. It’s likely they will both take place in the Workers’ Institute but this will be confirmed nearer the time.

    The sessions have been added to the Museum calendar.

     

  • Racecourse Colliery Hard Hat Tours – Staff & Volunteer places available

    Racecourse Colliery Hard Hat Tours – Staff & Volunteer places available

    On various dates between Wednesday 23 August and Sunday 3 September we’ll be running hard hat tours of the Racecourse Colliery restoration work for our visitors (exact dates and times listed below). The tours will explore the history of the Colliery, the reasons for its restoration and the work involved, what’s been done so far, and what’s still to complete.

    Not only does this keep our visitors involved in our current projects but it allows us to test this type of activity in advance of the new physical developments we will be creating as part of BCLM: Forging Ahead.

    We’d like you, our staff & volunteers to be the first to see the work that is taking place on the Colliery. So, if you fancy replacing a flat cap with a hard hat for half an hour at 9am on Tuesday 22 August, please register your interest via Museum Operations Manager, Jon White.

    Places will be limited to 20 but if we get significant interest then we’ll put on another tour for staff & volunteers at a later date.

    Please wear sensible footwear.

    The tours will take place from the Mine Manager’s Office.

    Visitor tours will be limited to 10 places and will take place at 11am, 1pm & 3pm on the following dates:

    • Wednesday 23 Aug
    • Thursday 24 Aug
    • Friday 25 Aug
    • Monday 28 Aug
    • Saturday 2 Sep
    • Sunday 3 Sep

    More tours are due to take place in the Autumn.

  • Useful Information – Forging Ahead FAQs

    Useful Information – Forging Ahead FAQs

    In response to some excellent questions that staff and volunteers have been asking about BCLM: Forging Ahead, you’ll now find a Forging Ahead Frequently Asked Questions document in the ‘Useful Information’ section of the ‘Documents’ tab above.

    This will be updated as more questions come in but if you’d rather ask your own questions in person don’t forget that Lisa Cowley, Deputy Chief Executive (Visitor Engagement & Operations) is available on the last Wednesday of every month from 5.30pm – 6.30pm in the offices above Hartills. These sessions have now also been added to the Museum Calendar.

  • BCLM: Forging Ahead – Visitor Welcome Architects announced

    BCLM: Forging Ahead – Visitor Welcome Architects announced

    After a highly competitive European-wide tender process which saw 24 architectural practices enter the design competition for our new Visitor Welcome facilities, we are now delighted to announce that Napier Clarke Architects Ltd have been selected.

    The Visitor Welcome is a key element of BCLM: Forging Ahead. It includes the relocation the Museum’s entrance to the higher southern end of the open-air site in order to create a physical link between BCLM, the other attractions at Castle Hill (including Dudley Zoo, Castle and Canal Trust) and the new access infrastructure that has recently been completed.  This will support the wider Dudley and Black Country strategies to create a tourism hub, capable of attracting 1m visitors per annum.

    The winning design proposed by Napier Clarke (see image above) will see the construction of a new contemporary Visitor Centre, which provides a fit-for-purpose admissions point for 5,000 visitors per day and an introductory exhibition, food & drink and retail facilities. This enables the current Rolfe Street entrance building to be repurposed as a dedicated Learning centre.

    Napier Clarke Architects Ltd, brought together a team of Donald McIntyre Design Ltd, BWB Consulting and Red Kite Network Ltd. Together they presented a robust and attractive design, and our selection panel felt that their approach and skills match the Museum’s requirements.

    We are looking forward to working with them on this essential aspect of the project and will keep you updated with progress on the design.

    Andrew Lovett

    Director and Chief Executive

  • Forge Ahead drop in

    Forge Ahead drop in

    Lisa Cowley (Deputy Chief Executive – Visitor Engagement & Operations) will be available for any staff that want to drop in to ask questions about BCLM: Forging Ahead the last Wednesday of each month from 5pm – 6.30pm in Hartills Offices.

    The sessions are for any staff or volunteers who are interested to find out more about the project.

  • BCLM: Forging Ahead – watch us on ITV and BBC!

    BCLM: Forging Ahead – watch us on ITV and BBC!

    UPDATE: If you missed us on ITV Central and Midlands Today, see below.

     

     

    The original announcement on 14 June below:

     

    I’m pleased to say that tomorrow (Thursday 15 June) we will be making a public announcement about our recent Round One Heritage Lottery Funding success.

    We are hoping that the media will be as excited as we are about this important stage in our BCLM: Forging Ahead project and in the future of the Museum. So keep a lookout over the next few days in your local press, on local radio and hopefully on TV as we share this big news!

    In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek at the video that we’ll be sending out with the press release and using on our social media channels.

     

    Thank you for your patience and confidentiality over the last few weeks – just one more day to go!

     

    Laura Wakelin

    Deputy Chief Executive (Communications & Marketing)

  • Forging Ahead Update: LEP gives the go ahead

    Forging Ahead Update: LEP gives the go ahead

    As you may have seen in the Express & Star over the weekend, the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has agreed to support our £10m funding bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for BCLM: Forging Ahead by welcoming our bid for £6m of Local Growth funding to support the scheme (Local Growth funding is typically awarded to projects that are seen to be of benefit to the local area and economy).

    At a total project cost of £21.6m, we still have plenty of work to do on securing the rest of the funding but as I hope you’ll agree, this is fantastic news for the Museum and only strengthens our bid to HLF – which is by no means guaranteed.  We will submit our first round funding bid to HLF in December and we find out whether or not we have been successful in the Spring.

    Until then, please keep a look out for further updates about Forging Ahead in the next edition of The Cantin Patch, due out mid-November.

    What’s next?

    • Tue 1 November – LEP have agreed to fund if HLF is successful
    • 1 Dec 2016 – We submit our HLF bid
    • April 2017 – We hear if HLF successful
    • April 2017 – November 2018 – Development Phase – for doing full research on all buildings, sorting out groundworks etc, building visitor cente commences and cast-iron house is moved
    • Dec 2018 – submit HLF bid round 2, if successful building commences as soon as possible. Expected to take three years before project completion.