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Category: General News

  • Summer Holidays: Week 5 – Busiest Week For 9 Years!

    Last week was the busiest non-event week the Museum has seen since August Bank Holiday week 2008!

    We welcomed 13,466 visitors which was 17% ahead of the budgeted attendance figure and means we are now 3% (or 5,500 visitors) ahead of both the visitor attendance target year-to-date and the same point last year.

    But did having such a large number of people on site mean our visitors didn’t have such a good time? Not according to this Tripadvisor reviewer who visited over the weekend :

    We were there a good few hours strolling around and I have to say it felt really relaxing, I have read a couple of other reviews that said it was packed. We went in about 1130 and to us it felt great not too busy at all…….So overall an excellent place to visit whatever you are into, it was just nice to wander around and see the history in action. Well done BCLM we will be back.

    Well done everyone and fingers crossed for an equally excellent last week of Summer!

  • AEOM Conference Success

    Last week we hosted the 28th biennial conference of the Association European Open Air Museums.  We welcomed 130 delegates from 60 different open-air museums from 20 countries as far-flung and diverse as Romania, Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Germany, Sweden, Australia, Canada and the USA.  It was an honour to be chosen to host the conference, on behalf of the UK, and a great example of our international links and the high regard people have for BCLM.

    You can probably imagine that 130 museum professionals, from some of the world’s best and biggest open-air museums are pretty tough judges, but we passed all measures with flying colours, especially when it came to the friendliness, enthusiasm and knowledge of our staff and volunteers.

    The conference was an enormous success, and represented the very best of team efforts; either those directly involved in conference organisation, or doing your day-job and showing the Museum off at its best.  So thank you to you all.  It was a world-class performance.

    I was also asked and I am delighted to, pass-on grateful thanks to everyone at the Museum, from retiring President, Katarina Frost Director of the Vallby Open Air Museum, Sweden, and the Association’s new President, Dr Henrik Zipsane, Director of the Jamtli Foundation, Sweden.

    Andrew

  • For Information – Newcomen Steam Engine Boiler To Be Replaced

    For Information – Newcomen Steam Engine Boiler To Be Replaced

    You’ve probably noticed that the Newcomen Steam Engine hasn’t been its usual self this year and as such, over recent weeks, has been in preparation for a detailed boiler inspection.

    Following that inspection on 11 August, and 31 years into its life at the Museum, it has been confirmed that the boiler now needs replacing.

    As you can imagine, this is a big job (and a bespoke one at that) and so, whilst we will be cracking on with sourcing a new boiler straight away, replacement works will not take place until next year. Until then, the Newcomen building will remain open and the brickwork exposed so that visitors can see the boiler prior to its replacement.

    To make sure the story of steam is not lost, we will be progressing the restoration works to the Racecourse Colliery (due for completion early 2018) including further work-in-progress tours.

    Please do keep a look out for further progress updates about the Newcomen, Colliery, and other ongoing projects on the intranet.

     

  • Black Country History Day

     

    Black Country History Day

    Saturday 7th October 2017- 10am-4pm

    Large Lecture Theatre, Floor 1, Arts Building, Edgbaston Campus, University of Birmingham B15  2TT

    The Black Country Society and the Centre for West Midlands History at the University of Birmingham are organising this day school which is designed for anyone interested in the history of the area. The Black Country Society, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, promotes interest in the past, present and future of the Black Country.

    The Museum has 10 free tickets available to those that would like to attend Black Country History Day. If you are interested in this event, please complete the form below outlining why you would like to attend. Closing date: Friday 8th September 2017

     

    10.00am Introduction, Dr Malcolm Dick, University of Birmingham
    10.10am Graham Worton, ‘Creating a Black Country UNESCO Global Geopark for the future – from the natural and human heritage of the past’
    11.10am Break
    11.30am Keith Hodgkins, ‘Black Country Building Stones’
    12.30pm Lunch
    1.20pm   David Mills, ‘A Short History of the Leather Trade’
    2.20pm  Break
    2.40pm Judith Davies, ‘The trials and tribulations of Samuel Cook: Dudley’s famous nineteenth-century Radical’
    3.40pm Questions and discussion, led by Dr Malcolm Dick
    4.00pm Finish

     

    Dr Malcolm Dick is Director of the Centre for West Midlands History at the University of Birmingham.

    Graham Worton is Dudley Keeper of Geology and Black Country UNESCO Global Geopark Lead, based at the new Dudley Museum facility at the Dudley Archives and Local History Centre.

    Keith Hodgkins is President of the Black Country Society, Chairman of Tipton Civic

    Society and also Co-chairs the Black Country Society’s Industrial Archaeology Group.  He has written several books about Tipton and has worked for both West Midlands County Council and Wolverhampton City Council as an architect.

    David Mills is Assistant Curator at Walsall Leather Museum. He is the author of two novels, which fictionalise historical stories from our locality, as well as compiling two books of oral history transcripts based on over 100 oral history recordings. He is a graduate of Wolverhampton University and has a MA from Leicester University.

    Judith Davies is researching political, religious and social change in Dudley c.18151865 for a University of Birmingham PhD, after completing the MA in West Midlands History. She is Black Country born and bred and returned to Brierley Hill after retiring as a librarian in Northamptonshire. Judith also volunteers at Dudley Archives.

     

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  • Summer Holidays: Week 4 Performance

     Last week was our best yet this Summer; we welcomed over 12,000 visitors which was 11% ahead of the budgeted attendance figure and saw trading income surpass its target by 15%.

    Year to date, we are now over 2% ahead of visitor attendance budget and have welcomed an additional 3,000 visitors compared with the same point last year.

    And the positive visitor feedback keeps on coming in:

    We decided as we were meeting up for the weekend we take the opportunity to revisit the BCLM. Once again it was a revelation. We all enjoyed the reminiscences that the tour around the museum gave us and watching the chain making demonstration was a definite bonus. The whole experience reminded me very much of my youth, in the 50s and 60s.

    Well done everyone!

  • 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.

  • Summer 2017: Performance so far

    We’re half way through the Summer Holidays and although not as sunny as we would have liked, this all-important period to date has actually been quite a successful one.

    Visitor numbers for the first three weeks (Saturday 22 July to Sunday 13 August) are at 31,122, that’s bang on the budgeted attendance target and just a few hundred off the same period last year.

    But it’s not just our attendance figures that provide a good read; the number of 4 & 5 star reviews we’re seeing across Tripadvisor and Facebook, is also a testament to the excellent visitor experience that you, our staff & volunteers, provide – as one Tripadvisor reviewer puts it:

    “History is brought to life in a way no lesson or text book could.”

    Our all new Summer Evenings have also proved to be a welcome addition, especially to our Facebook followers (there’s over 87,000 of them now):

    “Enjoyed Friday evening. My little boy managed a full bag of fish & chips all to himself, and it was great to actually get into the bottle and glass pub for a few drinks! A fiver upon entry was a bargain. It’s something we would like to do every Friday evening!”

    We enter the last 3 weeks of the summer holiday period nearly 2% ahead of our visitor attendance budget year to date and ever so slightly ahead (0.2%) of the same point last year….and with fingers crossed for some dry weather!

  • Photography studio open for summer in Doo’s Parlour (Sundays)

    Back in April the VE team had a staff meeting where we asked for ideas for a small project that we had set aside some budget to develop.

    The brief was thus:
    • Aimed at the family audience, interesting for parents with a learning aspect for children
    • Hands on and interactive
    • Not exclusive (i.e. more than one person/family able to take part at a time)

    A number of excellent ideas were put forward including Lucy Elliot and Sheila Chamberlain-Hyatt individually suggesting dress up and photography. Visitors often comment that they miss the old Photography Studio that was a franchise, run in the front Parlour of Doo’s and the recent ‘sharing’ visit to Beamish had whetted the appetite to reintroduce this in the future, running it ourselves when funds became available.

    However, the equipment to actually take and print photographs for the public was slightly out of reach for this year so we decided to take things forward in a more ‘selfie’ type approach.

    Costume was purchased, Dancer’s Men’s Outfitters donated a number of ex-hire suits, a photographers backdrop was sourced and hung and we even received a last minute unexpected donation of an aspidistra!

    The new offer invites visitors to sign up to an appointment on a chalk board on the door. When they arrive they are helped to choose their costume by the ‘Studio Assistant’, played by a member of the Activity Demonstrator team, who then takes photographs of them with their own cameras.

    It was a real team effort to get everything ready and Sheila was the first ‘Studio Assistant’ greeting visitors last weekend. The new activity proved very popular but she did manage to find a couple of quiet minutes to take some sample photos of a couple of familiar faces. The black and white version shows what you can do very easily with your original photo when you get home.

    The studio is open every Sunday until the end of August and will also be open during October half term. We will be recruiting volunteers to try and increase opening during the rest of the year and looking to offer a printed ‘sepia’ photograph offer in 2018.

    Tessa Lovell, Head of Visitor Engagement

  • Peaky Blinders- Volunteers Wanted!

    Peaky Blinders- Volunteers Wanted!

    Staff Volunteering – Peaky Blinders

    Our Peaky Blinders nights are upon us once again and this year we are hosting the event across four evenings, spanning two weekends. Like all of our highly anticipated events, Peaky Blinders is expected to be busy and bustling from start to finish so any help would be gratefully recieved. There are two opportunities available; in the week coming up to the first weekend we would like some help with transforming the site into a place worthy of the Peaky Blinders gang. During the evening events we will need support  across food and drink and  retail and admissions.

    If you are interested in lending a helping hand, please indicate where you would like to volunteer and what times you are available in the forms below. The deadline to sign up is 12 midday on Monday 28th August 2017. Whether for the whole evening or a couple of hours,  we would gladly accept any time you can offer to help make our event a success.

    There are two forms to register interest in volunteering. There is a Peaky Blinders Sign Up form to register interest in volunteering within food and drink or retail and admissions and there is a Peaky Blinders Prep Sign Up form, this is for those that are interested in assisting Jane Allcock during the day with the prep for the evening events and will involve set-dressing. Please ensure that the correct form is completed.

    The Volunteer Team

    Thank you.

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