Explore the British Steel Archive

The British Steel Collection, a £1.6m joint archival project between the University and Teesside Archives, is being showcased and there are free workshops open to the public.

As part of the Discover Middlesbrough festival, the Archive team will be showcasing the Collection’s contents with a week-long display. The team will also be running free workshops for the public in subjects which include basic information technology, digital photography, family history, science and creative writing.

Free taster workshops The free taster workshops will take place at the University from Wednesday 10 September to Monday 15 September, in the Brittan Building’s Main Hall. On weekdays the workshops will take place from 10.00am to 8.00pm and on the weekend from 10.00am to 4.00pm. Places need to be booked for the weekday sessions, while the weekends are on a ‘drop-in’ basis. The Centre for Life in Newcastle will also present a family science workshop over the weekend, ideal for children.

Details can be found on the project website www.britishsteelcollection.org.uk, email britishsteel@tees.ac.uk, or call 01642 384478 or 01642 738467.

Dr Joan Heggie, Project Manager of the British Steel Archive Project, said: ‘This Collection belongs to the people of the Tees Valley and tells the story of how the iron and steel industries shaped the growth of Teesside. And that’s why we’re very keen for people to come along. They can learn new skills for free and possibly help our team with the Collection in the future. We’re looking to widen our pool of enthusiastic volunteers, although there’s no obligation to join us, these are just taster sessions.’

Original plans for Sydney Harbour Bridge The Collection includes the original plans for the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge, images showing the construction of the Forth Road Bridge in Scotland, the Auckland Harbour Bridge in New Zealand and the Bangkok Memorial Bridge in Thailand. In total, the Collection contains over 600 feet of unsorted material drawn from over 40 iron and steel companies active in the Teesside area between the 1840s and the 1970s.

This material has until now been virtually inaccessible to the public. The Collection was gifted to Teesside Archives by Corus in the 1990s and remained unexplored due to a lack of resources until a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) bid was devised last year by the University and the Archives. The bid was successful, with the HLF awarding a grant of £250,000 which, together with other funding raised, will allow the Collection to be explored, conserved and catalogued and provide a vast variety of sources for the public. 

---