2025 is going to be a great year!

Throughout 2024 we have been working away in the back office of the museum collating data, sharing ideas and filling in grant applications to support our relocation to the National Stone Centre Geo-Science & Heritage Park where we will double in size to tell The Story of the Mineral Products Industry: Past, Present & Future. All essential work but not the most exciting for a press release or photos.

In 2025 we will be reaching out to the local community, the industrial heritage societies and the mineral products industry for their ideas on what needs to be in the museum and their support as volunteers and to champion both the current and future museum.

We will be inviting the local press to join us on our journey and will be posting more about it on social media.

Of course, we will also be sat in the back office of the museum filling in paperwork!

8 photos of artefacts from top left: a Beethoven Shot Firer which looks a bit like an orange radio; an old leather miner's hob-nailed boot; old instruction and warning sheet for geletine dynamite; a geological sample of green fluorite crystals; a Bradda hat which is an early safety helmet; A grey box shot firer with the winding handle attached on the right side of it; a bright blue geological sample; the wage packet of one of the Millclose Mine workers.
Photos of artefacts in the museum collection. From top left: A white mineral sample; a Speddings Mill with a large cog and a small cog; 6 long cream-coloured tallow candles lying down in a fan shape; A geological sample of green fluorite crystals; A cylindrical cast iron pipe end with large square bolts joining it to another pipe; the glowing embers of a pretend fire with stones either side of it to recreate a smelting bole; a brown paper package tied up with string on the front of the package is the text 'Number 1 Barker's Slime 11th December 1869'.

Our museum has around 7000 artefacts and we will need to relocate them to the new museum. This is a large undertaking particularly as we intend to do it in a much shorter time frame than is usual because the deteriorating condition of the building we are in is putting the collection at risk of damage.

At the end of last year we began a location audit of all artefacts. This is a huge undertaking but will ensure that we:

  • Know exactly where every artefact currently is.
  • Are aware of the condition of each artefact and how we can safely pack and move it when the time comes.
  • Identify any difficulties with physically moving the artefacts – size, weight, condition, current position it is in etc.
  • Have photographs of every artefact.
  • Identify the very best artefacts for display in the new museum.

To help with this we have employed Rhian as a new member of our team. She is working with Clare Herbert, the museum manager, and they hope to complete this task by the end of 2026. Look out for our posts about some of the artefacts which we will put out on here and our Facebook and LinkedIn pages.

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