OUR FUTURE PLANS
Grant funding
We have been a recipient of the AIM Pilgrim Trust Collections Care Scheme which is funded by the Association of Independent Museums and the Pilgrim Trust.
This paid for a conservator to do a condition audit of all our artefacts. Peter Meehan, an expert metal conservator, was able to identify a couple of artefacts that would benefit from conservation work particularly before we relocate. We were also advised on the types of packing materials we need to use when we are relocating, this included deciding which items will need to have frames built around them prior to moving. In the photos below you can see the 18th century iron and wood wagon which is safely out of the way of visitors hands in a pretend coffin level but will therefore be tricky to move. There are the bellows which need some repairs, these came from the remains of buildings next to opencast mine workings and will have made the daily repairs needed to chains, kibbles etc. The centre photo is of the Wills Founder water pressure engine from 1819 which despite being hundreds of feet underground for almost 200 years is in very good condition.
Without funding support like this we would struggle to allocate money for a conservator, these grants make a huge difference to small museums like ourselves.
Artefact audit
As we will be relocating in a few years time we are undertaking an audit of all of our artefacts which includes checking their location, the condition they are in and whether any special handling and packing will be needed when the time comes to move them.
This article published in the February edition of Country Images magazine, written by our manager, shares some details about 4 of these artefacts. You can read the article online or pick up the free magazine from our museum and other places such as local libraries. Images Digital Edition – February 2025 – Country Images Magazine
2025!
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!
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.
46 years ago
This is our museum 46 years ago!
One big empty room with a nice high ceiling.
We are so proud of what we have achieved over those years and really excited about what we can do in a new space at the National Stone Centre Geo-Science & Heritage Park.
Support from our MP
We were pleased to have a visit from our local Member of Parliament Sarah Dines, seen here with the water pressure engine. Clare Herbert (our Museum Manager and Project Manager for the new Mining & Quarrying Museum) took the opportunity to explain about our plans for the new Museum. Sarah has said that she would be happy to support an application to the lottery fund and to other grant bodies.
We have lots of great ideas for the new Museum and a lot of work to do to get it all sorted out. Do keep checking back on what we are doing, if you have any suggestions or can offer some funding please do get in touch with Clare.
The High Sheriff of Derbyshire visits.
Today the Museum had a visit from the High Sheriff of Derbyshire, Theresa Peltier, who had discovered us on Linked In and wanted to know more. We were able to share some stories of mining character’s who came from her home town as well as discussing the planned move to the NSC. Theresa was most impressed by the collection we hold and delighted to hear that we should have a quarrying collection joining us in the new Mining & Quarrying Museum. The opportunities for public and professional education at the NSC was also of interest to her and she hopes to meet with the Institute of Quarrying very soon.
Well-being survey
We are collecting information on how people feel after visiting our Museum. If you have recently visited the link to the survey is below. There are also paper copies of the survey at the Museum.
Beautiful environment
We are frequently up at the National Stone Centre site and will have lots of exciting news to tell you very soon. But in the meantime we are pleased to let you know that we are pulling together a team of volunteers with the goal of restoring the lime kilns that are on the site. This includes a large block of lime kilns at the bottom on the site next to Shaw’s Quarry and the smaller single kiln at the top of the site near the High Peak Trail and the car park. We hope to be successful with a grant application but we will be doing an archaeological survey of the buildings which will explain the historic importance of them. As they are alongside well used public footpaths on a site where we will be providing more information boards and are clearly located next to the source of limestone and the transport routes we feel they are well worth saving. We would like to do a laser-scan of the building which will reveal the problems with the structure but this will need doing before we have the grant. Does anyone have links to a University which trains students to do laser-scans and which may be happy to help us out? Please email mail@peakmines.co.uk if you can help.
Go Green Event
Derbyshire Dales District Council invited the Institute of Quarrying (IQ) to join their first Go Green event in Matlock park last Saturday.
This event brought together businesses and organisations to promote their climate change, sustainability and biodiversity credentials and was well attended by the public.
The architect’s sketches of the building were on display and were very well received by people visiting the event. The moving of the Museum to become part of the National Stone Centre in that building, along with an expansion to a mining and quarrying museum, was seen as a logical thing to do.
On hand to answer questions about the building and the changes at the National Stone Centre was Miles Watkins from IQ. Our manager joined him for a while in the afternoon.
The new building is designed to last 100-150 years.
The electricity needs will be generated on site by the solar panels on the roof of each section, there will also be a ground-source heat pump installed.
The building will be highly insulated which will help to maintain an appropriate temperature throughout the year – it will be cool in summer just like our current location, but in winter it will be easier to keep it much warmer than the current Museum. This is something that our staff are very excited about!
Rainwater harvesting will help provide the water for toilets as well as general use on site.
IQ are working with local businesses to ensure the Green credentials of the building and to showcase what can be done.
Hitting the News!
There is a lovely article in this month’s Reflections Magazine all about the history of the Grand Pavilion. The Museum has been in the building for longer than any other tenant – 45 years in September 2023 – so we were mentioned along with Temple Mine. I can confirm that we are definitely going to be on the move in the next few years!
