The Month of July!

Right, this month I have not been very good at updating the blog mainly because there has been so much to do! The HBI Project has taken off in ways I could not have predicted and it hasn't even launched yet!

Scott Grenney the creator of two Plymouth 'Whats on' Websites has kindly featured us on those websites if you would like to take a look see the below link:

http://www.barbicanwaterfront.com/2012/07/17/swib-heritage-business-initiative%E2%80%8F/

We are also up and running on Facebook and Twitter so if any of my blog readers haven't liked the page or followed us please feel free to do so!

https://www.facebook.com/TheSWIBHBI

https://twitter.com/HBIHeritage

Last Friday Colette Hobbs, the outreach officer at SWiB and myself had a meeting with Sarah O'Leary manager of the Plymouth Waterfront Partnership where has very kindly offered us some advertising and networking opportunities for September - There will also be a lot more future collaborations between the SWiB HBI and the PWP, please check out their website for a bit more information about what they do. I will publish any events and or media coverage in next weeks post as details are still being put together.

http://www.waterfrontbid.co.uk/

I am also currently actively approaching a couple of companies which having done some research I feel may benefit from the HBI Scheme - if you know of any businesses then please don't hesitate to leave a comment!

Finally the SWiB website now features the project on its page so feel free to have a look at that too, although the photo of me used is probably the worst one I have ever seen!

http://www.southwestimagebank.com/HBI%20project.html

Keep watching this space and at the rate this project is moving by this time next week I shall have lots more to update you with, Thank you for your continued support :)

All set up for Fridays meeting with the finished Brochures and Business Cards

HBI Business Cards

I thought I would share with you the finished HBI Business card design, these will be printed and ready for the projects launch in September and I am currently working on the Brochures. Thank you to many of my facebook followers who took the time to help choose the design 

This weeks work at Cotehele - 3rd July 2012

This weeks session at Cotehele was another quiet one owing to the horrendous rain and mist we have been having, visitor numbers are down and the general consensus amongst staff and volunteers is that those visitors we do have coming in are becoming steadily more ill tempered as the wet miserable summer progresses... I don't blame them.

Therefore I have taken the opportunity to use this weeks post to discuss one of the smaller exhibitions in the house, yet one of the most important and informative in terms of preventing the deterioration of the historic artefact's at Cotehele and indeed in all Heritage establishments.

 

I often have visitors to the Victorian Library question me about the small plastic shapes positioned on the left of my desk. It being such a hands on room with so many bright and beautiful displays, all complete with detailed write ups and reviews, I think these small inconspicuous pieces trigger a certain curiosity.

As you can see each plastic case is comprised of two sections of the same type of five different materials from copper to suede to cotton, paper and velvet. One section of the material is covered by a thin protective plastic covering, the other is left exposed. Visitors are drawn to touch and rub the exposed material thus demonstrating the detrimental effect that this has upon each one. These plastic shapes are used to show visitors to Cotehele the reasons why certain areas and collection are roped off or concealed from public viewing, even from this photograph you will be able to see the difference between the exposed material on the bottom section and the covered material on the top, this is especially clear in the red Velvet and the faun suede. This exhibit has only been on display for the past 3 months so obviously we can determine from this the amount of damage that would be done to soft furnishings over a prolonged period of many years where thousands of visitors are handling these objects. Therefore I say to you bad tempered visitors, soggy from the rain and shivering from our 12 degree July temperatures - We are not trying to be mean or to ruin your experience of Cotehele or indeed any other Heritage attraction by restricting access to our collections, this is a necessary and important part of preservation and if we take these measures then these beautiful tapestries, paintings and furniture will be intact for further generations of history geeks (like myself to enjoy)

This weeks work at SwiB - July 2nd 2012

Unfortunately I was unable to attend this weeks volunteer session due to a flat tyre however I have been able to do a lot more work to my Exhibition Project with SWiB and a post regarding progress will be going up shortly.

Some more photographs from the South West Image Bank this week

These are some images taken of our beautiful gallery this week, we are currently running an exhibition centering on the Lenkiewicz mural which is situated just left of the SWiB archive on the b=Barbican Plymouth. We also have a newly completed exhibition of black and white photographs of Plymouth beautifully put together by our outreach manager, Colette Hobbs.

                                      

Also...

 

These pages are taken from the DH10 file; David Hocking is a local photographer mentioned in the previous "This week at SWiB" post. Here we can see how David has supplied small histories and background strories to accompany his photographs, a method which is hugely helpful and insightful when it comes to archiving these stunning images.

This weeks work at Cotehele - 26th June 2012

Unfortunately I have been unable to attend this weeks volunteer session due to a family funeral. I will however be back in the Victorian Library as of next week.

This weeks work at SwiB - June 18th 2012

Today I have been cataloguing a collection by David Hocking, a local photographer who has built up his own personal archive of images and histories of various aspects of life within Devon and Cornwall. The collection I have been working on is DH-10, the tenth collection we have on record and one that relates specifically to the rail network on the South Devon and North Cornwall divide during the closure of many of these stations during the 1960s. This collection is of particular interest to me as I grew up in a village near callington and have often passed remnants of the old railway lines when travelling to and from the town. Interestingly the Callington Station was actually situated in Kelly Bray.

"Callington railway station was a railway station in the town of Callington, Cornwall, built by the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway, but operated by the London and South Western Railway. It was the terminus of a branch line from Bere Alston, and the station closed in 1966. The Tamar Valley Line still operates services from Bere Alston with services terminating 5 miles (8 km) to the east at Gunnislake railway station. The now-closed section of line north of Gunnislake had several severe gradients and speed restrictions, which made operating difficult.

A small locomotive depot was built by the PD&SWJR in 1872, which remained in use until closure in 1964."

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callington_railway_station

These two Images show the change in landscape for Callington, the original railway station would have been where Harris Close now stands and this road still bears the name "Station Road"

The railway shed (pictured right) was part of Callington station at Kelly Bray, some distance from the town itself. The local landmark of Kit Hill can be seen in the distance.

 

The part of the branch line from Gunnislake to Kelly Bray closed in 1966, as part of the Beeching Axe. The last train left Callington on 5 November, to the sound of detonators & fireworks, and carrying a wreath.

Here are a selection of some of the other Images and articles I have been cataloguing from this collection:

A timetable showing some of the now closed lines




(Left) Latchley Train Station, Closed in 1966 This station had a single platform on the Down side of the running line, which was recorded in 1908 as being 220' long. Immediately west of the platform the railway crossed a minor road by an un-gated level-crossing. There was a siding on the Up side opposite the platform, which was accessed by a connection facing to Down trains at the Gunnislake end of the station. A small loading platform was located between the main line and siding in front of the main platform and opposite this again outside the siding was the stationmaster's house and ex-ECMR goods shed. The siding was removed at some unknown date after 1950 and the station itself was closed on 5-Nov-1966. The station house and trackbed are now in private ownership.

 (Left) Bere Alston Station, which is still in use today

 (Right) Callington Sheds, which held the locomotives

 (Left) Callington/Kelly Bray Station

(Right) Luckett StationThis station was known originally as Stoke Climsland It had a 225' platform on the Down side and a loop siding opposite it on the Up side, with connections to the main line at both ends of the station. Immediately to the west of the station the line was crossed by a minor road on a girder over-bridge. There was a further siding on the Down side at the Gunnislake end of the platform, with a connection that faced Up trains, and apparently this siding boasted a carriage shed for some years. There was originally a small ground-level signal-box here on the Up side at the Callington end of the loop, but in 1923 this was reduced to a ground-frame. A separate small ground-frame worked the Gunnislake end of the loop siding. The carriage siding was taken out of use on 31-Mar-1923. The loop siding was taken out of use on 23-Sep-1962 and the station itself was closed on 5-Nov-1966. The station house and trackbed are now in private ownership.