A very Happy New Year to you all from Heritage of Industry!

And with the New Year we are delighted to announce that Bill Barksfield joins us as Operations Director and will be looking after all the day-to-day operation and administration of the company. After graduating from Brunel University with a degree in Computer Science Bill has had a long career designing and building IT systems for financial institutions in the City but has now decided to leave all that behind and concentrate on his main interests of Engineering History, Industrial Archaeology and Travel.

Paul Saulter, Managing Director, says “I would very much like to welcome Bill to the company. I am sure the strengths gained from a long career in business and as a company director will combine very well with his love of our subject area and will help to move the company forward. With Bill taking care of the legwork I will be able to concentrate more on developing ideas and contacts in the UK, Europe and beyond to provide more and better travel opportunities for our clients”

Bill will certainly be very busy as there is a full programme of City Safaris and longer tours planned for the coming months.

Click on the links in the text below or visit our website http://www.heritageofindustry.co.uk for more details.

In March the first City Safari of the year will explore the 20th century car industry in Coventry as well as the 1950s redevelopment which has to an extent left the city in thrall to the road system and the car!

The 19th century clock making industry and the traditional ribbon weaving workshops still survive and many early houses and shops have also been preserved despite the devastation of World War 2.

In April, after more than 10 years, City Safaris makes a return visit to Hamburg - but not a repeat. A new area has been created in the 20th century dock area full of homes and work spaces some in spectacular 21st century style.

Although we will be focussing on the Elbe we will also be looking at the water supply and sewage system installed by an Englishman, William Lindley, who built water and sewage systems all over Europe.

The end of May is the date for the AIA Spring tour "The Iron Route" which is an exploration of a major area of Sweden's rich industrial archaeology and includes two UNESCO World Heritage sites. We will be seeing Angelsberg, one of the world's most important remnants of the early industrial age with a blast furnace, forge hammer and water-powered blowing engine and the Rademachers Smithies at Eskiltuna. But not restricting ourselves to Iron, we will also see a silver mine, the Railway Museum, a copper mine and a modern chain making plant.

In June the next City Safari is to Mainz and Wiesbaden. Separated by the river Rhine, the two towns both have Roman antecedents, but have developed in different ways. Mainz controls the confluence of the Main and Rhine and developed as a defensive and trading site.

Wiesbaden has always been a spa town and its development is linked to health and leisure. We will visit medieval, 18th and 19th century Mainz and see how the town was important in the development of printing and visit the Gutenberg Museum to look at evidence of this.

In September we return to the UK for a City Safari to look at two textile towns, Halifax and Huddersfield : Carpets and Wool.  There are a number of iconic buildings in Halifax including the Piece Hall and the Dean Clough Complex, once home to Crossley carpet manufacture.  We will also be able to have a look at some of the purpose-built industrial housing on the outskirts of Halifax.

In Huddersfield a must-see is the station building erected by 1860 to the plans of James Pigott Pritchett, with a statue of the city's famous son, Harold Wilson.

In November we are planning one of our most interesting trips to date to coincide with the 16^th Engineering Heritage Australia Conference in Hobart, Tasmania.

The itinerary is not yet fixed but we plan to include key sites in Tasmania and South Australia.

If you’re as excited as we are about this tour then register your interest here!

For further information about any of the above please visit our website : http://www.heritageofindustry.co.uk or email on info@heritageofindustry.co.uk