The National Trust has a distinguished record of concern for our industrial heritage and is keen to protect the context and infrastructure of its varied landscapes.
A variety of sites and activities
The sites we care for range in size and origins from the impressive industrial complex at Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire, to the humble Patterson's Spade Mill in Northern Ireland and Finch's Foundry in Devon. The cliff top engine houses of St Just, iconic structures of Cornish tin-mining, are possibly the region's most evocative testament to its industrial past.
Archaeological surveys have raised evidence of industrial activities at many National Trust properties; interesting remnants of mining, manufacturing, trade and commerce, communications, roads, canals and bridges are found across the spectrum Trust ownership. The houses, churches, chapels and social clubs which supported past industrial communities often offer an equally fascinating insight into our industrial heritage.
In fact more Trust properties have had associations with industry than you might expect and this consideration can powerful effect the way we view some of the most elaborate country houses. Penrhyn Castle in Gwynedd would not have existed without the Welsh slate industry, while Knightshayes in Devon was built in just the right position for its owner to enjoy the fine views down to his cloth mill in Tiverton.
Country house technology
Research is currently underway and its initial findings reveal the Trust to be owner of some of Britain's most important examples of early domestic technology. Gibside, for instance, possessed electrical and acetylene lighting, heating, internal transport and communications systems, water provision and sewage disposal over a hundred years before these started to be widely introduced.
The future...
It is the Trust's aim to manage our industrial heritage in order to promote access - meeting the needs of study and growing public interest. Their presentation should stimulate people's imagination and offer a better appreciation of the significance of Industry in the economic and cultural make up of the nation.
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