Perspectives on Industrial Archaeology, and: Twentieth Century Industrial Archaeology (review)

Perspectives on Industrial Archaeology. Edited by Neil Cossons. London: Science Museum, 2000. Pp. 176. £19.95.

Twentieth Century Industrial Archaeology. By Michael Stratton and Barrie Trinder. London: Taylor and Francis, 2000. Pp. xi+236. $49.95.

These two handsome books were released to coincide with The International Congress on the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage (TICCIH) in London, held in August and September of 2000. Readers of Technology and Culture may find them of interest because they provide a timely reflection on the British practice of industrial archaeology (IA), a field of inquiry closely connected to and even overlapping with the history of technology.

Perspectives on Industrial Archaeology was published by the Science Museum of London--one of the sponsors of TICCIH 2000--where Cossons served as director for fourteen years before becoming chairman of English Heritage. In addition to an introduction by Cossons, it includes six original essays on the history and status of IA written by active practitioners. R. Angus Buchanan (emeritus professor of the history of technology, University of Bath) chronicles the origins of IA in the United Kingdom, a task he is perhaps uniquely qualified to undertake. Barrie Trinder (senior lecturer in industrial archaeology, University College Northampton) presents an IA perspective on twentieth-century Britain, a concise version of the second volume under review here. Keith Falconer (head of industrial, military and naval programs, English Heritage) discusses evolving methods in site recording, a central task in IA, particularly in its initial decades. Anthony Streeten (assistant regional director, English Heritage) provides an extensive review of policy and practice in the conservation of industrial heritage, with particular attention to the agencies and institutions that support and guide conservation efforts. Stafford Linsley (lecturer in industrial archaeology, University of Newcastle) describes the history of industry in northeast England and discusses the practice of IA within that context. Mark Watson (principal inspector of historic buildings, Historic Scotland) offers an interesting discussion of the conversion of Scottish textile mills to other functions. Michael Bailey (consultant in railway technology and past president of the Newcomen Society) and John Glithero (head of the project team that built the replica Planet) present a detailed discussion of the physical clues used in the study of an important early locomotive.

The production values in the volume are superb; the excellent illustrations include sixteen color plates. Readers should be aware, however, that this is strictly a British perspective on IA; there is scant mention of sites or studies outside the United Kingdom. Furthermore, it is a perspective that is decidedly historical in tone; it traces the development of IA in the United Kingdom, with extensive details of case studies and publications generated in the last thirty years. There are several major themes: a recognition that conservation ("preservation of resources in place" to North Americans) has been a key consideration; that enthusiasts, rather than professionals, have been central in the study of IA; and that institutional involvement has been of the essence.

Several authors lament a crucial failure, namely, that IA "does not possess the qualities of a self-sufficient academic discipline" (Buchanan, p. 33). Linsley reports on his small survey in 1995, revealing a "general prejudice against the teaching of IA within many British University archaeology departments" (p. 132). Even Trinder, one of the most productive teachers of IA in the United Kingdom, bemoans that "industrial archaeology emerged as a topic for informal discussion, if not as an academic discipline" (p. 45). This issue is of major importance for the past, present, and especially the future of IA. The absence of an academic foothold has been a limiting factor, to be sure, but these authors give scant attention to the promising signs to be detected in the School of Archaeological Studies at Leicester University. Marilyn Palmer, recently named professor of industrial archaeology and head of department at Leicester, has achieved an enviable record of scholarship and service, making important strides toward establishing...