My interest in how Climate Change has and is affecting archaeological and heritage sites goes back many years. In the 2000s I was involved in excavating a later prehistoric and Roman village in the Trent Valley, Nottinghamshire, whose existence...

The Old Silk Mill, Derby, now the Museum of Making, January 2018

My interest in how Climate Change has and is affecting archaeological and heritage sites goes back many years. In the 2000s I was involved in excavating a later prehistoric and Roman village in the Trent Valley, Nottinghamshire, whose existence depended in large measure upon the annual inundation of the surrounding flood plain to refertilise the soils. I was also lucky enough to be involved with a European research project, STORM, during the mid-2010s, that looked at the potential for early warning systems and mitigation strategies for a variety of archaeological site types across the continent. In my current role as the Industrial Heritage Support Officer for England, based at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, I have also been gathering data about the growing impact of Climate Change on the industrial heritage sector.

The risks from Climate Change for such sites was underlined by the impact of Storm Babet in October 2023. This was the second named storm of the 2023-24 autumn and winter season, and affected large parts of north-western and western Europe from the 16th October, when it was given a name, to the 22nd October 2023, when it dissipated. It crossed Britain from south-west England to north-east Scotland from the 18th to the 20th October. According to data gathered by the Met Office: ‘heavy, persistent and widespread rain…affected much of England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 18th to 20th, with 100mm falling fairly widely [double the average monthly rainfall for England]…Babet also brought some very strong winds, gusting at over 50Kt (58mph) across north-east England and much of Scotland’. (2023_08_storm_babet_v1.docx (metoffice.gov.uk).

The impact in England and Wales was not as severe as north-east Scotland but was still extensive, with flooding across Yorkshire, the East Midlands, and the Humber area, as well in Suffolk, and around Stafford and Wrexham. The most severe impact was through flooding episodes and this was also the case for industrial archaeology and heritage. The site worst affected was the Grade II Listed Museum of Making (Derby Museums | Derby Museums) (the Old Silk Mill), in the centre of Derby, where the ground floor was flooded by the adjacent River Derwent on 21st October to between 0.5m and 0.7m. The redesign of the museum building at the beginning of the 2020s incorporated elements to protect the building and its archives from flooding by the adjacent River Derwent. Even so, Derby Museum estimate that the damage runs into the tens of thousands of pounds, and the museum will not re-open until well into 2024. The Derwent Valley Mills Research Framework, covering the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site of which the Museum of the Making forms the southern tip, includes a section on the impact of landscape change and climate (see the DVMRF, section 10, on the website https://researchframeworks.org/dvmwhs/). This details research already undertaken taken on the history of flooding along the River Derwent and its likely impact on the industrial heritage of the world heritage site. Its also outlines five research questions aimed at exploring further the past, present and future impact of climate change on the world heritage site. The recent installation of water-powered low carbon energy systems at Cromford Mills is an indication of one way in which such industrial sites can become part of the climate change mitigation solution.

Other industrial heritage sites affected by flooding included the heritage narrow gauge Amerton Railway in Stafford, the National Tramway Museum at Crich in Derbyshire, and the Claverton Pumping Station near Bath, on the Kennet and Avon Canal. The impact of intense rainfall was also seen in several landslip events on the canal network. A landslide occurred on the Worcestershire & Birmingham Canal by the Shortwood Tunnel west portal (near the village of Tardebigge, Worcestershire), whilst a 50m of canal bank collapsed due to flooding along the Grand Union Canal in central Leicester from the adjacent river Soar (https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-and-views/news/counting-the-cost-of-climate-change). Finally, the impact of winds was seen at several industrial heritage sites along the north-east coast of England. In South Shields, the storm dislodged the dome of the Tyne South Pier lighthouse and sections of railings and decking were also destroyed at Sunderland’s Rock Pier by large waves in conjunction with the high winds.

The data set I have been working on, for the impact of climate change on Industrial Heritage sites and monuments, only goes back to January 2020. Nevertheless, sine then each winter and summer of this decade has brought notable weather extremes with damage to industrial archaeology and heritage sites. Current Met Office projections down to 2050 suggest that there Britain will experience an increase in winter storm intensity, an increase in the length of dry spells, and an increase in temperature extremes as the climate continues to warm. Since many industrial heritage sites lie in areas vulnerable to flooding, such as river valleys or along the coast, these sites are most at risk. Elsewhere industrial heritage sites are threatened with subsidence through drought and structural damage from changing vegetation. All industrial heritage sites need to develop further their disaster management plans, especially early warning of weather events (such as those trialled in the STORM project), and to think in detail about adaption options, as outlined by Historic England. The data gathered for Storm Babet in October 2023 indicates that it had the largest impact on industrial heritage sites in England since the flooding caused by storms Ciara and Dennis, both in February 2020. Sadly, its almost certain that worse is to come this decade.

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