Launched last year in June, our free series of talks continues exploring Europa Nostra Award-winning projects and heritage community initiatives that are of particular interest for the UK.
Cleveland Pools is the UK’s oldest public outdoor swimming pool. Built in 1815 and remaining popular throughout the Victorian era, the pool reached its heyday in the 1970s before competition from an indoor leisure centre saw it finally close in 1984. The dilapidated and forgotten site was finally put up for sale in 2003 by Bath and North East Somerset council, but saved from demolition by the tireless efforts of a committed group of volunteers.
Their community-led approach was particularly praised by the Europa Nostra Awards judges, as was the use of green energy and a holistic approach to reinstating the site’s original function ‘while adapting it to 21st-century standards’. They are the oldest open air public swimming pools in the UK and probably western Europe and are Grade 2* listed. However, very sadly, this year’s exceptional rainfall has seen the Cleveland Pools site flooded twice already, with significant damage caused to the plant room in particular.
In this recording from 23rd May 2024, Paul Simons, Chair of the Cleveland Pools Trust, shares the site’s remarkable 20-year journey of restoration and adaptation, giving insight into how this European Heritage / Europa Nostra Award-winning initiative is facing into the climate crisis.
Next up! 2023 European Heritage / Europa Nostra Award-winners MINIARE: The Art & Science of Manuscript Heritage
Over the last ten years, the MINIARE project at The Fitzwilliam Museum (University of Cambridge), has revolutionised our understanding of manuscript heritage. By employing non-invasive technical analysis and cutting-edge technology, integrated with established humanities methodologies, the project has identified artists’ materials and techniques and offered new insights into cultural, political and socio-economic contexts of manuscript production. The interdisciplinary approach, spanning physical sciences, arts and humanities, has been instrumental in advancing understanding of a vital aspect Europe’s shared heritage.
In this illustrated talk, Dr Suzanne Reynolds (Senior Curator, Manuscripts and Rare Books) and Dr Flavia Fiorillo (Research Associate, Scientific Research) of The Fitzwilliam Museum join us to tell us a bit more about this project, what insights they have gained, and the possibilities for future investigation.