Heritage guards of the future train online with Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings
Heritage preservers of the future are being trained online this spring in an innovative scheme with Shrewsbury's historic Flaxmill Maltings.
Work placements at the world's first iron-framed building have begun, with this new programme allowing participants to gain knowledge of working in the heritage sector, while developing team-working and problem solving skills.
Over the last year, whilst Covid-19 restrictions have been in place, the majority of the traditional face to face work placements planned could not take place.
With over 50 work placements left to deliver by March 2024, this new online engagement method will allow people to continue benefitting from the learning opportunities the project has to offer.
Placements will last a minimum of five days and all will include an induction to the Flaxmill Maltings site, as well as work on live project activities.
Juliet Baillie, sector skills adviser, Historic England, said: “Innovation is part of the DNA of Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings, and we are pleased that a new way to run placements online for the Shrewsbury has been conceived and agreed."
Funding
Mandy Thorn MBE, Marches Local Enterprise Partnership chair, said: “The Marches LEP funding awarded to the Flaxmill Maltings project in 2018 focused its outputs around innovation, skills and jobs creation, supporting businesses and encouraging growth within our region."
The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), via its Growth Deal with Government, have provided £2m of funding to the Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings regeneration project. The works funded are integral to bringing the Flaxmill Maltings back to life for a third century of use and work placements are just one of the outputs from this part of the programme.
Built in 1797, the Flaxmill Maltings had two centuries of use, first as a flax mill, then a maltings and also as a training centre and barracks during World War II.
The restoration of the Grade I listed Main Mill and the Grade II Kiln at the Flaxmill Maltings is taking place thanks to a £20.7m grant from National Lottery players through The National Lottery Heritage Fund, combined with the additional funding from the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership via its Growth Deal with Government, and from project partners Historic England, Shropshire Council and the Friends of the Flaxmill Maltings.
Alastair Godfrey, project lead, Historic England, said: “The programme of work part-funded by the Marches LEP is hugely important to the Flaxmill Maltings project, and is well underway.
"Works to bring vital utilities into site are complete and works on opening up the site for the future housing scheme, visitor experience and commercial space are in their final stages. The delivery of work placements online offers individuals wanting a future career in heritage and related sectors an exciting new way to engage and it’s great that participants will still be able to gain workplace skills during these challenging times.”
The revitalised site will become a new learning and enterprise quarter for Shrewsbury.
The Main Mill and Kiln at Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings will open in spring 2022, with the new visitor experience and café opening on the ground floor and the top four floors available for commercial tenants.
For more information about work placements visit https://historicengland.org.uk/get-involved/visit/shrewsbury-flax-mill/heritage-skills/
