08/07/2014

Available for over a year

Is there a crisis in our museums - in particular those that care for our industrial heritage? That's the view of one academic who fears that the volunteering model adopted by many organisations needs to change. Dr Geraint Coles has a long experience of working on restoration projects such as the Chesterfield canal. He fears that changes in our society means that people are retiring much later than they were ten years ago - so finding fit and active volunteers to help run museums, preservation railways and other industrial heritage centres is becoming more and more difficult. Making History's Mike Greenwood visits the Bluebell Railway in Sussex to see how they recruit, train and keep their volunteers. Ian Bapty, Industrial Heritage Support Officer for England, and Karen Perkins Director of Arts and Museums at Luton Culture join Helen to discuss the ways they are meeting this challenge Tom Holland takes the train to Cumbria - or should that be Rheged? He meets historian Tim Clarkson and hears how sixth century poetry has been shaped and re-shaped so that the kingdom it describes is now much, much bigger than it ever was. Finally, Helen meets Professor Linne Mooney from the University of York to find out how familiarity with the scribes who copied the works of Chaucer as well as government papers, afforded her unique insight into how and why written English begins to supersede French and Latin in the fourteenth century. Contact the programme:- Email [email protected] Write to Making History, BBC Radio 4, PO Box 3096. Brighton BN1 1PL Producer: Nick Patrick. A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.