Museum where they call a spade a SPADE (Kelham Island)

Call it a spade or maybe a shovel, whatever it is it's a whopper - and you can see it at the newly opened Hawley Gallery at Kelham Museum in Sheffield.But you wouldn't want to use this monster to turn the allotment or shift the snow off the drive - it's 12ft high and weighs 400lbs and that's without the muck.

Made in Lancashire by Bulldog Tools to mark the firm's 230th anniversary, it's now part of the Hawley Collection of internationally important tools, cutlery and measuring instruments. The collection also includes some more ordinary-sized spades.Keith Crawshaw, chairman of the Ken Hawley Collection, said of the new addition: "The sheer scale of the spade is very impressive. "We are keen for children to bring along their own spades and a camera to have a photograph taken alongside this record breaking shovel."

From:  http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Museum-where-they-call-a.6690162.jp

Historic Site's Powerful Role

One of the first sites in Sheffield to use water power could soon be generating its own electricity.

Sheffield Renewables, the community enterprise that develops and operates renewable energy schemes wants to install a modern water wheel as part of a hydropower scheme at Kelham Island.

The organisation has teamed up with regeneration officers at Sheffield City Council, and Kelham Island Museum, part of Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust to launch the initiative which could generate 75,000 kWh of electricity a year.

That would be enough to power 20 typical family homes and prevent around 40 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year being released into the atmosphere.

John Hamshere, chief executive of Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust said: "We are very excited about this project because Kelham Island is one of the earliest water power sites in Sheffield.

"This scheme blends our commitment to sustainable energy with our responsibilities for preserving and promoting Sheffield's industrial heritage."

The wheel pit is one of the earliest industrial sites in Sheffield, where water power could have been harnessed as far back as the Middle Ages. The replacement wheel will be designed for a flow of two tonnes of water per second.

Sheffield Renewables says the water wheel will be an educational and visitor attraction in what is an increasingly popular area.

After submitting a planning application, the next steps will include further technical development, the submission of an application for an abstraction licence and a significant fundraising drive.

Sheffield Renewables says it welcomes comments and questions about the scheme, especially from anyone living nearby.

For information, visit http://www.sheffieldrenewables.org.uk.

From: http://www.thestar.co.uk/business/Historic-site39s-powerful-role.6677902.jphttp://www.thestar.co.uk/business/Historic-site39s-powerful-role.6677902.jp

 

This is a great idea I've always though the sluices on the locks on the Chesterfield Canal could be used in the same manner, they may not provide lots of energy but should easily be enough for local street lighting! It's also great that people are realising there is plenty of free energy out there - all we need now is for people to put sails back on all those beautiful abandoned windmills scattered throughout the area too.  I know there's lots of debate about how much energy the big turbines provide but that's just bad design rather than a bad idea.  This would help to protect these buildings and canal and provide upkeep money for their restoration.  As British Waterways is now a charity again it'll be important to find as much money as possible to avoid the state of the canals going back to the 1950's closures