Kelham Officially Opened!!

Today saw the official opening of the museum by the Duke of Gloucester. After cutting the ribbon His Royal Highness was shown around the new galleries.

This included the areas which have just recently been completed such as our Unexpected Industries and Social History areas.

Stan Shaw has just recently moved into our Little Mesters street and was on hand to show the Duke his knives.

Our Chief Executive explained the changes as they walked around the museum and showed how some of the new
interactive exhibits work!!

The visit ended with a quick preview of The Melting Shop which is due to reopen for our younger visitors in the summer.

War memorials on display

For the second phase of the museum redisplay an area has been set aside for war memorials. Six memorials have been chosen from the collection, 5 of which require conservation due to having been mounted outside for many years and also having been damaged in the 2007 flood.


The memorials have had many different treatments including washing to remove residue and deposits from the flood, wax treatments to renew colours and preserve and polishing.


The memorials are now on display for our visitors enjoyment.

Our latest conservation

Another item that was submerged in flood waters has been restored. The Lister Auto Truck is a three-wheeled towing vehicle which would have been used in the steel industry to tow flat bed trailers around the steel works.

Here is the truck after the floods, before the conservation work started:

It is powered by a two cylinder Lister diesel engine (LR2). The engine number suggests that it was manufactured in the late 60s. It produces a modest 10.5 HP at an engine speed of 2500rpm.

Many parts were removed to allow a detailed cleaning and conservation of it's mechanisms. About 6 litres of flood water was drained from the engine and gearbox.

The truck has not been repainted to show it's condition at the end of its use in the steel works.