![]() They will plant hedges, resurface footpaths, install benches and build a small wetland to increase biodiversity on the site. The fire brigade had come to let him down and unfortunately he slipped through the sling and died."įor the next stage of the Echoes of Blackburn Meadows project, 50 young volunteers are now needed to work on the site with BTCV between January and March 2010. The fire brigade were there and I was told that a man had fallen off the scaffolding while they were erecting the cooling towers. One day I went to the gate office for tea mugs. He was an amazing man."Ĭharles Bowser was a 16-year-old joiner's apprentice on the site in 1936: "I was employed by carpenters and joiners CH Gillam & Son. He sat in it like a throne with his bowler hat on and his hands in his waistcoat directing operations. Mr Gill had his armchair carried up to the turbine hall operating floor. You wouldn't dream of speaking to the foreman unless you had something to say. "Mr Gill the foreman wouldn't let us call the fitters by their first names, it had to be Mr Smee, Mr Hadfield and so on. As a lad I was stopped from wearing studs in my boots because the turbine hall floor was washed and polished every day. Gordon Sykes from Jordanthorpe started as an apprentice in 1952 and stayed for 24 years: "It was wonderful but very Victorian in the attitudes. "They held exhibitions and demonstrations showing people how to cook with electric." People still remember queuing between the lamps at the showrooms to pay their electricity bills," says Jennifer. "I heard all about the electrical appliance retailers Wigfalls (or Wiggie's as it was better known), which had showrooms on Commercial Street near the tram bridge in Sheffield. "The old boys who worked there told me tales of Tinsley's infamous purple rain, a result of the air pollution from Blackburn Meadows which used to soil clean washing as it hung out to dry. "It was inspiring to hear first-hand accounts of what it was like to be inside of one of Britain's most technologically advanced power stations during the mid-20th century. Jennifer Rich collected the memories from people who lived near or worked in the power station, to be used in the Audio Art Walk: Initially the Arts Council granted £8000 to launch a prototype of the audio walk, and then in January 2010 an organisation called GreenPrints which encourages young people to improve green spaces awarded £10,000 so that the Echoes team and BCTV could make the environment around Blackburn Meadows cleaner and safer for people. Jennifer worked with sound artist and graphic designer Lewis Heriz who compiled the archive material and memories to create the art and sound walk, and artist Tom Dixon who worked on the visual and technical side of the project, installing the FM transmitters around the walk to enable people to listen to audio histories as they walk around. In pictures: Blackburn Meadows Power StationĬultural geographer Jennifer Rich came up with the idea for the Audio Art Walk after her university dissertation about the history of Blackburn Meadows power station and how it was involved in the progress and development of Sheffield during the inter-war and post-war periods. You can read more about their nomination on their website.Ī hidden solar powered FM transmitter broadcasts the memories of former employees, hence the name of the project, Echoes of Blackburn Meadows. In June 2010 the project was shortlisted in the Observer Ethical Award which acknowledges innovative ways of looking at ethical issues and creating practical solutions to problems. ![]() The idea is that people will walk around the site while listening to memories from people who used to live and work there. The Echoes of Blackburn Meadows project combines archive material with spoken memories of the former Blackburn Meadows power station at Tinsley in South Yorkshire. BBC - Sheffield & South Yorkshire - Echoes of Blackburn MeadowsĪn Audio Art Walk around a disused power station near Meadowhall has been given a monetary boost to improve the area.
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