Celebrate Shrewsbury’s manufacturing heritage at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery

Items ‘Made in Shrewsbury’ over the last 100 years are going on display at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery later this week.  The exhibition includes photographs and products from a number of local manufacturers.

The exhibition is a result of the work done by an informal group of local history enthusiasts who have researched the companies and have come together under the banner of ‘Made in Shrewsbury’, a web-based research project.

The project was started in 2006 by Nigel Hinton who worked at Shrewsbury Electronic Engineers Ltd in the 1970s.

Nigel said:

“When I joined the company I was really interested to hear the history of the former Hartley Electromotive, which in 1955 took over Baird Television, and TVs were made in the factory on Monkmoor Road.  The takeover included an original ‘Baird Drum Televisor’ and the dummy’s head that John Logie Baird had used in his early experiments.”

Nigel added:

“The company also made electrical wiring kits for use in electric milkfloats made by Wales & Edwards.  Some of Hartley’s products from the 1950s and 1960s are on display, including a portable radio, tape recorders, and a mini record player, the Wondergram.  The taperiter system features an early steel cassette, and from the 1970s there is a Microsee microfiche reader that was made for Barclays Bank.”

Other researchers have worked with other companies such as Sentinel, who manufactured steam vehicles, trains, buses and lorries, and in World War 2 they made a small tank and bren gun carriers.  The successor company, Rolls Royce, made commercial diesel engines, and today the plant re-engineers plant and equipment.

Morris Lubricants has been manufacturing oils for over 100 years and took over the factory built by Thomas Corbett and the perseverance Iron Works, manufacturers of agricultural engineering products in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The research on the story of Silhouette resulted in a book written by Nigel and a play by Chris Eldon Lee.  The play was a sell out when performed at Theatre Severn.  The story of Silhouette can be found in Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery’s permanent displays.

With contributions from Woodvine Norton Asquith by John Jones, Thomas Corbett by Elizabeth Morris, and Wales & Edwards by Sue Overy, the exhibition gives a glimpse into the past when manufacturing was an important part of our local economy.

There is still much research to be done, and we hope the exhibition will stimulate the interest in other people to tell their stories.  Other events are planned for later in the year.

Tina Woodward, Shropshire Council’s deputy Cabinet member for visitor economy, said:

“The exhibition is a real showcase for the talent that has been in Shropshire down the years and is a fascinating project.  You won’t be disappointed, but you may be surprised at what you find out.”

On Saturday24 May at about 11.30am there is a chance to see a Sentinel as it steams into The Square in Shrewsbury to formally open the exhibition, which runs to October 2014.

For more information visit www.madeinshrewsbury.co.uk.