Piston, Pen & Press: Literary Cultures in the Industrial Workplace from the Factory Acts to the First World War

Lead Research Organisation: University of Strathclyde
Department Name: English

Abstract

As the newspaper poetry columns, workers' periodicals, surviving records of local libraries and reading rooms, and society accounts show, industrial workers spent substantial amounts of their working lives and brief leisure time in writing, reading, and discussing works of literature. Every industrial workplace had its writer in this period. Most had more than one, like poets and journalists 'Nisbet Noble' (James Ferguson) and 'Will Harrow' (John Stanley) at Stanley Mills in Perthshire, or autobiographers and poets 'Rustic Rhymer' (Thomas Stewart) and 'Davie' (David Wingate) in the same Lanarkshire mine. 'Piston, Pen & Press' recovers the forgotten ways in which these industrial workers engaged with literary culture from the 1840s to the First World War. By focusing on miners, railway workers, and textile factory workers it will investigate how profession, location, and the perception of being part of a specific workforce community influenced workers' activities as authors, performers and readers.

Our concentration is on Scotland and the North of England, with Britain's two greatest Victorian industrial cities, Manchester and Glasgow, as centres of interest. We will use archival research and scoping studies of newspaper and periodical databases to uncover the poems, songs, periodical and newspaper writings and other prose writings (including autobiography and biography) of workers in these industries. We will additionally work with the preserved records of nineteenth-century libraries and reading rooms to trace a history of reading through borrowers' records, and to study records of 'literary' associations (minute books, members' directories, manuscript magazines) linked to specific workplaces or operating in their vicinity.

No previous project or published work has attempted to reflect on working-class literary cultures in the long Victorian period in terms of both profession and location. Further, existing studies and anthologies do not provide our interdisciplinary focus on the history of reading, the history of associational culture, and the literary analysis of workers' writings. Although recent historical work on Britain's industrial revolution has shifted towards a greater consideration of workers' writings, research into literary representations of Victorian industry is still dominated by accounts of observers or employers, not by how workers themselves represented their labour and presented themselves as a cultured workforce with investments in established as well as popular literature. Despite growing interest in working-class reading, much evidence of workers' cultural investments and cultural literacy remains scattered in local and regional archives. What we currently know or hypothesize about what Victorian workers (like those listed above) wrote, read or sung, and how they accessed literary works, is a fraction of what we could know through in-depth archival research and a careful and comparative analysis of findings.

While the academic outcomes of this project will contribute significantly to the study of working-class culture, history and literature, and to our scholarly perceptions of Victorian industrialism, we also seek to create public awareness of this neglected aspect of industrial heritage. Building on our existing connections and developing new ones, we will work with selected museums and non-academic partners, both national and local, on ways to include this vital intangible heritage in their collections and outreach activities. In doing so we hope to foster fruitful discussions between institutions and individuals in the heritage sector in Scotland and the North of England about the status and significance of literary cultures in Britain's industrial past. Through our connections to the General Federation of Trades Unions and potentially other unions, 'Piston, Pen & Press' will also incorporate reflection on the 21st century workplace and historical workplace culture.

Planned Impact

This project has been conceived and designed in partnership with industrial heritage museums, libraries and trades unions, and largely stems from discussions with museum partners about their desire to incorporate workers' experience and voices in settings that have previously focused on tangible heritage (machinery, objects) and on 'captains of industry' rather than employees. 'Piston, Pen & Press', as our letters of support show, involves collaborative exchanges with museum and other partners, through exhibitions, public events and work with school and community groups; and seeks to model ways for academics and museum professionals to exchange knowledge and expertise. We consider it essential that this project works both with major national museums (e.g. the NRM and the National Mining Museum) and with smaller regional museums, several of which have never previously worked with academic researchers. Via our partners we also have links both to major heritage organizations - the National Trust for England and Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, the Science Museums Group - and local organizations, such as the Dundee Heritage Trust. Because our research directly features the local areas served by every museum, most of which are located in post-industrial towns or regions, it has immediate relevance to the communities they work with. We seek to involve these communities not simply as audiences, but as interactive participants in our reading project and MOOCs, and as local researchers who can contribute material to the database, during and beyond the project's funded period.

Plans for impact, outlined in the letters of support, include:
- A portable exhibition based on our research, divided into three subsections on textile factory workers, miners and railway workers. The textile workers' exhibition will tour Stanley Mills (Perthshire), Innerleithen Museum (Borders), Verdant Works (Dundee) and Quarry Bank Mill (Cheshire/Greater Manchester). The mining exhibition will tour the National Coal Mining Museum (Wakefield) and the Scottish National Mining Museum (Newtongrange). The railway exhibition will be displayed at events hosted by the National Railway Museum (York/Shildon). At the end of the project, the whole exhibition will be brought together in Manchester. We are also involved in an international digital exhibition and a library exhibition.
- Events linked to these exhibitions: we will have replicable public-facing events hosted by each museum and library partner; these will include talks, readings, song and music, family workshops and schools events.
- Music: our partners include well-known Northern folk and broadside singer Jennifer Reid and Scottish traditional musicians Gillian Frame and Findlay Napier. By incorporating materials from our research into their performances and new songs, these materials will be revived for music audiences. As the letters of support indicate, there are strong possibilities that these songs will be included on future CDs and become part of performance repertoire beyond project-sponsored events.
- Theatre: our partnership with Lanarkshire playwright Martin Travers, producer Guy Hollands and the Citizens' Theatre Glasgow will result in a play, in Scots, based on Scottish miners' lives and writing in our period, 'Sing Up the Songs o' Iron and Coal'. We will record a staged reading of the play, produced with drama students from New College Lanarkshire, for our website.
- Trades union involvement: we will run an educational workshop/course with the GFTU.
We consciously limited our number of project partners, and anticipate working with a number of other interested museums and libraries. Overall, 'Piston, Pen & Press' will have a long-term impact on how industrial heritage museums work with literary materials and represent historical workers' cultural engagements, and on how communities served by these museums view their local literary heritage.
 
Title A Dark Matter/mining poems 
Description When the performance of Martin Travers's play was cancelled due to Covid-19, we worked with director Guy Holland, Travers, and the drama students from New College to record one scene. We also worked with the drama students to record a series of Scots mining poems, now on a Youtube playlist. 
Type Of Art Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) 
Year Produced 2020 
Impact Reaches wider audience than would have been possible via one performance, positive feedback from those viewing/using the videos. 
URL https://www.pistonpenandpress.org/mining-matters-play-and-poems/
 
Title A Daurk Maiter - dramatic script 
Description A play in Scots by Martin Travers, centred on a group of young Lanarkshire miners in the 1880s. The central narrative is a romance between aspiring poets Charlie, a miner, and Rose, who works at the miners' lodging house. 
Type Of Art Creative Writing 
Year Produced 2019 
Impact Workshop and first reading of the play are listed under engagement activities. Feedback from the young people involved as performers and the first audiences suggest a shift in attitudes towards this historical period, and in some cases towards the use of Scots in performance. 
 
Title Exhibition 'Literature in the Factories & Mills' 
Description Exhibition consisting of 8 banner stands featuring research findings from the project. 
Type Of Art Artistic/Creative Exhibition 
Year Produced 2019 
Impact Exhibition was seen by over 3000 visitors to Verdant Works (the Jute Museum) in Dundee and Dundee Central Library. From February 2020 it was also on display at New Lanark World Heritage Site (collected from there in 2021). Feedback from visitors was very positive, and the exhibition resulted in a new collaboration between the Central Library and Verdant Works, which lent each other material objects to display alongside the banners. In autumn 2021 the exhibition was on display at Bradford Industrial Museum, in spring-summer 2022 at Quarry Bank Mill, and from August-December 2022 at Hawick Heritage Hub. Feedback from curators and reported feedback from visitors was very positive. 
 
Title Exhibition 'Literature in the Mines' 
Description Exhibition consists of 8 banner stands featuring research findings from the project. 
Type Of Art Artistic/Creative Exhibition 
Year Produced 2019 
Impact The exhibition banners were on display at North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre as part of their 'Rhyme and Reason' exhibition on local writers. Blair advised the exhibition team and shared her research findings on North Lanarkshire writings. Feedback from the heritage officers and members of the public was very positive and the exhibition resulted in a new and ongoing partnership between North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre and 'Piston, Pen & Press'. In 2021/2 the exhibition banners were on display at the Working-Class Movement Library. Blair gave an associated talk. In autumn/winter 2022 the exhibition banners were on display at the Scottish National Mining Museum. Blair gave an associated talk, with musical performance (see 'Engagement') 
 
Title Literature on the Railways 
Description Exhibition consisting of 8 pop-up banners highlighting our research into railway workers and their literary pursuits. On display at National Railway Museum, York, from autumn 2021 
Type Of Art Artistic/Creative Exhibition 
Year Produced 2021 
Impact Exhibition still on display, positive feedback received from museum visitors 
 
Title Songs from the Mines 
Description Gillian Frame and Findlay Napier recorded a set of songs written by miners, these were added to the database and performed by Napier (see 'Engagement'). 
Type Of Art Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) 
Year Produced 2022 
Impact This is too early to tell. Audience at event were engaged and reported significant interest. 
 
Title The Factory Muses performance 
Description This is both composition and performance. Three musicians (Gillian Frame, Findlay Napier, Jennifer Reid) took lyrics by millworkers located through the project and either wrote new settings for them or selected an existing traditional tune for the words. The songs plus spoken introductions by Blair were then incorporated into a performance (see engagement activities). 
Type Of Art Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) 
Year Produced 2019 
Impact Audience feedback suggests a change in awareness and attitudes towards workers' writing as a result of this performance. 
 
Title The Factory Muses: Youtube videos and audio playlist of factory songs 
Description When planned concerts by our partner musicians Gillian Frame, Findlay Napier and Jennifer Reid were cancelled, they agreed to record some of their songs and we were able to edit and post these to the project website for the benefit of a wider audience. 
Type Of Art Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) 
Year Produced 2020 
Impact Positive feedback from viewers, videos being circulated and used by other groups. 
URL https://www.pistonpenandpress.org/the-factory-muses-songs-from-the-victorian-mills/
 
Title Working-Class Readers in Manchester and Salford 
Description Exhibition co-designed for the Working-Class Movement Library on spaces of reading in 19thc Manchester and Salford 
Type Of Art Artistic/Creative Exhibition 
Year Produced 2022 
Impact Exhibition on display as of Feb 2022, no notable impacts at time of writing 
 
Description The open-access database contains over 1000 entries related to people, literary works, associations and workplaces from the long nineteenth century. This is the largest collection of literary works by industrial workers available, and one of the most substantial resources on working-class writers. The full-text poems and prose extracts are already being used for undergraduate teaching on a number of courses. The database adds very substantially to our knowledge of what industrial workers wrote, as well as included short biographies of hundreds of previously unknown writers. The project has overall been transformational in our understanding of industrial workers and their participation in literary and associational culture, and has reached wide audiences through our four FutureLearn courses, our touring exhibitions (with two still on display and one about to go on display as of spring 2024), and our public engagement activities.
Exploitation Route Our findings are already integrated into the 'Catalogue of Labouring-Class Poets', managed by Prof John Goodridge, which is the most extensive resource listing working-class poets in the 18th and 19th century. They were also included in a new set of ODNB entries on working-class writers, to which Blair and Sanders contributed. Through this project Blair was involved in a large funding bid (Applying and Representing Industrial Crafts) and is developing plans for applications with new partners. We have also been working to share our data with the Science Museums Group.
Sectors Culture

Heritage

Museums and Collections

URL http://www.pistonpenandpress.org
 
Description Impact-related activities are entered in the relevant sections. Project research has been used: In creative outputs In exhibitions In schools workshops and workshops with community groups In three MOOCs The impact resulting from this project formed a substantive part of a REF 2021 case study at the University of Strathclyde.
First Year Of Impact 2019
Sector Creative Economy,Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
Impact Types Cultural

Societal

 
Title Piston, Pen & Press 
Description The primary digital outcome of the project, a database containing information on industrial workers and their writings. Contains the full-text of a substantial number of poems, a mapping facility to associate workers with workplace and location, and links to readings and songs of selected poems (audio and video). 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2022 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Contact from members of the public in relation to entries. Working with Science Museums Group on integrating data into one of their funded projects. 
URL https://www.pistonpenandpress.org/database/
 
Description Industrial Crafts Research Network 
Organisation Nottingham Trent University
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Via this project I became part of the steering committee for this new international network. Oliver Betts (CI) and myself participated in the inaugural online 2-day symposium in autumn 2021.
Collaborator Contribution Through this partnership with a new research network we are developing future grant bids, discussing collaborative opportunities with colleagues in different disciplines (e.g. Design, Computing) and are in contact with several new museum partners in the Midlands.
Impact Multi-disciplinary: History, English Literature, Design, Engineering, Computing Science, Heritage and Museum Studies
Start Year 2021
 
Description Industrial Crafts Research Network 
Organisation University of California, Irvine
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Via this project I became part of the steering committee for this new international network. Oliver Betts (CI) and myself participated in the inaugural online 2-day symposium in autumn 2021.
Collaborator Contribution Through this partnership with a new research network we are developing future grant bids, discussing collaborative opportunities with colleagues in different disciplines (e.g. Design, Computing) and are in contact with several new museum partners in the Midlands.
Impact Multi-disciplinary: History, English Literature, Design, Engineering, Computing Science, Heritage and Museum Studies
Start Year 2021
 
Description Workshop with Finnish Labor Museum, Tampere 
Organisation Finnish Labor Museum
Country Finland 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution We co-organized a workshop with the curator, Kalle Kallio, at the museum in June 2019. We invited 10 British, European and international scholars/museum and library professionals to present on their research, as well as presentations from members of the project team.
Collaborator Contribution The museum provided the venue and staff time to assist with conference organization as in-kind costs. They also provided a drinks reception and tour of the Lenin Museum in Tampere. Mr Kallio advertised the workshop to European colleagues, and a number of his Finnish colleagues attended.
Impact Currently completing proposal for co-edited volume of papers from this workshop. A follow-up event focused on international working-class writing was held online in autumn 2020, though the museum was not an immediate participant.
Start Year 2018
 
Description Blog posts 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Four blog posts, two of which introduce unknown working-class poets and our new findings on their work. Another post highlights creative work produced by primary school children as a follow-up activity to Blair's 2019 workshops. Posts by Kirstie Blair, Lauren Weiss and Mike Sanders.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.pistonpenandpress.org/blog/
 
Description British Academy Warton Lecture on English Poetry 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Delivered the British Academy Warton Lecture on English Poetry in London, May 2019. The lecture was recorded and made available online as a podcast. Attendees were drawn from academia and from the general public.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://soundcloud.com/britishacademy/piston-and-pen/s-BQd7s
 
Description Centre for Lifelong Learning talk 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact November 2019 talk organized via CLL and advertised to their students (adult learners). Talk was on the 'Piston, Pen & Press' findings.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Community group workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Two workshops with the 'Time for You' community group in Cumbernauld, Lanarkshire. This is a women's support group for those experiencing loneliness or mental health issues.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019,2020
 
Description Continued delivery of 3 MOOCs 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact In 2020 we ran our three FutureLearn courses several times, including over the March-August lockdown period in the UK when they were very popular, especially with an audience of over-70s. 'Working Lives on the Railways' ran twice, 'Working Lives in the Coal-Mines' twice, and 'Working Lives in the Factories & Mills' once. All three courses remained open after their designated end-date at FutureLearn's request, so that additional learners could join in. Blair, Sanders and Betts recorded fortnightly Zoom videos for these courses discussing learner comments, and engaged on a daily basis with learners and their questions. Over 6000 learners signed up for these courses.

Feb 2022 update: these courses are still live and have attracted over 11,000 learners during their runs and very positive feedback.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/working-lives-on-the-railway
 
Description Creation of project Youtube channel 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact As a result of the Covid-19 lockdown we set up a dedicated Youtube channel to host recordings of poems and songs linked to the project, and our 'Shoddy Court' reading group videos. It currently hosts 15 videos
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZPesqB5ZIB8eD-uSlIwJow
 
Description Design and delivery of 3 MOOCs 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Designed 3 4-week FutureLearn MOOCs incorporating material from the 'Piston, Pen & Press' project and working with project partners:
1. 'Working Lives on Britain's Railways: Railway History and Heritage' (co-designed with CI Dr Oliver Betts, in partnership with National Railway Museum)
2. 'Working Lives in the Coal-Mines: Mining History and Heritage' (co-designed with Prof Arthur McIvor (member of project advisory board), in partnership with English, Welsh and Scottish mining museums)
3. 'Working Lives in the Factories & Mills: Textile History and Heritage' (co-designed with CI Dr Mike Sanders, in partnership with New Lanark, Quarry Bank Mill, Verdant Works, Stanley Mills)
As of the start of the second run, Feb 2020, over 5000 learners have taken these courses.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019,2020
URL https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/working-lives-on-the-railway
 
Description Devil's Porridge Museum talk 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Talk for the Devil's Porridge museum on the magazines produced by WW1 munitions workers
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Edinburgh Bibliographic Society talk 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Zoom talk on Scottish newspapers to Edinburgh Bibliographic Society, 21 January 2021. 60-70 attendees, both from the society and from the wider public/academia
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description First reading of Martin Travers' play, A Daurk Maiter 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Drama students from New College Lanarkshire performed a reading of scenes from Martin Travers' new play, A Daurk Maiter, directed by Guy Hollands of the Citizens Theatre. The play is an output of the project and contains project research. The scenes were introduced by Blair. This took place at North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre, September 2019.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Guest lecture on 'World Literatures' Queen's University Belfast 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact In January 2020 I gave a lecture on Victorian industrial workers and emigrant literatures to the adult learners in the Continuing Education 'World Literatures' class. at Queen's University Belfast. c.120 people attended.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Institute for Railway Studies talk 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Talk on literary railway workers and the project at the Institute for Railway Studies seminar, National Railway Museum, November 2019. After this event, met with lead curator to discuss future collaborations after success of the 'Working Lives on Britain's Railways' MOOC.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Joan Leach Memorial Lecture 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact I gave the Joan Leach Memorial Lecture based on research undertaken as part of the 'Piston, Pen & Press' to 40 members of the Gaskell Society at their AGM held in Knutsford with another 20-30 members attending by video link. My presentation was followed by a Q&A session and the Gaskell Society reported an increased knowledge and interest in aspects of working-class literature as a result of the talk.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/autumn-meeting-21/
 
Description Joan Leach Memorial Lecture for the Gaskell Society 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact I gave the Gaskell's Society annual Joan Leach Memorial Lecture in September 2021. The talk was delivered to a dual audience (in-person and online attendees) and was followed by a Q&A session. The talk drew extensively on research undertaken as part of the 'Piston, Pen & Press' project. The Gaskell Society reported that many of the attendees now considered themselves much better informed about the relationship between Gaskell's literature and the condition of the working-class in C19 industrial Manchester.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://gaskellsociety.co.uk/event/autumn-meeting-21/
 
Description Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society Nov 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact I gave a talk based on research conducted as part of the 'Piston, Pen & Press' project to 20 members of the Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society. My presentation was followed by a Q&A session, and the Society reported an increased interest in C19 working-class poetry in the Ashton area amongst its members.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society November 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact I gave a live online talk (followed by a Q&A) on the C19 working-class poets of Ashton-under-Lyne to the Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society. The purpose of the talk was to disseminate research undertaken as part of the 'Piston, Pen & Press' project. Around 20 members of the Society attended the talk and the Society afterwards reported an increased interest in C19 working-class literature as a result of the talk.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Mechanics' Institute conference panel 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact The project team delivered a panel session at the Mechanics' Institute conference in autumn 2021, which attracted a mixed audience of members of the public, academics, local historians etc.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.hw.ac.uk/alumni/watt-club/mechanics-institute-worldwide-2021.htm
 
Description Meeting with Gallery Oldham 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact In January 2022, I met with the Collections Assistant at Gallery Oldham to discuss ways in which research undertaken by the 'Piston, Pen & Press' project could be used to inform and support a planned future exhibition marking the centenary of the death of Sam Fitton in 2023. Gallery Oldham expressed an interest in using the project's Sam Fitton exhibition banner and accompanying booklet. Additionally, I have been invited to deliver a workshop as part of the planned exhibition.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Mining Museum COP26 event 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Delivered talk on mining heritage and its role in developing the mine water geothermal industry, at a COP26 online event hosted by the Scottish National Mining Museum.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Musical performance 'The Factory Muses' at Sloan's Bar, Glasgow 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Performance by Gillian Frame, Findlay Napier and Jennifer Reid (project partners) of millworkers' songs from Scotland and the North. In a public venue in Glasgow, November 2019.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Musical performance 'The Factory Muses' at Verdant Works, Dundee 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Musical performance by Gillian Frame and Findlay Napier (project partners) at Verdant Works, of millworkers' songs found through the project. Songs introduced by Blair. This was in conjunction with the display of the 'Literature in the Factories & Mills' exhibition.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Musical performance - 'The Factory Muses' online concert 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact June 2021 online concert by Gillian Frame and Findlay Napier, project partners
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description National Education Union Nov 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact I gave a talk informed by research undertaken as part of the 'Piston, Pen & Press' project to regional members of the National Education Union. The talk was followed by a discussion on ways in which this research could be used to inform classroom practice.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Northumberland Archives talk 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Online talk on miners' libraries for Northumberland Archives
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://hi-in.facebook.com/northumberlandarchives/posts/you-dont-have-to-wait-a-whole-month-for-our-...
 
Description Ongoing Gallery Redevelopment at the National Railway Museum 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Ongoing work within the National Railway Museum to disseminate our research findings, which are feeding into long-term display plans for both the York site and Locomotion (our sister museum in County Durham). Work was presentation and informal discussion based, working with curatorial and exhibition colleagues, and with the museum's cohort of PhD students.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019,2020,2021,2022
 
Description Paisley Poets workshop - H-Arts 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Workshop with participants in the H-Arts Start Project 'The Lost Language of Making.' This was a community arts project working with unemployed people in Paisley, asking them to create works around the history of the local textile industry. I shared our project's findings and our research into Paisley millworkers in an online workshop.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.facebook.com/H.artscreate
 
Description Partner meeting and project introduction 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact We invited all our formal project partners and others interested in joining the project to a meeting and networking event over lunch. Participants were introduced to each other, briefly discussed their interest in the project, and the team gave a presentation outlining our plans, explaining how partners could get involved, and highlighting a few examples of our initial findings.

Partners in attendance: 2 staff from Scottish National Mining Museum, 1 staff member from Stanley Mills, 4 musicians (Gillian Frame, Findlay Napier, Jennifer Reid, Paul Sartin), 2 representatives Leadhills Trust, 1 staff member from Dundee Leisure and Culture, 1 staff member from Finnish Labor Museum, Citizens' Theatre producer (Guy Holland), 4 PhD students from Strathclyde, 1 staff member from National Railway Museum.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Performance and talk for Scottish National Mining Museum 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Performance of mining songs by Findlay Napier at the Scottish National Mining Museum, with Blair providing contextual talk.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Performance at Hawick Heritage Hub 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Performance of millworkers' songs with contextual talk by Blair, 9 Nov 2022
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Podcast with North-East Voices 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Worked with the North-East Voices team on a podcast about miner poets in the region.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://open.spotify.com/episode/2PMza8fkAztN2PortekNjd
 
Description Poetry workshop - Stanley schools 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact Creative workshop delivered at Stanley primary school and newsletter produced showcasing work of pupils.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Primary school workshops 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact Ran 28 workshops on local Lanarkshire working-class writers and/or on mining poetry and song from Lanarkshire with primary schools in the region. This was via a new partnership with North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre. Also delivered a talk to c100 14-15 year old students at Airdrie Academy, on working-class writers from Airdrie.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019,2020
 
Description Science & Industry Museum Oct 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact I presented research findings from the 'Piston, Pen & Press' project to an audience of 8 curators at the Science and Industry Museum, Manchester. The presentation was followed by an extended discussion with the curators about the ways in which the project's research could be used to inform the display of exhibits in the future (particularly when the textile gallery reopens).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Science & Industry Museum October 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact I visited the Science & Industry Museum in Manchester to present research findings from the 'Piston, Pen & Press' project to curators, researchers and exhibition/events organisers from the museum. Following the presentation, we discussed ways in which the project's research could be used to inform future activity at the museum, particularly in relation to the Textiles Gallery.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Science Museum Research Seminar Paper 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact 25 curators, students, and academics attended a seminar presentation at the Dana Centre (the Science Museum's Research Centre) on the relationship between industrial workers, reading, and museum collections, with questions and discussion following on.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/research-seminar-series
 
Description Shoddy Court online reading group 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Ran two 'seasons' 8 sessions of an online reading group, supplying material from the project and introductory videos on our website. Some sessions sponsored by external organizations e.g. the Gaskell Society. Attendance varied from 8-40 people depending on the week and the topic, with a group of regular attendees consisting of members of the public and graduate students/academics from other institutions.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.pistonpenandpress.org/reading-project/
 
Description Shoddy Court online reading group 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Continuation of our online reading group project: four meetings in late spring/summer 2021
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.pistonpenandpress.org/reading-project/
 
Description Short films for the Working-Class Movement Library x 6 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact In December 2021, I made 6 short films for the Working-Class Movement Library's (WCML) Youtube channel. These films were designed to support the 'Literature in the Mines' exhibition which had gone on display at the WCML and to provide a sense of the exhibition to people unable to attend in person due to covid-19 restrictions. At the current moment the 6 films have received 178 views. The Librarian reported an increased interest in the Library's mining and literature collections following the exhibition and related films.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rjrk0m28DQ
 
Description Stanley Mills talk 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Talk to residents of Stanley about Stanley Mills and their local poets/reading groups. This talk led to the formation of a new reading group in Stanley.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Talk (Leigh Town Hall) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact In February 2022 I gave a talk on the miner turned author, John Monk Foster, at Leigh Town Hall on behalf of the Wigan & Leigh Archives. The talk was attended by around 20 people and was followed by a Q&A. During the Q&A a number of people expressed an intention to visit the Archive to take a look at the Monk Foster collection. Wigan & Leigh Archives also invited me to contribute a short piece on Monk Foster to their 'Past Forward' magazine.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Talk at Verdant Works (the Jute Museum) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact A talk on 'Dundee Workers and Their Writings', co-delivered with Dr Erin Farley of Dundee Central Library in Oct 2019, at the Verdant Works museum in Dundee. This was in conjunction with the display of the 'Literature in the Factories & Mills' exhibition.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Talk for the Working-Class Movement Library 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact I gave a talk on the poet John Stafford at the Working-Class Movement Library to an audience consisting of in-person and on-line attendees. The talk was also recorded and posted on the Library's Youtube channel. Around 150 people attended the talk and at the current moment 198 people have watched the Youtube video. The Librarian reported a subsequent increase in the Library's collection of C19 working-class literature as a result of the talk.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESrGhx2qfeg&t=461s
 
Description Talk to National Education Union (Tameside) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact I delivered an in-person talk followed by a Q&A and discussion on the poet John Stafford to a meeting of the Tameside region of the National Education Union. The purpose of the meeting was to disseminate research undertaken as part of the 'Piston, Pen & Press' project and to discuss the ways in which it might be used to support/enrich classroom activities.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Talk to New Mills Local History Society 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Talk to New Mills Local History Society on 'Literacy and literature in C19th industrial communities' showcasing research from the 'Piston, Pen & Press' project. It was attended by around 70 people and a lively discussion followed the talk.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Twitter account 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact We set up a Twitter feed in Oct 2018. We have 210 followers and have experienced relatively significant activity on the feed.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://twitter.com/PistonPen
 
Description Videos for the Working-Class Movement Library 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact I made a series of 6 short films for the Working-Class Movement Library to support the 'Literature in the Mines' exhibition, providing an online version of the exhibition for people unable to attend in person due to covid-19 restrictions. The 'Literature in the Mines' exhibition was based on research undertaken as part of the 'Piston, Pen & Press' project. To date the films have received around 180 views. The Working-Class Movement Library reported increased interest in their holdings of working-class literature following the release of the films.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rjrk0m28DQ
 
Description WCML talk x2 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Online talk for the Working-Class Movement Library on mining heritage and literature, Nov 2021. Online talk with Iona Craig (PhD student attached to this project) for the Working-Class Movement Library in February 2022, on working-class readers in Manchester and Salford.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.wcml.org.uk/whats-on/events/deagln--donghaile-talk-oscar-wilde-art-socialism-and-the-wor...
 
Description Webinars for GFTU/WEA 'Their Legacy, Our Heritage' series 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact I delivered two online webinars, 'The Chartists' and 'Songs Making History' drawing on research undertaken as part of the project, as part of an online series entitled 'Their Legacy, Our Heritage' organised by the General Federation of Trades Unions (GFTU) and the Workers Educational Association. Both webinars were limited to a maximum attendance of 50. The General Secretary of the GFTU referred to the success of the series in reviving interest in aspects of working-class and labour history and their are discussions about offering the programme again later in 2023.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://gftu.org.uk/wea-and-gftu-collaboration/
 
Description Website, blog and twitter 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact In October 2018 our website and blog went live:
https://www.pistonpenandpress.org/
We are currently attracting around 200 hits per month, of which at present 50% are new hits. These come from more than 15 different countries. We cannot tell who our users are, but they are likely to be drawn primarily from academia and the third sector, as well as other audiences e.g. local historians and community members interested in our research in their area.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.pistonpenandpress.org/
 
Description Wigan Archive Talk February 2022 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact I gave a talk entitled 'Exchanging the Pick for the Pen: John Monk Foster' in Leigh Town Hall on behalf of Wigan & Leigh archives. The talk was attended by around 20 people and was followed by a Q&A/discussion session. A number of the attendees said that they were planning on visiting the Archives to take a look at the Monk Foster collection.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Working-Class Movement Library 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact I gave a talk based on research undertaken as part of the 'Piston, Pen & Press' project' as part of the 'Hidden Histories' series run by the Working-Class Movement Library. The talk was given to a hybrid audience of in-person (7 people) and on-line attendees (80 people); it was also recorded for dissemination on the Library's YouTube channel where it has received 197 views so far. Chat comments during the talk indicated that many of the attendees felt that their knowledge and understanding of C19 working-class poetry had increased substantially as a result of the talk.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESrGhx2qfeg
 
Description Workshop with drama students on Travers' play 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact The audience for this event was students at an FE college. This workshop at the Citizens Theatre (a project partner) introduced them to the historical and cultural background of Martin Travers' script for his play about Lanarkshire miners, A Daurk Maiter, including discussion of poetry-writing miners and Lanarkshire's local literary cultures.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019