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30 NIGEL LINGE NIGEL LINGE On why heritage matters

Rugby Radio tuning coil in the gallery at the Science Museum. OUR HERITAGE In today’s mobile, digital world, quality of our places. We recognise that gives the customer confidence in their latest telecommunications impacts while some of today’s achievements may offerings. Children visiting museums and become tomorrow’s heritage our existing galleries can be inspired to consider virtually every aspect of our daily heritage assets are also simply telecommunications as a future career and lives. Such is the pace of change irreplaceable. We believe in encouraging a hence, become the engineers of tomorrow. that we constantly seek news of wider involvement in our heritage, in order Indeed it is often easier to explain the basic the latest technological to ensure that everyone, both today and in principles of telecommunications when the future, has an opportunity to discover demonstrating or explaining heritage development that will transform their connection to those who have come equipment. smart phones into even smarter before.” phones, high definition televisions Heritage however, is fragile for it can be Similarly, English Heritage2 recognises that, easily destroyed through neglect or apathy into ultra high definition ones, 4G “the invention of telecommunications, from and once gone it is very difficult, if not networks into 5G networks and the telegraph to the , has impossible, to recover. the Internet into the Internet of revolutionised society and has produced not Things. The companies that only its own heritage of structures and BT’s unique position artefacts but also new patterns of workplace Within the telecommunications industry, BT provide all of these products and and work styles. The pace of many of these has a unique position not only as the world’s services have to keep innovating developments has been so rapid that much oldest national telecommunications for commercial survival in a of the evidence for those developments is company and former publicly owned regulated and competitive market extremely vulnerable”. corporation but also because it has a statutory obligation to preserve and make place. Our identity is very often reflected in our available as public records its archives from heritage too. Consider the merchandising 1846, when the Electric Telegraph Company In a world that is increasingly driven by what that accompanied the 2012 was formed, to 1984, when it became a is coming tomorrow, why should we care Olympics; the red kiosk could be privatised company. Indeed those about what happened yesterday, a year ago found everywhere yet these icons of documents, which now form part of a larger or last century? telecommunications heritage are rarely BT Archives, have been awarded used today. When making telephone calls Designated Status by the Arts Council The answer is very simple. Heritage matters. we still talk about ‘dialling’ people even England and included within the UNESCO It can be a force of good for education, though the rotary dial phone disappeared Memory of the World Register in recognition social wellbeing, marketing and even long ago but its image continues to live on in of both their national and international commercial advantage. The Government1 the icons found on our computers, websites significance and importance3. This believes that, “the historic environment is an and smart phones. Companies that have a commitment to heritage is ongoing within asset of enormous cultural, social, economic rich history of innovation often exploit that the privatised BT and is realised through and environmental value. It makes a very when promoting new products, believing their heritage policy4 which is approved by real contribution to our quality of life and the that an association with a past success the BT Board and partnership projects that

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Figure 3: The Telephone Museum at Milton Keynes Museum (top) and Connecting Manchester Gallery at the Museum of Science and Industry Reproduced with kind permission of the Figure 1: BT Museum, Baynard House, London (1982 -1997) Reproduced with kind permission of BT Archives Museum of Science and Industry have, for example, recently resulted in the two years, managed in partnership with digitisation of a large part of their archives5. museum and archives professionals. The The transition from public corporation to online virtual museum was pioneering at privatised company did however, have an this time and today acts as a repository of impact on how BT managed and preserved historical, technical and social information, its heritage. Prior to privatisation, BT had educational content, oral histories and links established a number of permanent and to the partner museums. temporary displays and small museums at various exchanges throughout the country, The partner museums were chosen on the most notably in Norwich, Taunton, Oxford basis that they already had an established and Leith (Edinburgh). These were ad-hoc in Figure 2: Connected Earth partner museums interest in telecommunications, were nature and were often created through the prepared to enter into a formal agreement efforts of a few enthusiastic engineers and collection of some 40,000 objects and tens with BT for the development of their Institution of British Telecom Engineers of thousands of items of ephemera [1]. If it interpretation brief and transfer of artefacts, (forerunner to the ITP) members. In 1982 BT was no longer viable for a privatised BT to offered a geographic spread and opened its own national museum located at sustain its own museum then a different represented a mix of large, small, Baynard House in London (Figure 1) into and potentially innovative approach was independent and public body organisations. which was amalgamated many of the needed. The funding from BT provided support to collections and artefacts that had been on these partners to establish new galleries or display at its smaller and regionally This came in the form of the Connected refurbish existing ones and to fund dispersed outlets. Whilst this museum Earth project. At the heart of Connected curatorial staff posts to assist with the proved popular with school groups, the site Earth was a virtual, online museum6. This development of their respect offered limited future potential and was then supported by a network of telecommunications collections [2]. ultimately, from a commercial point of view, partnership museums through which BT’s BT decided that a visitor attraction was not a collection of artefacts would be dispersed Formal partnership agreements were signed practical option in which the company could for public display as part of existing or new with the Amberley Museum and Heritage confidently invest and deliver shareholder telecommunications galleries. Those Centre in West Sussex, Avoncroft Museum value. Consequently, BT Museum closed in artefacts that would ultimately be deemed of Historic Buildings in Worcestershire, 1997 and the collection was mothballed. In surplus for these requirements were Milton Keynes Museum, Museum of Science the same year, BT Archives, which was subsequently offered to any registered and Industry in Manchester, Museum of always separate from the museum, moved museum or sold off through a public auction London, National Museums of Scotland in to their new and current headquarters at the held in February 2003. Edinburgh, the Science Museum in London Holborn in London. and the Telegraph Museum Porthcurno in Officially launched at BT Tower in April 2002, Cornwall, as summarised and shown in The formation of Connected Earth Connected Earth thus became a national, Table 1 (see next page) and Figure 2. These As a privatised company, BT had acquired a but distributed collection, endowed by BT were complemented by BT Archives and the London-based museum, an artefact and funded with a budget of £6 million over Institute of Telecommunications

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Professionals whose members have over establishment of the national telephone Radio Station transmitter GBR which now the years played a critical role in the kiosk collection at Avoncroft Museum of takes centre stage at the newest gallery Connected Earth project, particularly the Historic Buildings which grew from an initial opened by a Connected Earth partner, dispersal process. three to 32 kiosks. namely Information Age at the Science Museum. Indeed BT continues to assist in During its 10 years, Connected Earth proved Working in partnership has enabled a unique identifying and securing key objects for extremely successful. All partner museums sharing of expertise, provided a much closer partner collections and is highly regarded opened new or refurbished galleries inter-working between BT and the museum within the museum sector not only for its promoting and celebrating sector and greatly improved the ability to heritage policy but also for the very thorough telecommunications. These include as identify and secure the preservation of key process it went through for the disposal and examples, the telephone museum at Milton telecommunications artefacts that were dispersal of its major artefact collection. By Keynes, the Connecting Manchester gallery scheduled for decommissioning or disposal. engaging with the telecommunications at the Museum of Science and Industry One of the largest such items secured for industry, museums have been able to tap (Figure 3), the telegraph galleries at the preservation by BT through Connected Earth into specialist technical knowledge, to Telegraph Museum Porthcurno and is the aerial tuning inductor from Rugby capture and record oral and written histories

Partner museum Location Focus and gallery Amberley Museum and Arundel An open air museum site dedicated to the industrial heritage of the south-east. The Heritage Centre Connected Earth Hall focuses on the “public face” of telecommunications using rare exhibits and hands-on displays. http://www.amberleymuseum.co.uk/ Avoncroft Museum of Bromsgrove England’s first open-air museum that preserves buildings and structures. It is home to Historic Buildings the National Telephone Kiosk Collection, featuring an example of every type of GPO/BT kiosk from 1921 to the present day. http://www.avoncroft.org.uk/ Milton Keynes Museum Wolverton The museum follows the history of the Milton Keynes area, including North Buckinghamshire and South Northamptonshire, from 1800 to the present day. The Telephone Museum explains the significance of “switching” (how calls and data finds its way through the telecommunications network), engineering and transmission (how information is physically moved through the network) using artefacts collected from the Milton Keynes area and further afield. http://www.mkmuseum.org.uk/ Museum of Science Manchester Exploring Manchester’s role as the first industrial city, where science met industry and and Industry the modern world began. The Connecting Manchester Gallery tells the story of the development of communications in the Manchester region. http://www.mosi.org.uk/ Museum of London London The Museum of London is one of the world’s largest urban history museums and tells the story of London and its people from prehistoric times to the present day. The role of telecommunications is told through artefacts located within the Galleries of Modern London. http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/london-wall/ National Museums Edinburgh The National Museum of Scotland covers science and art to nature and outer space, of Scotland examining the role and influence of Scotland. The Communicate gallery tells the story of human communication – from the drums of Papua New Guinea to Scottish pioneer , right up to mobile technology and beyond. Communicate Gallery is currently closed for refurbishment and will re-open in 2016. http://www.nms.ac.uk/ Science Museum London The Science Museum Group is one of the world’s leading museums of science, technology, industry and medicine. The new Information Age gallery celebrates 200 years of innovation in communication and information technologies through six networks covering: The Cable, The Telephone Exchange, Broadcast, The Constellation, The Cell and The Web. http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/ Telegraph Museum Porthcurno Porthcurno was the largest cable station in the world and is now a museum that tells the story of how undersea cables and technology connected the planet. http://www.porthcurno.org.uk/

Table 1: Connected Earth partner museums

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CONNECTED EARTH 33 of key events and technology innovations, formation of the Connecting Manchester ABOUT THE AUTHOR and to gain the support of professionals for gallery at the Museum of Science and the running of events, projects and Industry which opened in October 2007. Nigel Linge, conferences. Other new partners are now being sought to Professor of Telecommunications, ensure that Connected Earth is able to reach University of Salford Ten years on, the Connected Earth project out and engage with those areas of Nigel is an electronic engineer by profession had achieved all of its core objectives and in telecommunications that are currently who specialises in computer networks and every sense was a job well done. However, under-represented and hence, will broaden their applications, takes a keen interest in having established Connected Earth and its appeal and relevance. telecommunications heritage and is active provided significant funding to the venture, in public engagement. In 2014 he became BT were now seeking a supportive but not Connected Earth has pioneered the Chairman of Connected Earth having leading role. Equally, whilst wishing to preservation of telecommunications heritage previously chaired the Connected Earth continue, the partnership did recognise that within the UK and, through its unique Consulting Group at the request of BT. being perceived as a BT project, Connected partnership and support from BT, established Nigel is a member of the ITP. Earth could not easily recruit new partners a network of excellent public galleries, that would be able to address under- contributed to the recording and formal FOOTNOTES represented areas, such as developments dissemination of telecommunications within the mobile, cable and satellite heritage, promoted the national and 1The Government’s Statement on the industries for example. The challenge now international importance of Historic Environment for England was to determine how Connected Earth telecommunications, highlighted the UK’s 2010 should and could evolve. contribution and showcased its social and 2English Heritage Thematic Research economic impact. Now in a newly constituted Strategies, A Thematic Research Evolving Connected Earth form, Connected Earth is set fair to ensure that Strategy for the Historic Industrial The future of Connected Earth was debated this success continues and grows thereby Environment, July 2010 at length within its partnership and external securing our important telecommunications 3http://www.digitalarchives.bt. strategic Consulting Group. The outcome of heritage for future generations. com/web/arena/about this was a decision to evolve Connected 4http://www.btplc.com/Thegroup/ Earth into a Communications Heritage What can you do to help preserve our BTsHistory/BTgrouparchives/OurHerit Subject Specialist Network in which all heritage? agePolicy/index.htm existing members would become equal Hopefully this article has raised your 5http://www.digitalarchives.bt.com/ partners. Creating such a network would awareness and perhaps encouraged you web/arena also allow Connected Earth to recruit new to consider how you might be able to 6http://www.connected-earth.com/ partners from industry, academia, the help preserve and promote our professional body and museum sectors. A telecommunications heritage. There are REFERENCES new constitution was formally approved at a several things you can do. Why not visit one meeting held in May 2014 where it was of the Connected Earth museums? Maybe 1 Hay, D., (2006) Connected Earth and established that Connected Earth’s aim is to, you would like to offer your services as a BT’s Heritage Policy – an Innovative “Promote care, access to, and enjoyment of technical advisor, STEM Ambassador or Approach to Safeguarding the communications collections and archives. volunteer? Perhaps you would like to record Nation’s Telecommunications Legacy, Through research, stewardship and your own experiences of working within the The Journal of The Communications advocacy, the network will encourage telecommunications industry? You could Network, Volume 5, Part 1, pp107- wider enjoyment and knowledge of become the eyes and ears of Connected 116 communications heritage across the UK”. Earth, raising awareness of important 2 Taubman, A., (2004) One model for equipment that is about to be scrapped. the care of corporate heritage: The Connected Earth is therefore now going Finally, within your own organisation you BT Connected Earth partnership in through a transition phase as it builds on its could become a heritage champion and practice since 2002, Conference of significant legacy to ensure it is able to encourage colleagues and senior the European Communications continue and thrive in the future. One of the management to embrace the importance of Museums, 25 - 27 November 2004, first decisions of the newly constituted heritage and the opportunities it offers. Museum of Communication Bern group was to accept the University of Without an active engagement of the Salford as a formal partner. Salford had telecommunications profession, the ability to been working closely with Connected Earth preserve our heritage will at best be very over many years and was involved with the limited. Heritage needs you!

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