Bulletin of Geography. Socio–economic Series / No. 36 (2017): 61–75 BULLETIN OF GEOGRAPHY. SOCIO–ECONOMIC SERIES DE journal homepages: http://www.bulletinofgeography.umk.pl/ http://wydawnictwoumk.pl/czasopisma/index.php/BGSS/index http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/bog ISSN 1732–4254 quarterly G The Ironbridge Gorge Heritage Site and its local and regional functions Waldemar CudnyCDMFPR University of Łódź, Institute of Tourism and Economic Development, Tomaszów Mazowiecki Branch, ul. Konstytucji 3 Maja 65/67, 97-200 Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland; phone +48 447 249 720; email: [email protected] How to cite: Cudny W., 2017: The Ironbridge Gorge Heritage Site and its local and regional functions. In: Chodkowska-Miszczuk, J. and Szy- mańska, D. editors, Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series, No. 36, Toruń: Nicolaus Copernicus University, pp. 61–75. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/bog-2017-0014 Abstract. The article is devoted to the issue of heritage and its functions. Based Article details: on the existing literature, the author presents the definition of heritage, the classi- Received: 06 March 2015 fication of heritage resources, and its most important impacts. The aim of the -ar Revised: 15 December 2016 ticle was to show the functions that may be performed by a heritage site, locally Accepted: 02 February 2017 and regionally. The example used by the author is the Ironbridge Gorge Heritage Site in the United Kingdom. Most heritage functions described by other authors are confirmed in this case study. The cultural heritage of the Ironbridge Gorge creates an opportunity to undertake various local and regional activities, having first of all an educational influence on the inhabitants, school youth and tourists. We must not ignore the economicinfluences, such as financing the activity of the Ironbridge Trust (the institution administering the site), generating income for lo- Key words: cal firms providing service to tourists, or for construction companies. This income Ironbridge Gorge, helps to preserve and conserve the tangible heritage of the Ironbridge Gorge, as United Kingdom, well as to generate jobs in heritage management, conservation and heritage tour- heritage functions, ism. Other effects of the Ironbridge Gorge Site include a socio-cultural impact or tourism, that related to sustainable development. regeneration. © 2017 Nicolaus Copernicus University. All rights reserved. Contents: 1. Introduction . 62 2. Theoretical background ................................................................. 62 3. The Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site ................................................ 65 4. The results of the Ironbridge Trust activity ................................................ 69 5. Summary.............................................................................. 72 © 2017 Nicolaus Copernicus University. All rights reserved. © 2017 De Gruyter Open (on-line). 62 Waldemar Cudny / Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series / 36 (2017): 61–75 1. Introduction 2. Theoretical background The question often asked nowadays is: what is cul- Originally, heritage was a legal and cultural term re- tural heritage, how it can be classified and why it ferring to passing down parents’ assets to their suc- is important for the development of societies and cessors. In the 18th c., in France, the term started economies (Harvey, 2001). Heritage and its role to be used to talk about national legacy. The fol- were perceived differently at different times. Cur- lowing centuries brought further changes as regards rently, it is believed that heritage itself and heritage the understanding of heritage; there appeared in- studies do not refer to the past which the heritage ternational organizations and legal regulations re- elements come from, as much as to their current garding heritage (Vecco, 2010). The concept of meaning and application. This generates a discus- heritage was first introduced into international law sion about the main heritage functions, i.e. what it in 1907. Subsequent international legal acts started can be used for (Graham, Howard, 2008). to be constructed in the 1950s by the United Na- Socio-cultural changes in today’s societies, in- tions Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organiza- cluding the departure from one-nation heritage and tion (UNESCO) and the International Council on moving towards the complex heritage of foreign cul- Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) (Blake, 2000; Ya- tures connected with migrations are widely discussed haya, 2006). (Ashwort, Graham, 1997; Littler, Naidoo, 2004). An The word heritage has many meanings which important issue is the role heritage plays in educa- have been changing over time. It has strong links tion, as well as in personal and social group devel- with the past, represents some sort of inheritance opment. This function may be analysed using the passed down to the next generations. It includes example of school groups’ visits or cultural or herit- natural components, as well as elements of hu- age tourism, where the visits have an educational and man tangible and intangible culture. Following the cognitive character (Richards, 2001; Robinson, 2010). values adopted in a given socio-cultural area, the There is also the important issue of supporting society decides what is worth preserving and pass- cultural heritage financially. Money is needed for ing down as heritage (Dallen, Boyd, 2003). Herit- the conservation and protection of heritage sites. age studies feature two most common approaches. It is a difficult question whether cultural heritage The first one involves an analysis of what heritage sites should be financed from public funds or re- is, while the other one – how it should be selected main self-financing entities (Raedy, Navrud, 2002). and interpreted (Carman, 2002). Earlier definitions In this article, the author presents the main local put a greater emphasis on the elements constitut- and regional heritage functions, using the example of ing heritage. Bowes (1989: 36) wrote that “…herit- the Ironbridge Gorge: a British heritage site connect- age must be broadly defined to encompass not only ed with the history of the Industrial Revolution and major historic sites and institutions, but the entire perceived as one of the most valuable heritage sites landscape of the region with its geographic base: of this kind in Europe. There are books which de- farms and field patterns, roads, harbours, industri- scribe heritage functions but there are not many con- al structures, villages and main streets, commercial cise articles presenting these functions on the basis establishments and of course, the people themselves of an individual and complete case study. The aim of and their traditions and economic activities.” this article is to observe the ways and purposes of us- Recent research papers have been presenting ing heritage locally and regionally, on the example of a discussion on the different ways of understand- the Ironbridge Gorge. Other aims include presenting ing and interpreting heritage (Urry, 1995). Moreo- definitions of heritage, classifying it and presenting ver, heritage started to include some contemporary its main functions, based on literature. The author elements, e.g. certain old but still cultivated tradi- used several research methods, including direct ob- tions and behaviours (see: Smith, 2006). It is ac- servation, conversations with the employees of the cepted that the significance of heritage depends Ironbridge Institute, and the analysis of the Iron- on many elements, such as individual and social bridge Trust reports, literature and Internet sources. evaluation, the historical period, economic condi- Waldemar Cudny / Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series / 36 (2017): 61–75 63 tions, or political system (Henderson, 2011). Herit- values of heritage. As Ahmad (2006: 297) wrote, age is gaining an increasingly pluralistic character, “The importance of intangible values as part of her- because nowadays we deal with a diversity of her- itage was emphasized by UNESCO when it adopted itage, as well as a multitude of actors influencing a convention in 2003 that helped to protect intan- and creating it, which results from the variety of gible cultural heritage, which was defined as: prac- cultures existing in contemporary western multi- tices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills, cultural societies (see: Tunbridge, 2008). It can be instruments, objects, artifacts and cultural spac- assumed that heritage in the present context is re- es associated with communities, groups and in- ferring “to the ways in which very selective past dividuals.” In another part of Ahmad publication material artifacts, natural landscapes, mythologies, (2006: 298), we find a description of tangible values: memories and traditions become cultural, political “…in 1999 UNESCO clarified the scope of tangible and economic resource for the present” (Graham, (heritage) values as cultural properties to include Howard, 2008: 2). “Heritage is therefore ultimate- monuments, groups of buildings and sites (Arti- ly a cultural practice, involved in the construction cle 23:5)…” An interesting division of heritage ob- and regulation of a range of values and understand- jects can be found in the work by Carman (2002: ings” (Smith, 2006: 11). As Smith (2006: 1-2) wrote, 35-36). He distinguished movable objects of herit- “Heritage wasn’t only about the past – though it was age, sites and monuments distinguished from their that too – it also wasn’t just about material things