• Image of the old Bufferty pumping engine in the West Midlands from 1872 (contemporary sketch)

    Post-Pandemic Hope – Looking to October 2021

    From Plan A to Plan C! Our initial contingency plans to reschedule for May 2021 have been, predictably further disturbed by COVID19. The UK national lockdown in the new year underlined how serious the situation had become, BUT there is new hope with the successful vaccination programme well underway as we enter Spring 2021; indeed our conference venue – the Black Country Living Museum – is contributing to the vaccination programme in Dudley! In the interests of safety we have decided to postpone IEEC2 by a further 5 months, from May until October 2021. Specifically 8th-10th October 2021 – and still able to combine the conference with BCLM’s “Red By Night” live steaming event.  Conference format Whilst we…

  • Announcing the Early Engine Database

    As we arrive at the date which would have marked the start of the 2nd International Early Engines Conference (now postponed to May 2021), we are delighted to be able to share news of a fantastic new research resource, the Early Engine Database – a fully searchable online database of 18th Century engines in the United Kingdom. Early Engine Database – https://coalpitheath.org.uk/engines