Our awards scheme continues to flourish and to be recognised nationally – one often finds mention of it when looking up a particular project or book. We were delighted, as ever, that most of our award winners were younger than most of the members of Council, which shows that industrial archaeology and heritage is still very much alive.

	ARCHAEOLOGICAL REPORT AWARD Rebecca Haslam (on the left of the picture) and Guy Thompson, for An Immense and Exceedingly Commodious Goods Station: The Archaeology and History of the Great Northern Railway's Goods Yard at King's Cross, 1849 to Present Day. Becky Haslam is Senior Archaeologist with another very large contract unit, Pre-Construct Archaeology, and has recently agreed to become an Assistant Editor for our own journal, Industrial Archaeology Review. Guy Thompson did much of the historical work for the project, which revealed important archaeological remains uncovered doing the re-development of the area behind King’s Cross station in London.
	POSTGRADUATE DISSERTATION AWARD Two awards were made this year but no undergraduate one. The first was made to Siobhan Osgood (on the right of the picture above), for Railway Architecture: The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) at Dundalk. (M Phil Art History, Trinity College Dublin). This was a very detailed building survey of the station and engineering works at Dundalk, dating from the amalgamation of four railway companies and the decision to locate the engineering works for the for The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) there. The second went to Kristin Potterton (Conservation Studies, University of York) for Managing the Industrial Ruin in a National Park: A critical assessment of the Process. This dissertation tackles a major problem, that of disused industrial sites within a rural setting – her example was the North York Moors. As she said, these are rarely subject to adaptive re-use because of both the context and the types of monument. It is pleasing to report that both awards have helped the students to secure funding for further research.
	VOLUNTARY SOCIETIES PUBLICATIONS AWARD Philip Tolley of the Norfolk Industrial Archaeology Society, for Norfolk 1890 This was edited from an 1890 publication by the British Industrial Publishing Company of Birmingham, which described some 365 local businesses in Norfolk, with extensive details of their premises, processes and trade. The award was received at the conference by David Alderton (on the right), a member of NIAS and a former Chairman and Conference Secretary of AIA.
	PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS AWARD Dr Michael Nevell, for The Birth of Industrial Glasgow: The Archaeology of the M74 (Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 2016) This book is a very important milestone in the publication of the work done on large excavated industrial sites, dealing with the remains found by both building recording and excavation along the remaining section of the M74 around Glasgow.It is also an excellent example of the cooperation of various archaeological contractors, Andrea Smith from Headland Archaeology, Frank Meddens from Pre-Construct Archaeology and a number of their colleague. Dr Michael Nevell (right) from the University of Salford, with his extensive knowledge of the development of industrialisation, has successfully set the work in a much wider context and produced an exciting and readable book.
	PETER NEAVERSON AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SCHOLARSHIP IN INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY Professor Marilyn Palmer (on the left in the picture) and Dr Ian West, for Technology in the Country House (Historic England, 2016, in association with the National Trust) This award is made from a legacy left to the AIA by a former Council Member and Editor of Industrial Archaeology Review, the late Peter Neaverson.The book is the result of a long-standing project to record and interpret the remains of technological innovation in the context of country houses and their estates throughout the UK. It was undertaken in the realisation that while artefacts such as furniture and paintings were catalogued in these houses, little had been done to record and conserve the evidence for how houses were made more comfortable for their inhabitants in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The award was presented by John McGuiness (on the right), the Conference Secretary of AIA.
	DOROTHEA AWARD FOR CONSERVATION United Kingdom Historic Building Preservation Trust for the restoration of the steam engine at Middleport Pottery. The Award was originally launched in 1984, the tenth Anniversary of the founding of Dorothea Restorations, to commemorate the first decade of service to museums throughout the country. Its purpose is to support and encourage voluntary conservation work on sites and artefacts of industrial, agricultural, and domestic importance. The Award continues through the joint generosity of Wallis Conservation Ltd and G W Conservation. The award was received by Phil Wright (left) and Hayley Underwood (centre) with Geoff Wallis in attendance.

Find out how to apply for AIA Awards