Justin Parkes
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justparkes.bsky.social
Justin Parkes
@justparkes.bsky.social
Museum curator | travel | industrial history | art | photography | views mine
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I like this as a way for museum folk to introduce themselves. Your last 4 museum visits

Wellington Museum, Waterloo
Discovery Point, Dundee
National Gallery of Indonesia, Jakarta
Louvre Abu Dhabi
Reposted by Justin Parkes
More here about how we really, REALLY need to charge the narrative around 'Treasure' and precious metal finds...

2/2

bigbookoftorcs.com/2025/10/07/s...
Solid-gold rant incoming…
by Tess Machling [A download/print PDF version can be found at the end of the paper] Before I go any further, I want to state that the theft and destruction of heritage across the world is not unco…
bigbookoftorcs.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Reposted by Justin Parkes
It's tonight ...

Can't make it? Register anyway and we'll send you a recording.
Still time register for our next online collections and archives talk ...

'The Roaming Studio: The Itinerant Photographer in Berwick-upon-Tweed' on Tuesday 11th November 2025 (1900 GMT) with Cameron Robertson.

events.rps.org/en/historica...
November 11, 2025 at 7:42 AM
Reposted by Justin Parkes
One of my supervisors recommended this book and it looks great. My research will cover deindustrialisation and ruination. Can't wait to get stuck into it.

#geography #history
November 8, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Reposted by Justin Parkes
We're taking this week's @artukdotorg.bsky.social #OnlineArtExchange theme of dramatic art very literally AND shamelessly pandering to #swifties with this wonderful cast bronze plaque of Ophelia in front of the Arras in Hamlet. It's from Colzium House #Kilsyth artuk.org/discover/art... #taylorswift
November 6, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Reposted by Justin Parkes
If you're a National Trust member, it's that time of year again: Midnight tonight is the deadline. It's a shame people have to keep doing this to keep a toehold on historical truth in this country, but here we are. Voting link: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/who-we-are/a...
October 31, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Dr Andy Clark opening this year’s @sticknetwork.bsky.social autumn conference at The Engine Shed in Stirling

The theme is Narratives of Industrial Work Heritage. So many great insights on recording & using oral history
October 31, 2025 at 1:13 PM
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There’s still time to sign up for our conference on the theme of Narratives and Memories of Industrial Work and Heritage

It’s on Friday 31 October @ The Engine Shed in Stirling stickssn.org/events/
October 23, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Reposted by Justin Parkes
Have you heard about our Decolonising North Lanarkshire's Museums Collections project?

Join us at Summerlee Museum at 2pm tomorrow (Wednesday) to find out about our collections' colonial links & how we are addressing them north-lanarkshire-council-museums.arttickets.org.uk/summerlee-mu...
October 21, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Reposted by Justin Parkes
Here are the prompts for #museum30 2025 - the ninth year!

If you would like to join in all you need to do is share an image, inspired by each days' prompt, throughout November. Don't forget to include #museum30 so other's can find your posts.
October 20, 2025 at 5:25 PM
I hope this is positive news for @ironbridgegmt.bsky.social but wasn’t aware that the IGMT was in trouble. Good to see @nationaltrust.org.uk & govt recognise the importance of industrial heritage

Needless to say it’s mportant to preserve jobs & heritage skills as well as the museums & artefacts
We're pleased to share that, from spring 2026, we will take on the care and management of the museums, buildings and monuments that represent the birthplace of the industrial revolution within the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site in Shropshire.
October 17, 2025 at 5:21 PM
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I have thoughts all over the place about this.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
National Trust gets £9m for Ironbridge Industrial Revolution museums takeover
The 10 museums and 35 listed buildings and scheduled monuments will be handed over in the spring.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 16, 2025 at 6:34 PM
‘Found in museum store’
Miscellaneous unprovenanced undated ephemera

And

LOST: many catalogued boxes

Or

FOUND: many uncatalogued boxes
In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand.

rm -rf ~/
October 12, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Reposted by Justin Parkes
We have just joined BlueSky! Since our foundation in 1880, we have reproduced an unrivalled selection of historic maps, plans and views of London. We also publish books and monographs containing original research. See more of what we have to offer at: londontopsoc.org
October 12, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Reposted by Justin Parkes
Stephen Mullen, a highly regarded historian specialising in Scotland's links with Atlantic slavery, objects to a right wing scholar's flagrant misrepresentation of his own work and that of Glasgow's Kelvingrove Museum's curators in @thetimes.com

alanlester.co.uk/blog/falsify...
Falsifying Heritage: The Denial and Disavowal of Glasgow’s Links with Atlantic Slavery
By Stephen Mullen In a recent article in The Times, (‘Scottish Taxpayers should not have to pay the price for Slavery, 7 June 2025), Professor Nigel Biggar misrepresented an exhibition in Glasgow’s…
alanlester.co.uk
September 24, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Reposted by Justin Parkes
#MiningLandscapes #Ecomuseum has added a new blog to it’s collection 👉 www.mining-landscapes.org/blog an engaging read by former miner David Higgins describing his work at the mine and life in a pit village (Part II out early Nov) #Ayrshire #MiningHistory
October 11, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Reposted by Justin Parkes
Innovators, thinkers and leaders needed!

Our mission is to re-imagine museums for a sustainable future – by fostering wellbeing that doesn’t cost the earth.

Could you bring your unique perspective, your time and your imagination for a better future – to our Steering Group?

shorturl.at/b0ejo
September 26, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Reposted by Justin Parkes
This might be of interest to some Edinburgh / Industrial history folks www.digitscotland.com/events/hear-...
Hear About...Baltic Street Gasworks - Dig It!
Dig into free (or low-cost) Scottish archaeology events that are open to everyone – no experience required.
www.digitscotland.com
October 9, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Reposted by Justin Parkes
(2/2) sign the petition: Tell Your MP: Don't Rip Up Our Rights actionstorm.org/petitions/pr...
October 8, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Reposted by Justin Parkes
Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.
October 8, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Reposted by Justin Parkes
📍 How can you join the campaign to save Cooling Towers?

✊🏻 Sign and share the petition: change.org/p/save-brita...

✍🏼 If you're an architect, developer, artist, or public figure, sign our open-letter.
Email coordinator@c20society.org.uk

📖 Order C20's new book: shop.c20society.org.uk/products/pre...
October 8, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Reposted by Justin Parkes
We need to utterly transform how we protect our heritage: more funding for museums, more education and disrupting our equation of heritage with monetary value. This isn't a one off. From our fiekds to our museum cases, antiquities are seen as objects for personal acquisition and monetary gain.
🏺
Awful news from Wales, the St Fagan's Museum has been broken into and prehistoric goldwork has been taken. Its painful to think what objects might now be at risk. Thoughts with the museum team who must be devastated, all speed to the police and a curse on the crooks.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
St Fagans: Bronze Age gold jewellery stolen from musuem
Police are investigating a burglary at St Fagans museum in the early hours of Monday morning.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 7, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Reposted by Justin Parkes
This is utterly ridiculous in any case, but particularly so given common commuting patterns.
The British Transport Police (BTP) says it will not investigate bike thefts outside stations where the bicycle has been left for more than two hours.

Bike thefts at stations 'decriminalised'
Bike thefts at stations 'decriminalised'
The British Transport Police will not investigate many categories of bicycle theft, the BBC learns.
buff.ly
October 7, 2025 at 9:59 AM
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What a beauty!!!!!
September 27, 2025 at 12:11 PM
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This remarkable therapy uses an approach the Trump administration just cancelled funding for.
September 24, 2025 at 12:29 PM