Huddersfield-based Leach Studio has been appointed to lead the interpretive design for National Lottery funded ‘This Exploited Land of Iron’, a project to tell the stories of historic mining sites across the North York Moors.
The team is currently developing themes and concept designs for the area. On completion in 2019, the project will provide an inter-connected network that visitors can explore. The focus of the core exhibition at the Moors National Park Centre in Danby will draw upon the history of the area from medieval smelting to the Victorian railways. Visitors will be able to use digital maps, projected archive film and an interpretive play area for children, to learn about this chapter of the story and other places where the tale continues.
A number of other sites such as Grosmont Village, East Kilns and Rosedale Abbey’s Bank Top will continue the industrial heritage exploration, with innovative interpretive solutions in the landscape set to include bespoke furniture and hands-on engagements. At Grosmont iron works, for example, visitors will learn that the now leafy car park was once the site of a major industrial complex producing nearly 1,000 tonnes of pig iron a week.
Nichola Ward, head of creative at Leach Studio said: “Our brief is to create a range of design solutions that help different types of visitors understand, explore and uncover the astonishing moors for themselves.’
In March 2016, the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded £2.8m for the project to be undertaken. This sum was co-supported by the North York Moors National Park Authority, David Ross Foundation and other partners, to bring the total project value to £3.8m.
