SAVE THE OLD FOUNDRY!

Often confusingly referred to as the "new" foundry, it's amazing that it has survived for so long, the very building where the world famous Stourbridge Lion locomotive was built still stands to this day, but only just. I took these photos recently and I could walk through the building without any restrictions. Consequently the building is suffering at the hands of vandalism and neglect. It is a sad indictment that in the USA they have celebrated the 175th annversary of the first run of the Lion, whilst the very building where it was made remains in a very bad state. My fear is that one day we will wake up to a pile of rubble, even though it is a grade II listed building and is on the 2004 English Heritage Buildings at Risk Register.

Also, local historian Dr Paul Collins believes it could be the longest running foundry in Europe. Click here for messages of support

We agree with Paul's view that not only should the old foundry be saved but it should be made into a heritage centre and exhibition, explaining the full story of the talented engineers who built the Lion so long ago. We intend to campaign for this and would be very grateful for any support you can give. Back to main Lion page

19th January 2005 - this was the day that BBC Midlands Today arrived to visit the Old Foundry, and the children of nearby Beauty Bank Primary School were there to make their voices heard! All 36 of the Year 5 & 6 children had created their own pictures of the Stourbridge Lion, together with placards and hand-outs and their own letters of support, which we have created a new page for. We had a competition for the best pictures, everybody says this, but it was really very hard to choose a winner for Yr 5 (Zoe Pearcey) and one for Yr 6 (Tasha Evans). Congratulations to Zoe and Tasha, click on the images above for larger versions.

But all the children were fantastic and we are indebted to the staff and children of the school for their support. Also present was local historian Dr Paul Collins, Peter Boland, Head of conservation for Dudley MBC and the BBC Presenter Nick Watson. It was shown on TV on BBC Midlands Today on the evening of 19th Jan.

On Saturday 20 Nov 04 we were delighted to meet Jeanne Bollendorf, Executive Director of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Historical Society, New York, and Sarah Blowen, Senior Lecturer, Industrial Heritage, University of the West of England, who made a special journey up to Stourbridge to see for themselves the Old Foundry and its current condition. Jeanne also kindly bought with her a donation to support the cause to save the building, we thank her and her colleagues for this kind gesture. Also present was local historian Dr Paul Collins and during the day we also discussed what other actions we could take. A key person in this is Peter Boland, who heads up the conservation unit at Dudley MBC. Peter however cannot save the building on his own, we have to provide him with strong support so he can champion the case for preserving the building, which is in the hands of Quadrant Land Partnership.