Recognising Surrey's Industrial Past

Each year since 1983, the Surrey Industrial History Group has awarded a plaque for the conservation of a part of the county's industrial heritage. When the 25th award was made in 2007, SIHG decided to publish a book about the winning projects, to explain why they were chosen and record what has happened to them since.

The book contains two facing pages for each of the 25 projects, each with two or more photographs, many of them in colour. Some of the pictures show the presentation of the plaque, some are new photographs showing recent developments, and some are historic photographs showing sites when they were in active use.

The plaques have been awarded for a wide range of projects, including the conservation of derelict lime kilns, the restoration of water mills, windmills, a railway station, a pigeon house, a wharf, a semaphore signalling tower, a pottery and a series of bridges. Some were for the adaptive reuse of industrial buildings - a maltings, a car factory and a pumping station - and others for the restoration of a canal and the rescue and operation of a light railway. Several awards have been made for the establishment of museums - of rural life, farming, buses, fire brigades, motoring and aviation - and for private collections of stationary engines and bicycles.