1Good afternoon everybody
2and welcome to Riverside Industrial Village.
3To start your visit, I'm just going to give you a brief account of the history of the museum
4before letting you roam about on your own.
5I won't keep you long. Okay?
6Now, from where we're standing
7you've got a good view of the river over there.
8And it was because of this fast-flowing water
9that this site was a natural place for manufacturing works.
10The water and the availability of raw materials in the area, like minerals and iron ore,
11and also the abundance of local fuels, like coal and firewood,
12all made this site suitable for industry from a very early time.
13Water was the main source of power for the early industries
14and some of the water wheels were first established in the 12th century, would you believe?
15At that time, local craftsmen first built an iron forge
16just behind the village here, on the bend in the river.
17By the 17th and 18th centuries,
18the region's rivers supported more than 160 water mills -
19and many of these continued to operate well into the 19th century.
20But then, the steam engine was invented
21and then the railways came
22and the centres of industry were able to move away from the rivers and the countryside and into the towns.
23So, industrial villages like this one became very rare.
24So, that's the history for you.
25If you'd like any more information, you can ask me some questions,
26or you can read further in our excellent guide book.
27Now I'm going to give you a plan of the site
28and I'd just like to point out where everything is
29and then you can take a look at everything for yourself.
30I've already pointed out the river, which is on the left.
31And of course, running along the bottom is Woodside Road,
32got it?
33Okay.
34Now, we're standing at the entrance,
35see it at the bottom,
36and immediately to our right is the Ticket Office.
37You won't need that because you've got your group booking,
38but just past it are the toilets -
39always good to know where they are.
40In front of us is the car park, as you can see,
41and to the left, by the entry gate is the Gift Shop.
42That's where you can get copies of the guide, like this one here.
43Now, beyond the car park,
44all the buildings are arranged in a half circle with a yard in the middle.
45The big, stone building at the top is the main Workshop.
46That's where the furnace is
47and where all the metal was smelted and the tools were cast,
48as you'll be able to see.
49Now, in the top right-hand corner,
50that building with bigger windows is the Showroom,
51where samples of all the tools that were made through the ages are on display.
52In the top left corner is the Grinding Shop,
53where the tools were sharpened and finished.
54And on one side of that you can see the Engine Room
55and on the other is the Café,
56which isn't an antique, you'll be pleased to know,
57though they do serve very nice old-fashioned teas.
58The row of buildings you can see on the left are the cottages.
59These were built for the workers towards the end of the 18th century
60and they're still furnished from that period
61so you can get a good idea of ordinary people's living conditions.
62Across the yard from them,
63you can see the stables where the horses were kept for transporting the products.
64And the separate building in front of them is the Works Office
65and that still has some of the old accounts on display.
66Right, if anyone wants a guided tour then I'm starting at the Engine Room.
67If you'd like to come along, this way please, ladies and gentlemen.