This talk will be an introduction to Staffordshire’s new County Archaeologist and will focus largely on his time at the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site where he was responsible for advising on the care, conservation and interpretation of some of the most important industrial monuments in the world, inspired new generations of archaeologists by setting up and running the Ironbridge Young Archaeologists’ Club, and through his running of Ironbridge Archaeology, the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust’s commercial archaeology unit, managed and undertook projects at high profile sites such as the Iron Bridge, Bedlam Furnaces, Middleport Pottery, and the Jackfield Stabilisation Project. The talk will also look at Shane’s time as the Industrial Heritage Support Officer for England, touch on his time at Birmingham Archaeology, including his work on the Staffordshire Schools Project, Betley Model Farm, and Beaudesert Hall, and provide an introduction to his new role which will include an overview of the Chase Through Time and Transforming the Trent Valley projects.
Shane Kelleher is the new Staffordshire County Archaeologist having taken up his position in mid-January 2018. Shane has moved to Staffordshire County Council from the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust where he worked for seven years as the Archaeology and Monuments Officer/Museum Archaeologist and latterly as the Historic England-funded Industrial Heritage Support Officer for England. Prior to this he was a Project Manager with responsibility for built heritage and conservation at Birmingham Archaeology, the commercial archaeology unit of the University of Birmingham. He is a Member of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (MCIfA), an Affiliate Member of the Institute for Historic Building Conservation, a Council member of the Association for Industrial Archaeology, a former Trustee Director and Secretary of the Birmingham Conservation Trust, an Honorary Research Associate at the University of Birmingham, and a specialist lecturer at Birmingham City University. Shane has a Joint Honours degree in Archaeology and Geography from University College Cork, Ireland, where he also took an MA in Archaeological Methods and Practice, before receiving an MA in the Archaeology of Buildings at the University of York.
