ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines an approach to the recording of large industrial structures and highlights the unique attributes of sites that make up our recent archaeological and industrial heritage. Often, redundant industrial structures are retained only through their re-use for other kinds of development — in our experience those looking for new uses for old industrial sites think largely in terms of ‘usable space within an architecturally acceptable envelope’. In the Royal Commissions, recording at industrial sites has in the past been limited to photographing individual machines and perhaps relating these to a general ground plan; usually little attempt was made to link the components other than through their physical relationship or proximity. Often, a simple industrial installation was separated into component parts, each drawn individually in some detail, but devoid of context. The possibility for multiple interpretations will therefore flow through the recording and the presented results.
