Professor Hoskins has said that the primary article of equipment of the local historian is a strong pair of walking shoes, and Michael Rix has capped this with the remark that the industrial archaeologist requires gum boots. The term was coined in the mid-1950s in response to an urgently felt need to do something to prevent the apparently thoughtless wastage of the industrial heritage of Britain. Any short survey of the development of industrial archae ology tends to exaggerate the role of preserving industrial monuments. Old churches and castles have long been given such attention, and industrial archaeologists seek to extend this protection, as cultural assets, to select industrial monuments. The important point about the case is that subsequent fieldwork by industrial archaeologists is bringing to light much new evidence about the location of the industry and about the techniques employed in it.