Robert Forsythe is a Durham graduate who subsequently received a Diploma in Industrial Archaeology from the Ironbridge Institute. Eight years were then spent in heritage management working in West Yorkshire, Ayrshire and Tynedale. He has a portfolio of work with adult education providers and a PGCE for adult education from New College, Durham. He speaks frequently (future dates) to widely varying audiences. Bookings on the following subjects may be made.

Illustrated talks available as follows - click on the links for an image:

Architecture of Canals History of Model Railway Kits Northumbrian Railway Preservation
Auden and the Industrial Landscape Industrial Archaeology of Great Britain Old Railway Postcards/Hist. Transport Publicity
Auden's Pennine Landscapes Industrial Archaeology of Northern England Peat Bogs in GB & Ireland and their railways
British Bridges Industrial Archaeology of the Celtic Countries Railway Architecture
British Inland and Coastal Craft Inland Waterways of Britain Rural Bus Operations in the North
Canals of Holland Introduction to Galloway and the Firth of Clyde Scottish Maritime Heritage
Canals of France Introduction to Tynedale Heritage Settle to Carlisle Railway Line
Canals of Ireland Metalliferrous Mines in Britain The Nash Collection
Collecting Old Toy Trains and Diecast Models Metalliferrous Mines in Northern England The Second Industrial Revolution in Northumbria
British Railways Timetables Model Railways and the Thomas the Tank Engine Phenomenon Three Maritime Rivers: Tyne, Wear & Tees
Great Little Trains of Wales (and their quarries) Newcastle & Carlisle Railway Weardale and its Titans
Messages from the Western European Fringes Buses In Dumfries and Galloway Industrial History of Langley on Tyne
Model Trains from Margate Waggonways Around Prudhoe The RPSI and the May International Railtour

Some materials can be presented as short courses. Titles I have offered as such include Personalities and Transport, Under the Rubble (Industrial Archaeology) and W. H. Auden in the North of England.

For societies and associations, the financial arrangements would be £40 per presentation plus 30p per mile travelling expenses or public transport fares where applicable. This assumes two hours per presentation.

Talks are available using colour slides. An increasing number have now been digitised as Powerpoint presentations. Where digital projection is available, this is often a better option as it allows a wider range of materials to be viewed.

Organisations who have been addressed range from Corbridge Village Trust, The Weardale Society, Bedlington Local History Society through Sunderland University to the Institute of Railway Studies, York and the International Institute for Information Design, Vienna.

Testimonial from the Haydon Bridge John Martin Festival per Ian Foster after delivery of Industrial History of Langley on Tyne 14th May 2011:

"Thank you very much for the trouble you took in preparing and delivering
your talk and exploration of the Industrial Heritage of Langley for the John
Martin Heritage Festival at the weekend. Everyone who attended
was educated and entertained in equal measure, and I was particularly
impressed with the way in which through your research you were able to
bring to life and provide new insights into an area with which you were not
initially familiar.
 
Everyone at the event benefitted from your enthusiasm and I left feeling
that you had become just as much of a fan of the area as we locals".

 

Return to Robert Forsythe Home Page for contact details.