Guidance

Dounreay Heritage Initiative 2022/23 annual report

Published 4 April 2016

Dounreay Heritage Strategy

The Dounreay heritage strategy was published in 2010 and is managed by James Gunn, DSRL Information and Knowledge Manager, with advice from a panel of external experts. The strategy and annual heritage reports can be found on the Dounreay website.

Heritage Advisory Panel

The Heritage Advisory Panel held its 11th meeting in March 2023 via Microsoft Teams. The main outcome was an action to review the heritage strategy implementation plan. The DFR control room is now in the sole ownership of National Museums Scotland, but it is still in storage at the British Science Museum’s store near London. The North Coast Visitor Centre (NCVC) and the National Museum of Scotland are interested in acquiring more Dounreay objects.

It was noted that there have been innovative technology developments for coating steelwork that have been trialled in Germany, and if the sphere is to be repainted, these developments should be researched. There are individuals and groups/organisations that would like to see the sphere preserved and they may protest in the future.

Collecting objects

There were 11 objects collected throughout the year.

• Dounreay telephone directory from early 1990s
• Sheet of blank United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) asset number stickers for maintenance items
• Metal disc ID tag for D1201 change room locker
• Snow globe with photo of the sphere. For sale in the Dounreay information office in Thurso
• Rubik’s cube puzzle featuring images of Dounreay and logo. For sale in the Thurso information office
• Pair of Dounreay cuff links showing modern logo of sphere
• Fork stamped with UKAEA.
• 3D printer model of sphere
• Dounreay site restoration Limited flag
• Lanyard by Dounreay Improvement Team
• A fridge magnet with UKAEA coat of arms

A total of 464 objects have been collected with many donated to the Caithness Horizons Museum (now called the North Coast Visitor Centre) and the National Museum of Scotland.

The training lounge at Dounreay now has an expanded heritage display. It consists of 6 large canvas prints, a glass display case of small objects.

Recording history

A process to capture the memories of those leaving the site is in place and 7 forms were completed and returned. The form has 5 questions with most people completing a few sentences for each.

James Gunn has recorded the memories of 6 people during his research for the forthcoming Dounreay book.

Knowledge sharing

Talks about the history of Dounreay were given to:

• Summer students
• New graduates
• New craft apprentices
• Thurso branch of the University of the Third Age (U3A)
• Tongue Primary School

James Gunn presented a paper on nuclear heritage at the 18th International Congress of The International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage in September 2022. It was held in the University of Quebec and Montreal in Montreal city centre and was attended by over 300 people from around the world.

It covered Dounreay’s heritage activities and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) heritage initiative. The session covered heritage in the energy sector (oil, gas, coal and nuclear) and was very well received. Nuclear heritage is becoming increasingly recognised amongst academics, historians and in industrial heritage circles.

Research studies

A 3-year international research project about nuclear heritage has recently started. Entitled NuSPACES (www.nuspaces.eu), it is led by senior academics from the UK, Sweden and Lithuania. A workshop with 25 people was held in Cumbria in May 2022 and James Gunn gave a presentation on the Dounreay heritage work. A second workshop is due to be held in Sweden in May 2023.

Community project

The Dounreay Community Heritage Project started in September 2022. It is a joint venture between Dounreay, High Life Highland (HLH), and Nucleus: the Nuclear and Caithness Archives. Former Dounreay staff and their spouses gathered for tea and biscuits at the NCVC in Thurso to reminisce over old photographs from the NDA archives at Nucleus in Wick. The 5 monthly sessions had up to 12 people who all enjoyed the experience and want it to continue. The project attracted the attention of BBC Scotland, resulting in an article on their website and an interview with two project members for the Good Morning Scotland radio programme.

Dounreay Castle

An inspector from Historic Environment Scotland visited Dounreay to view the two ancient scheduled monuments, Dounreay castle and the chambered cairn “Cnoc na h’Uiseag”. These inspections occur roughly every 5 years. The castle is showing significant deterioration and some parts will crumble and collapse in the near future.

Nucleus: the Nuclear and Caithness Archives

Nucleus completed installation of a set of 8 display panels covering the history of the civil nuclear industry. The 2 metre high monoliths are located in a line leading from the car park to the main entrance. James Gunn managed the activities covering the research and content finalisation. Feedback has been positive.

HLH based at Nucleus: The Nuclear and Caithness Archives has regular on-line talks entitled “Learn with Lorna” and a recent one was called “Dounreay atomics”. It was about the effect of Dounreay on Thurso and Caithness. The talk is available to view on their Facebook page.

Restore Digital at Nucleus: The Nuclear and Caithness Archives appointed a full-time NDA Heritage Officer in November 2022. James Gunn acted as the NDA Heritage Officer since 2019 on a part time basis.

Dounreay Book

Dounreay’s 70th anniversary is due in 2025 and James Gunn has been given approval to write and publish a book to celebrate this milestone.