A Modern Artefact Returns Home
Every landscape has a story, and at Stanwick Lakes, that story spans more than 10,000 years – from the first people to settle beside the River Nene, to the quarry that created the lakes we enjoy today.
When people think of museum objects, they often imagine ancient artefacts buried beneath the ground, left behind by people who lived hundreds or even thousands of years ago. But not every artefact is ancient.
The newest addition to the Stanwick Lakes Heritage Museum is something rather different – the original Stanwick Quarry Process Control Panel.
From 1985 to 2002, ARC (formerly Hanson) Quarry extracted and processed tens of millions of tonnes of sand and gravel from the Nene Valley. In quarrying, the term ‘won’ is used to describe material extracted from the ground. The material won here helped build roads, homes and major infrastructure projects across the region. Closer to home, quarrying transformed the landscape itself. Once extraction was complete, the worked-out gravel pits became the lakes, wetlands and wildlife habitats that make Stanwick Lakes the special place it is today.
Located in the quarry’s weighbridge control room, overlooking the processing plant, the control panel monitored and controlled the conveyors, screens, scrubbers and stockpiles that kept the quarry running. Designed exclusively for Stanwick Quarry by IBM, it wasn’t an off-the-shelf computer system but a bespoke and custom piece of engineering, making it an important part of both Stanwick’s industrial heritage and the history of modern computing.
When quarrying came to an end, the control panel was destined for the skip.
Thankfully, local resident and Stanwick Lakes volunteer Tim Page recognised its significance. He rescued the panel and safeguarded it at home for more than 30 years, ensuring this unique piece of Stanwick’s history was preserved for future generations. Over the years, it made occasional appearances at Stanwick Lakes for temporary exhibitions, but Tim always hoped it would one day return permanently.
That opportunity came in 2026. Volunteer Richard Phillips took on the challenge of restoring the panel, spending countless hours carefully cleaning, repairing and testing its original components. Thanks to his skill and dedication, parts of the control panel are once again operational, with some of the original lights illuminating sections of the quarry layout just as they did decades ago.
Now taking pride of place in the Heritage Museum, it sits alongside objects spanning more than 10,000 years of history. While it may be one of our youngest exhibits, it tells an equally important chapter in the story of Stanwick Lakes. From prehistoric communities and Roman villas to the quarry that shaped the landscape we see today, every object helps us better understand the people and places that came before us.
The return of the control panel is also a celebration of the volunteers who ensured this story wasn’t lost. Thanks to Tim’s foresight in saving it, and Richard’s dedication in restoring it, visitors can once again experience this remarkable piece of Stanwick Lakes’ more recent past.
So next time you visit the Heritage Museum, take a look beyond the Roman mosaics and prehistoric flints. You might just find that one of the newest artefacts has one of the most fascinating stories to tell.
