Catalyst Museum
@catalystarchives.bsky.social
Museum of the Chemical Industry in Widnes, Cheshire and home of the Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) archives - well, some of them at least ... and much more
From Judith Wilde @heyjudewilde.bsky.social
and Charlie Linton @charlie-linton.bsky.social
From Judith Wilde @heyjudewilde.bsky.social
and Charlie Linton @charlie-linton.bsky.social
'The Big Photo Sort'. All photo negatives from our recent rescue of the Weston Point Studios. Since then 50k have already been processed and 18k are scanned (and they weren't even part of this)!
Thank you to Becka, Erin, Hannah, Heather, Megan, Pam, Pat, Sandra and Tiffany who all worked so hard.
Thank you to Becka, Erin, Hannah, Heather, Megan, Pam, Pat, Sandra and Tiffany who all worked so hard.
February 14, 2026 at 1:42 PM
'The Big Photo Sort'. All photo negatives from our recent rescue of the Weston Point Studios. Since then 50k have already been processed and 18k are scanned (and they weren't even part of this)!
Thank you to Becka, Erin, Hannah, Heather, Megan, Pam, Pat, Sandra and Tiffany who all worked so hard.
Thank you to Becka, Erin, Hannah, Heather, Megan, Pam, Pat, Sandra and Tiffany who all worked so hard.
Love every mention of the #transporterbridge
#ThrowbackThursday Electro-plated silver on brass handle, originally the driving handle from the car of the Widnes Transporter Bridge. From the Halton BC Town Hall Collection and is one of 1,025 objects from there viewable on the HHP website - Check it out! haltonheritage.co.uk/halton-herit...
February 12, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Love every mention of the #transporterbridge
'VERA' has been at it again. And her identity is being teased in this Christmas edition. More on the beauty contest next week when we find out who won the holiday to Switzerland! Exciting stuff!
judewilde.substack.com/p/vera-for-i...
judewilde.substack.com/p/vera-for-i...
VERA for I.C.I. Girls - Dec 1928
A fascinating look at the section of the ICI Magazine given over to women from 1928 until 1939. Hints and tips for the modern woman about town ...
judewilde.substack.com
February 5, 2026 at 6:36 PM
'VERA' has been at it again. And her identity is being teased in this Christmas edition. More on the beauty contest next week when we find out who won the holiday to Switzerland! Exciting stuff!
judewilde.substack.com/p/vera-for-i...
judewilde.substack.com/p/vera-for-i...
Reposted by Catalyst Museum
judewilde.substack.com/p/vera-for-i...
This time a mention of actress Gladys Cooper that I just happened to have a postcard of! I wondered if she might be behind the mysterious 'Vera'. However looking at her career she'd have been too busy treading the boards :)
This time a mention of actress Gladys Cooper that I just happened to have a postcard of! I wondered if she might be behind the mysterious 'Vera'. However looking at her career she'd have been too busy treading the boards :)
VERA for I.C.I. Girls - Nov 1928
A fascinating look at the section of the ICI Magazine given over to women from 1928 until 1939. Hints and tips for the modern woman about town ...
judewilde.substack.com
January 22, 2026 at 10:50 AM
judewilde.substack.com/p/vera-for-i...
This time a mention of actress Gladys Cooper that I just happened to have a postcard of! I wondered if she might be behind the mysterious 'Vera'. However looking at her career she'd have been too busy treading the boards :)
This time a mention of actress Gladys Cooper that I just happened to have a postcard of! I wondered if she might be behind the mysterious 'Vera'. However looking at her career she'd have been too busy treading the boards :)
Reposted by Catalyst Museum
Amazing. [searches own archives for MS Gretna] :)
Hello. We're new here. 👋
Wondering what devil's porridge is? Sir Arthur Conan Doyle coined the phrase to describe the explosive materials he saw munitions workers at H.M. Factory Gretna mixing in large pans. They were making cordite.
Please don't eat devil's porridge. 💥
#DevilsPorridge #WW1history
Wondering what devil's porridge is? Sir Arthur Conan Doyle coined the phrase to describe the explosive materials he saw munitions workers at H.M. Factory Gretna mixing in large pans. They were making cordite.
Please don't eat devil's porridge. 💥
#DevilsPorridge #WW1history
January 22, 2026 at 10:47 AM
Amazing. [searches own archives for MS Gretna] :)
Vera strikes again! Advice column from 1928 for the modern woman #iciarchives
January 15, 2026 at 11:07 AM
Vera strikes again! Advice column from 1928 for the modern woman #iciarchives
'VERA' is up to Sep 1928 ... First and Second prizes in the beauty competition are a weeks holiday in Switzerland. ICI don't mess about!
judewilde.substack.com/p/vera-for-i...
judewilde.substack.com/p/vera-for-i...
VERA for I.C.I. Girls - Sep 1928
A fascinating look at the section of the ICI Magazine given over to women from 1928 until 1939. Hints and tips for the modern woman about town ...
judewilde.substack.com
January 11, 2026 at 8:10 AM
'VERA' is up to Sep 1928 ... First and Second prizes in the beauty competition are a weeks holiday in Switzerland. ICI don't mess about!
judewilde.substack.com/p/vera-for-i...
judewilde.substack.com/p/vera-for-i...
We've started 2026 on an excellent note with these two lovely donations!
Long Service Medal with watch and chain belonging to H Forster and Illuminated Long Service Certificate for 49 years' service awarded to William Allman
We look forward to finding out more about them!
Long Service Medal with watch and chain belonging to H Forster and Illuminated Long Service Certificate for 49 years' service awarded to William Allman
We look forward to finding out more about them!
January 8, 2026 at 1:56 PM
We've started 2026 on an excellent note with these two lovely donations!
Long Service Medal with watch and chain belonging to H Forster and Illuminated Long Service Certificate for 49 years' service awarded to William Allman
We look forward to finding out more about them!
Long Service Medal with watch and chain belonging to H Forster and Illuminated Long Service Certificate for 49 years' service awarded to William Allman
We look forward to finding out more about them!
Football shield mystery!
The Weston Point & District Schoolboys Competition Shield with 32 inscriptions was presented by Sir John Brunner in 1906 and the latest inscription is 1995-6. All 32 are inscribed but how did the maths work out so well given there are 90 years between first and last?!
The Weston Point & District Schoolboys Competition Shield with 32 inscriptions was presented by Sir John Brunner in 1906 and the latest inscription is 1995-6. All 32 are inscribed but how did the maths work out so well given there are 90 years between first and last?!
January 5, 2026 at 11:42 AM
Football shield mystery!
The Weston Point & District Schoolboys Competition Shield with 32 inscriptions was presented by Sir John Brunner in 1906 and the latest inscription is 1995-6. All 32 are inscribed but how did the maths work out so well given there are 90 years between first and last?!
The Weston Point & District Schoolboys Competition Shield with 32 inscriptions was presented by Sir John Brunner in 1906 and the latest inscription is 1995-6. All 32 are inscribed but how did the maths work out so well given there are 90 years between first and last?!
Congratulations to Jonathan Davies on his CBE in the New Years Honours 2025.
Obviously best known for appearing in one of the 'Two Wonders of Widnes' advertising campaign at our Museum in 1989. Am pleased to say the large, framed poster still adorns our museum walls!
Obviously best known for appearing in one of the 'Two Wonders of Widnes' advertising campaign at our Museum in 1989. Am pleased to say the large, framed poster still adorns our museum walls!
December 31, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Congratulations to Jonathan Davies on his CBE in the New Years Honours 2025.
Obviously best known for appearing in one of the 'Two Wonders of Widnes' advertising campaign at our Museum in 1989. Am pleased to say the large, framed poster still adorns our museum walls!
Obviously best known for appearing in one of the 'Two Wonders of Widnes' advertising campaign at our Museum in 1989. Am pleased to say the large, framed poster still adorns our museum walls!
Take me back to 1990. I'm not sure when people think of a chemical industry museum that photos of #vladivarvodka would immediately spring to mind. ICI registered the product #perspex (seen here impersonating an ice mountain) in the 1930s following it's discovery by two of its chemists. Cheers!
December 21, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Take me back to 1990. I'm not sure when people think of a chemical industry museum that photos of #vladivarvodka would immediately spring to mind. ICI registered the product #perspex (seen here impersonating an ice mountain) in the 1930s following it's discovery by two of its chemists. Cheers!
Our archives are a window on the past …
December 14, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Our archives are a window on the past …
Reposted by Catalyst Museum
#ThrowbackThursday Photograph of West Bank Dock in about 1965. The boat entering the dock is the 'Donau', all vessels entering the dock on flood tide had to enter stern first.
November 20, 2025 at 2:06 PM
#ThrowbackThursday Photograph of West Bank Dock in about 1965. The boat entering the dock is the 'Donau', all vessels entering the dock on flood tide had to enter stern first.
When worlds collide! One of the joys of rescuing several hundred thousand negatives is not knowing what will turn up next. Not for the first time do we see the long association that chemical firms have had with our museum since its inception.
October 28, 2025 at 10:13 AM
When worlds collide! One of the joys of rescuing several hundred thousand negatives is not knowing what will turn up next. Not for the first time do we see the long association that chemical firms have had with our museum since its inception.
Hot off the press - the latest on ICI Weston Point Studios rescue :)
I'm not being negative ...
substack.com/@judewilde
substack.com/@judewilde
Judith Wilde | Substack
Heritage Manager at the Cat.
substack.com
October 19, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Hot off the press - the latest on ICI Weston Point Studios rescue :)
You never know what will appear in our #iciwestonpointstudios photographic negatives. This charming photo of a room in a Swedish designed #lundbydollshouse from 1980. The photo was taken due to the #vivelle (fabric) being manufactured by ICI #iciarchives #dollshouses
October 5, 2025 at 1:11 PM
You never know what will appear in our #iciwestonpointstudios photographic negatives. This charming photo of a room in a Swedish designed #lundbydollshouse from 1980. The photo was taken due to the #vivelle (fabric) being manufactured by ICI #iciarchives #dollshouses
⭐It's Today!⭐
Join us at the Catalyst Museum for Heritage Weekend between 10 and 5.
Meet our friends from Halton Heritage Partnership
Explore 3 floors of ICI Weston Point Studios photographs on temporary display plus our permanent galleries and current art exhibition.
Free entry.
Join us at the Catalyst Museum for Heritage Weekend between 10 and 5.
Meet our friends from Halton Heritage Partnership
Explore 3 floors of ICI Weston Point Studios photographs on temporary display plus our permanent galleries and current art exhibition.
Free entry.
September 20, 2025 at 10:17 AM
⭐It's Today!⭐
Join us at the Catalyst Museum for Heritage Weekend between 10 and 5.
Meet our friends from Halton Heritage Partnership
Explore 3 floors of ICI Weston Point Studios photographs on temporary display plus our permanent galleries and current art exhibition.
Free entry.
Join us at the Catalyst Museum for Heritage Weekend between 10 and 5.
Meet our friends from Halton Heritage Partnership
Explore 3 floors of ICI Weston Point Studios photographs on temporary display plus our permanent galleries and current art exhibition.
Free entry.
Very sad to see that HRH Duchess of Kent has passed away. Katharine had a long association with ICI and Brunner Mond and was the great granddaughter of Sir John Brunner.
Pictured here on one of the many visits she made to the region in 1973 for the centenary of Brunner Mond
Pictured here on one of the many visits she made to the region in 1973 for the centenary of Brunner Mond
September 5, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Very sad to see that HRH Duchess of Kent has passed away. Katharine had a long association with ICI and Brunner Mond and was the great granddaughter of Sir John Brunner.
Pictured here on one of the many visits she made to the region in 1973 for the centenary of Brunner Mond
Pictured here on one of the many visits she made to the region in 1973 for the centenary of Brunner Mond
Unexpected find on a strip of 1976 negatives today of ICI Weaver Power Station. The other 29 images are showing the wear to the turbine blades and this little gem is a moment in time where the photographer had taken a snap of the workers. They look happy in their work :)
August 30, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Unexpected find on a strip of 1976 negatives today of ICI Weaver Power Station. The other 29 images are showing the wear to the turbine blades and this little gem is a moment in time where the photographer had taken a snap of the workers. They look happy in their work :)
Motor racing gets the ICI logo ... in 1992
August 4, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Motor racing gets the ICI logo ... in 1992
Reposted by Catalyst Museum
One of the staircases leading from the front lawns up to Marbury Hall, #Cheshire (pic my own), & an aerial image from before the hall was demolished in 1969 (pic via the Friends of Anderton & Marbury). The site has been a country park since the late 1970s - a local treasure. #StaircaseSaturday
August 2, 2025 at 8:33 AM
One of the staircases leading from the front lawns up to Marbury Hall, #Cheshire (pic my own), & an aerial image from before the hall was demolished in 1969 (pic via the Friends of Anderton & Marbury). The site has been a country park since the late 1970s - a local treasure. #StaircaseSaturday