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RAVENSCRAIG STORIES – 30 YEARS ON
EXHIBITION
Journal

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About
RAVENSCRAIG STORIES – 30 YEARS ON
EXHIBITION
Journal

EXHIBITION

September 5th – November 2nd 2026

North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre, High Road, Motherwell, ML1 3HU

EVENTS

Walk the Last Foundations – with photographer/filmmaker Chris Leslie - 12TH SEPTEMBER >

Revisiting Ravenscraig – creative writing masterclass with author Alison Irvine - 2ND OCTOBER >

Story (Re)Telling with photographer/filmmaker Chris Leslie - 24TH OCTOBER >

the_lastfoundations

IN THE SHADOW OF RAVENSCRAIG The Liberty Steel D

IN THE SHADOW OF RAVENSCRAIG

The Liberty Steel Dalzell plant in Motherwell has existed and operated in the long afterlife of Ravenscraig. For those who have spent their lives in steel, both plants share a strong bond. William McWhinnie, now Chief Engineer after 41 years at the plant, remembers the day Ravenscraig’s cooling towers fell.

“We all watched the demolition from here… we could see the helicopter… then the explosions, the noise and then the collapse of the towers,” he recalls. “It was sad because Ravenscraig was the flagship of steel making.” The spectacle of the demolition was followed by an eerie silence: “Everybody just walked back to their workstations in silence, thinking – are we next?”.....

https://www.thelastfoundations.com/portfolio-item/shadow-of-ravenscraig/

The Last Foundations - 30 years after the demolition of Ravenscraig - multimedia exhibition and film runs until the 2nd November at the North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre in Motherwell.

#ravenscraig

AFTER THE RED DUST The air itself was different t

AFTER THE RED DUST

The air itself was different then—thick, metallic, and heavy with the red dust that settled over everything. “It was everywhere…” Now, the view stretches for miles in silence...

Ann Nimmo who worked as a nurse in the ambulance centre at Ravenscraig

https://www.thelastfoundations.com/portfolio-item/after-red-dust/

The Last Foundations - Ravenscraig 30 Years After Demolition. A visual arts project and exhibition by Chris Leslie

Funded by the William Grant Foundation, @creativescots , and NLC Museums

Archive photo - courtesy of North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre

#ravenscraig

ROM STEELWORKER TO CAREWORKER “I remember going h

ROM STEELWORKER TO CAREWORKER

“I remember going home and saying to my wife, ‘That’s it, it’s gone. What are we going to do?’” he recalls. With a family to support, the uncertainty was frightening....

https://www.thelastfoundations.com/portfolio-item/steelworker-careworker/

The Last Foundations - Ravenscraig 30 Years After Demolition. A visual arts project and exhibition by Chris Leslie
@the_lastfoundations

Funded by the The William Grant Foundation and @creativescots , and North Lanarkshire Council Arts

Archive photo by John McKillop - courtesy of @nlheritagecentre

#ravenscraig

THE LAST SHIFT On the final day at Ravenscraig in

THE LAST SHIFT

On the final day at Ravenscraig in June 1992, Stevie Jeffrey remembers a feeling of disbelief and emotion hanging over the entire site.

The closure had been anticipated for a long time, but nothing prepared the workforce for the emotion and finality of walking out of Ravenscraig for the last time...

https://www.thelastfoundations.com/portfolio-item/ilast-shift/

@the_lastfoundations - Ravenscraig 30 Years After Demolition

A visual arts project and exhibition by Chris Leslie

#ravenscraig

Filming this morning on location for my new short

Filming this morning on location for my new short film ‘Scars’ with former Ravenscraig worker, poet and writer Martin Brown.

The film will be premiered at @the_lastfoundations exhibition in September via @northlanarkshire arts

Project supported by @creativescots, NLArts , @wilfiamgrantfoundation

#ravenscraig

“This natural regeneration—slow, unplanned, and re

“This natural regeneration—slow, unplanned, and resilient—embodies a cycle of destruction and renewal. It is both powerful and necessary.”

BETWEEN RECLAIMING AND RENEWAL

The Last Foundations - Ravenscraig 30 Years After Demolition

A visual arts project by Chris Leslie

https://www.thelastfoundations.com/portfolio-item/between-reclaiming-and-renewal/

Seasons change... #ravenscraig

Seasons change...

#ravenscraig

The Last Foundations - Today’s Birds Eye view… #

The Last Foundations - Today’s Birds Eye view…

#ravenscraig

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©2026 The Last Foundations / Chris Leslie

CHRIS LESLIE

chris@chrisleslie.co.uk

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