Derbyshire’s Heritage Celebrated at Awards Ceremony
It was a wonderful evening of celebration at Barrow Hill Roundhouse on 3rd May when over 70 guests from a range of heritage organisations attended the 11th Derbyshire Heritage Awards. The Awards are run by the Derbyshire Museums and Heritage Forum and celebrate the fantastic work taking place in museums and heritage organisations across the county including local history groups, large heritage attractions, museums, historic houses, heritage railways, historic industrial buildings, canals and more. The Awards were funded by the Derbyshire Museums and Heritage Forum with support from Museum Development East Midlands.
Derbyshire has a rich heritage with sites and organisations equal to the best Britain has to offer. Our nationally renowned historic houses are celebrated regularly but how well do you know its industrial history, archaeological sites or unique social history collections? Derbyshire is home to a diverse collection of heritage sites and organisations and this night of celebration highlights the most exciting work being undertaken in the region.
Chair of the Derbyshire Museums and Heritage Forum, Glynn Wilton, said “It’s our mission to show people what great, high quality heritage attractions Derbyshire has. So much hard work goes into looking after Derbyshire’s heritage and maintaining the brilliant visitor attractions by staff and volunteers, and the awards event is our way of recognising that.”
This year’s Awards were judged by Sir Richard Fitzherbert (Chief Executive of Tissington Hall and Chair of the Regional Attractions Network), Joy Hales (Editor, ‘Derbyshire Life’ Magazine) and Bill Bevan (freelance heritage interpretation consultant). Award winners were presented with a plaque to showcase their achievement, whilst ‘Highly Commended’ projects were awarded a framed certificate. There were 33 entries from 16 different organisations this year, so the judges were forced to make some very difficult decisions when choosing the winners.
The results for each award category were …
(1) Behind the Scenes
Winner – The Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust for “Return of the Lady in Red: Restoration of Steam Locomotive ‘Duchess of Sutherland’”
Highly Commended – Barrow Hill Roundhouse for “Shunting the Collections 2017”
(2) Award for Enterprise and Innovation
Winner – Chesterfield Museum and Art Gallery for “The Trench Experience”
Highly Commended – Pleasley Pit Trust for “Pleasley Pit. South Winder Drive Unit”
(3) Best Volunteer Project
Winner – Markham Vale Heritage Group for “Walking Together”
Highly Commended – Stoney Middleton Heritage Centre Community Group for “The Heritage and Trails of Stoney Middleton”
(4) Young People in Heritage
Winner – Midland Railway Trust for “Old Skills on Young Shoulders”
Highly Commended – Markham Vale Heritage Group for “The Story Mine”
(5) Reaching New Audiences
Winner – Derbyshire Record Office for “The Amazing Pop Up Archives Project”
Highly Commended – Creswell Crags for “Your Crags”
(6) Partnership Working
Winner – Erewash Museum & Long Eaton 50+ Forum for “Toton Sidings Remembered”
Highly Commended – Crich Tramway Village for “Conversations and Memories: Commemorating Tramway Families through the First World War”
(7) Judge’s Special Award
To Buxton Museum and Art Gallery for “Wonders of the Peak – a journey through time and place”
(8) Excellence – ‘Museum of the Year’
Winner – Erewash Museum
Congratulations to all the winners and everyone involved!
