Heritage Sites Praised for Contribution to Education

 28/11/2013

Fifty UK heritage sites were recognised for excellence in heritage education on Wednesday (20th November) when they received a prestigious Sandford Award.

Best-selling author and historian Alison Weir presented the awards at a ceremony which was held at The National Gallery in London.

The awards are jointly managed by Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln and the Heritage Education Trust, and the winners represent a rich variety of heritage sites from across the country.

Among this year's winners were The Giant's Causeway in Antrim, Harewood House in Yorkshire, Normanby Hall near Scunthorpe, Hampton Court Palace, the National Coal Mining Museum for England, Brading Roman Villa on the Isle of Wight and Verdant Works, a former jute mill in Dundee.

Jean MacIntyre, Head of Innovation at Bishop Grosseteste University, said: "The National Gallery is an iconic institution and we were delighted to be able to present the Sandford Awards here this year.

"We hope that our awards play a small part in highlighting the very important heritage education work that is done by many organisations and sites across the country."

Sandford Award Winners 2013

Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham
Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills
Avoncroft Museum of Buildings
Bantock House Museum
The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge
Belton House
Boughton House
The Bowes Museum
Brading Roman Villa
The Commandery
Derby Museum and Art Gallery
Dinefwr
Discovery Point and RRS Discovery
Eastbury Manor House
Enginuity
Fota Wildlife Park
The Giant's Causeway
Gladstone Pottery Museum
Great Cressingham Victorian School
Hampton Court Palace
Harewood House
The Historic Dockyard Chatham
Jackfield Tile Museum
The John Moore Museum
Lancashire Archives
Leeds Art Gallery
Leeds Museum Discovery Centre
Muckross Traditional Farms
Museum of Cannock Chase
National Coal Mining Museum for England
The National Gallery
National Museum of Wales
Normanby Hall
North Lincolnshire Museum
Ordsall Hall
Penlee House Gallery and Museum
The Priest's House Museum
Ripon Museum Trust
River & Rowing Museum
Royal Cornwall Museum
Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, UEA
St Albans Cathedral Education Centre
Salford Museum and Art Gallery
Staircase House Museum
Thwaite Mills Watermill
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery Trust
Tunbridge Wells Museum and Art Gallery
Verdant Works
The Wallace Collection
The Workhouse, Southwell

News release
22nd November 2013

Notes to editors
•The Sandford Awards were established in 1978 by Lord Sandford to encourage those responsible for running historic houses and guide their educational endeavours by monitoring standards.
•The awards were originally administered run by The Council for Environmental Education. To develop the awards more fully, the Heritage Education Trust was established in 1983 and now runs the scheme in collaboration with Bishop Grosseteste University.
•Bishop Grosseteste University was established in uphill Lincoln in January 1862 and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2012.
•It is an independent higher education institution which awards its own degrees at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate level.
•It changed its name from Bishop Grosseteste University College to Bishop Grosseteste University in November 2012.
•Alison Weir is a British writer of history books and historical novels, mostly in the form of biographies about British royalty. Her works on the Tudor period have made her a best-selling author.

jez@shootingstar-pr.co.uk