It was a wonderful evening of celebration at Barrow Hill Roundhouse 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's 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.
