Welcome to the 24 Hour Museum news in brief page for the week ending July 27 2008.
25.07.2008 - National Railway Museum on track for White Rose Award
Staff at the National Railway Museum (NRM) are celebrating after being short-listed for the most prestigious tourism award in Yorkshire.
After a record number of entries, the NRM was short listed for the White Rose Visitor Attraction of the Year Award (Over 50,000 visitors) based on its contribution to the Yorkshire economy and the role it plays in attracting tourists to the region.
Last year, over 840,000 people visited the NRM’s collection of over 100 locomotives and nearly 200 other items of rolling stock, to learn about the railway story from early 19th century to the present day. The museum houses a wide range of railway icons and literally millions of artefacts, from Mallard - the world's fastest steam locomotive - to a lock of Robert Stephenson's hair.
“We are thrilled the National Railway Museum has been short-listed for such a prestigious industry award," said NRM Director Andrew Scott. "It is up against some fantastic Yorkshire attractions but we’re feeling confident and we’re very much looking forward to the Awards Ceremony in Bridlington this September.”
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony to be held at Bridlington Spa on September 25 2008.
Whitwick Historical Group, the Sir John Moore Foundation and Castle Donington Museum have all won prestigious awards at this year’s Leicestershire and Rutland Heritage Awards.
The Sir John Moore Foundation, in Appleby Magna, was declared Leicestershire and Rutland Museum of the Year at the awards ceremony in Hallaton on Thursday July 24. The Foundation also took the prize of Best Special Project for the conversion of the building’s cellar, the former laundry, into a bar.
Best Exhibition was awarded to Whitwick Historical Group for a special weekend-long exhibition that marked their 25th anniversary and celebrated the history of their community.
Castle Donington Museum took the Best Event gong for their Flying the Flag event. Frustrated at sometimes being overlooked, the museum invited dignitaries to an afternoon party to celebrate the work of the museum and its volunteers to raise their profile in the area.
24.07.2008 - Ormsgard re-enactment group descend on Sutton Hoo
Local re-enactment group, Ormsgard, will be at the Sutton Hoo in Suffolk this weekend, July 26 and 26, to conjure up the sounds and images of Anglo Saxon life.
Visitors to the famous burial ground of the Anglo-Saxon kings of East Anglia
will be able to watch battles between brave Anglo-Saxon soldiers, learn about what they ate, enjoy fascinating period craftwork or hear mysterious stories from long ago.
The visitor centre at Sutton Hoo is currently hosting an exhibition on the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of East Anglia, featuring artefacts loaned from the British Museum and leading museums in Suffolk and Norfolk.
Scarborough Castle’s medieval summer gets off to a flying start on Saturday 26 and Sunday July 27, when King Edward VI returns to the throne and the castle itself is seized by soldiers of the House of York.
For two days, the castle’s grounds will become the camp of the Cavalry of St. George, as they lay siege to the castle to recreate the War of the Roses. Visitors will watch as the soldiers prepare for combat with drill using medieval weaponry.
Honing their skills and accuracy in a less combative sense, the chivalrous knights and their ladies will engage in friendly competition in the grand arena. Mounted on their trusty steeds, lords and ladies will demonstrate their medieval equestrian skills with a range of horseback sports, from 12.30pm and 4.30pm each day.
Visitors will be invited to walk around a living history encampment, having the opportunity to see and handle the weapons and armour of the time in an interactive session from 1.00pm, smell the food cooking and even try on some of the costumes!
Younger visitors may well be recruited into the Yorkist army to experience 15th century drill first hand, whilst the climax of each day will be a fierce clash between the Yorkist and Parliamentarian forces from 3.00pm to 4.00pm.
The event runs from 11.00am to 5.00pm each day, with the castle itself open from 10.00am to 6.00pm. Admission is £5.00 for adults, £4.00 for concessions and just £2.50 for children, with a family ticket for £12.50. Entry is free for English Heritage members.
23.07.2008 - Victorian Society celebrates fifty fighting years in Leeds
Members of the Victorian Society, the heritage charity that fought to save such nationally significant Victorian buildings as Liverpool’s Albert Dock and London’s St Pancras Station, will this week mark the organisation’s fiftieth anniversary with three days of trips and visits around historic Leeds.
Starting on the afternoon of Friday 25 July, 150 architectural history enthusiasts will be treated to a tour of Leeds city centre, taking in such Victorian gems as the Corn Exchange by Cuthbert Brodrick and the 1878 Grand Theatre.
After a tour of the city’s inner suburbs on Saturday morning, they will convene for the Soceity’s fiftieth Annual General Meeting at the soon-to-be refurbished City Varieties music hall on Swan Street.
On Saturday evening, more than 200 members and friends of the Victorian Society will celebrate the charity’s golden anniversary at a gala dinner at Leeds Town Hall, one of the grandest civic buildings in Britain, before rounding the visit off with a tour of Victorian Halifax on Sunday.
23.07.2008 - Prince Michael of Kent opens new Ropery Gallery at The Historic Dockyard Chatham
His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent, Patron of the Chatham Historic Dockyard Volunteer Service (CHDVS) visited The Historic Dockyard on Friday July 18 to officially open the New Ropery Experience and to view some of the projects that the Volunteers have been involved with.
He was treated to a brand new guided tour of the Victorian Ropery gallery and even helped to make his own piece of rope on the original ropewalk.
HRH Prince Michael then went to No. 3 Covered Slip which has recently opened as ‘3 Slip – The BIG Store’ to view some of the work which the volunteers have worked on over the past year.
Alan Bates, Chairman of CHDVS said; “Our volunteers have an incredible range of expertise and skills, some of which have taken a lifetime to acquire and there are other volunteers who are prepared to learn new skills that will enable them to carry out some of the very complex projects that they have been tasked with.”
23.07.2008 - Free admission to Crich extravaganza for vintage vehicle owners
Crich Tramway Village in Derbyshire is extending an invitation to vintage vehicle owners to attend its annual Transport Extravaganza this year, Sunday 24 and Bank Holiday Monday August 25.
In what organisers are calling ‘a show like no other’, over 300 vehicles will be on display and on the move mingling with the historic trams to create a celebration of vintage road transport.
Everything from classic cars and motorcycles, to double deck buses and lorries will all be competing for one of the coveted trophies on offer. There will also be lots of trade stands to browse around.
Vintage vehicle owners who book in advance qualify for two free entrance tickets. To find out more or to register for the event visit www.tramway.co.uk or phone 01773 854321.
22.07.2008 - Funding Success for Colchester Town Wall
Colchester Council has been successful in its application to English Heritage for funding to support its repair programme on the Town Wall.
The grant of £46,000 will be used to repair the stretch of the Wall behind the houses in Roman Road.
The total cost of the project is estimated at £115,000 and is being funded from Colchester Council’s Capital Programme. The project forms part of the ongoing programme of repairs to Colchester’s Town Wall which commenced in 2006.
Colchester’s Town Wall is believed to be oldest in the country and was originally built shortly after the destruction of the town by Boudica in AD 61. It was partially demolished after the Siege of Colchester in 1648 and has been much repaired over the centuries.
22.07.2008 - Harrogate Open Exhibition opens this weekend
The long awaited Harrogate Open Exhibition starts Saturday 26 July (until 7 September) at the Mercer Art Gallery.
A showcase for the district’s talented artists, this year the winner of the £200 top prize is Jessica Thorn with her sculptural metal furniture. Second prize of £100 has gone to distinguished Knaresborough ceramic artist Maggie Barnes for her porcelain and handmade paper ‘marine fossils’.
A further six artists won special commendations £50 each. The prizes are all sponsored by the Friends of the Mercer Art Gallery.
22.07.2008 - English Heritage Blue Plaque for actor Alastair Sim
Acclaimed stage and film actor, Alastair Sim (1900 - 1976) is to be commemorated with an English Heritage blue plaque at 8 Frognal Gardens, London, NW3, where he lived for over 20 years (from 1953 until 1975).
It was at this address that Sim experienced his greatest fame and both his daughter Merlith McKendrick and his protege George Cole have attested to the actor's happiness whilst living there. Merlith McKendrick will unveil the plaque on Wednesday July 23.
21.08.2008 - Edinburgh's Royal Museum project gets £1m boost
National Museums Scotland has received a £1 million grant from The Moffat Charitable Trust towards the £46.4 million redevelopment of the Royal Museum building in Edinburgh. The major grant brings the total raised to date to over £41 million.
"We’re delighted that the Royal Museum project is receiving such enthusiastic and widespread support, and particularly that the Moffat Trust has decided to make such a generous donation," said Dr Gordon Rintoul, Director of National Museums Scotland.
"It is only with the help of partners like these that we can deliver this transformational project for the benefit of the people of Scotland and beyond.”
The Royal Museum building is part of the National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street in Edinburgh which partially closed in April for three years of restoration and redevelopment.
The project is set to transform the iconic Victorian landmark into a world-class visitor experience. More objects will be put on display in 14 new galleries and exhibitions. There will also be an increase in learning facilities and improved access. The project is jointly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (£17.8 million) and the Scottish Government (£16 million) with a target of £12.6 million from private sources to be raised for the re-opening in 2011.
21.08.2008 - Phil Redmond appointed as new Chair of National Museums Liverpool
The TV writer and director Phil Redmond has been appointed as the new Chair of National Museums Liverpool (NML).
A key supporter of arts and culture in Liverpool, Professor Phil Redmond CBE is probably best known for his work in television. He created three of Britain's longest-running drama programmes: Grange Hill (30 years); Brookside (21 years) and Hollyoaks (11 years).
"I am thrilled to have been offered, and delighted to accept the role as Chair," he said. "Having been closely associated with the NML for such a long time, I'm really looking forward to sharing my passion and excitement for the arts with so many people and working with NML's committed staff."
Professor Redmond will take up his new position on August 1 2008 for a period of four years.
