Meet Northamptonshire’s finest at the 2022 Heritage Awards … the winners are announced!

Heritage Awards

14 Oct

2022 Heritage Award winners in the foyer at Northampton Museum and Art Gallery

On 6 October, 2022, Northamptonshire Heritage Forum hosted an evening celebrating the very best of Northamptonshire’s rich heritage. Held in the impressive facilities of Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, guests were welcomed on arrival by the youth string quartet Senzatori, courtesy of Northampton Music and Performing Arts Trust.

Compered by BBC Radio Northampton’s John Griff DL, the ceremony was held with a zoom link which allowed members to attend from their own homes. Honoured guests and presenters included the Hon. Mrs Amanda Lowther DL, representing the Lord Lieutenant, who spoke warmly of the enormous asset that the history societies, museums, historic houses, churches, and heritage sites represent to Northamptonshire. She remarked that the volunteers and staff teams who run these organisations do so with passion and enthusiasm, generating strong communities and a real family spirit. This theme developed throughout the night both in acceptance speeches, and by John Griff and Martin Lawrence, Chair of the Forum.

Forum Treasurer, Jon-Paul Carr greeting guests

Awards were presented by local leaders, including Jonathan Nunn, Leader of West Northants Council and Cllr Helen Howell, Deputy Leader of North Northants Council, Elizabeth Moran of Museum Development East Midlands, and Mr and Mrs Dennis Meredith, Mayor and Mayoress of Northampton also presented. Rachel Mallows DL of ‘Northamptonshire Surprise’ presented an award, representing the county’s excellent promotional website, along with Richard Barnwell, President of the Kettering Civic Society and trustee of Northamptonshire Victoria County History Trust. In addition to his role as compere, John Griff DL also presented the ‘People’s Choice Award’ reflecting the most popular heritage organisation as featured on his BBC Radio Northampton show.

Northamptonshire Heritage Forum Chair, Martin Lawrence MBE

Forum Chair Martin Lawrence MBE welcomed members and guests and thanked all who had taken part and congratulated all the winners. He noted that the evening was uplifting and inspiring for us all.

A quick reminder of the winners who received their plaques:

Best Event

Sywell Aviation Museum
’Grand Opening and 21st Birthday Party’

Their first ‘Grand Opening’ in 3 years (thanks to COVID) held to launch the Museum’s 2022 season and celebrate their 21st birthday since first opening! The team delivered a spectacular event pulling in a record number of visitors and participants. Delivered on a tiny budget, it provided a great day out free to the public.

Best Exhibition

Northampton Museum and Art Gallery
’We are Northampton’

We are Northampton was a collaborative exhibition with the people of Northampton, who contributed their memories of the town. It celebrated the town’s rich heritage and gave visitors an opportunity to explore Northampton’s character through a sense of identity and place, highlighting NMAG’s collections and research of the town. There was ‘something for everyone’ in the eclectic mix of objects, interactives, paintings, photographs, and stories.

Best Project under £500

Wellingborough Museum
’Arnie the Dragon’

All the Arndale shopping centres in the UK once had a wooden ‘sculpture’ and the Wellingborough Swansgate one was a dragon named Arnie. This was installed in 1975 and was a feature in the mall until 2003 and was played on by youngsters whilst grandparents watched. The project restored this much-loved dragon which had been in the Swansgate Centre and return it to the public.

Best Volunteer Project (highly commended)

Kelmarsh Hall and Gardens
‘Coalmarsh at Kelmarsh’

The Coalmarsh exhibition at Kelmarsh has been put together by the Research and Archive volunteers at Kelmarsh. They have done a fantastic job of focusing on the history of coal and the link the Lancaster family had to coal from Kelmarsh. The exhibition is located in the old coal cellar below stairs at Kelmarsh, and has items, organised by the volunteers, from the National Coal Museum for the public to view, along with a model railway from the Corby District Model Railway Society.

Best Volunteer Project (winner)

Northamptonshire Battlefields Society
Battlefield Volunteer Training Events

The aim was to promote the idea of volunteering with the Society and provide suitable training focused around the 1460 battlefield. The intention was to run at least two training events, with suitably knowledgeable trainers supported by professionally produced training materials. This series of workshops dramatically increased volunteer numbers and involvement at events.

Best Special Project

The Chester House Estate
‘Restoring the Chester House Estate’

The Chester House Estate is a £15.5m heritage restoration project. The project, funded by North Northamptonshire Council and The National Lottery Fund (NLHF), consisted of a large 17th century (Grade II* Listed), farm including a farmhouse and surrounding barns. The restoration of the estate, and creation of new retail, accommodation and catering facilities, a new museum and Archaeological Resource Centre have delivered a wonderful new heritage asset to Northamptonshire. The project has been wildly successful thanks to the energy and passion of the volunteers and staff team.

Best Community Award

Delapré Abbey Preservation Trust
‘Delapré Wellbeing’

Delapré Wellbeing is a new wellbeing hub being developed for our Northamptonshire community. The Delapré team want to empower people across the town to take control over their health and wellbeing through cultural experiences, events, classes and more. This innovative and imaginative project delivered by the team is created by, led by, and designed by the community.

Hindsight Award for the Best Published Work (highly commended)

Richard Blacklee
‘The Culworth Gang’

Jon-Paul Carr with Richard Blacklee's Hindsight highly commended award, presented by Hon. Mrs Amanda Lowther DL

The Culworth Gang tells the previously little-known story of a gang of robbers and highwaymen who terrorised south Northamptonshire for an unprecedented period of twenty years during the eighteenth century, before being brought to justice and tried at Northampton. The book is well researched and referenced, and appeals on many levels, including true crime and historical fiction.

Hindsight Award for the Best Published Work (winner)

Northampton Record Society
‘The Best Burglar in the County: Joan Wake and the Northamptonshire Record Society’

Presenting the Hindsight Award for Best Published Work — Hindsight Award winner, Northamptonshire Record Society

An edited collection of the letters and diary entries of Joan Wake (1884-1974), who founded the Northamptonshire Record Society in 1920. This astonishing book reveals just how farsighted Joan Wake was, and how much today’s historians have to thank for securing the written records of our past.

Judges’ Choice Special Award

Road Local History Society

This year, the judges were particularly impressed with the energy and passion of Roade Local History Society. The team engaged in a variety of projects and entered three awards, each of which were ‘runner up’ to the eventual winner. The judges particularly admired the depth of original research and the imaginative ways the information was used and presented to the public. Their energy and creativity in interpretation was inspiring. Well done to all the team. The judges look forward to seeing more next year.

People’s Choice Award

The Chester House Estate

This vote was for the organisation that the public would most like to visit. The Chester House team won the award taking over 20% of the vote from a shortlist of 10 voted for by the public. This Award was supported by BBC Radio Northampton and John Griff DL.

Heritage Organisation of the Year

Nenescape Landscape Partnership Scheme

Over the last five year his remarkable organisation has, under the auspices of the River Nene Regional Park, brought together and supported a vast number of local enterprises who operate in the Nene Valley. Their three-fold aim of listening to the past, exploring the now, and securing the future has allowed them to upskill, encourage and fund many of our membership who in turn have delivered truly excellent projects which have engaged and delighted the public, and made the Nene Valley area more accessible and resilient in the longer term.

The project was initially granted £2.6m over five years by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and received an additional £2m of donations and the support of the University of Northampton. The current iteration of the Nenescape project is due to end at the end of October and the Judges and Northamptonshire Heritage Forum wished to congratulate the small but inspiring Nenescape team for successfully fulfilling their vision.

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