The Sandford Awards are administered by Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) in partnership with the Heritage Education Trust and recognise high quality in heritage education.
This year’s Sandford Awards will be presented by the Duke of Buccleuch. The ceremony will take place at 11.30am on Monday 19 November at the Tower of London and marks the 40th anniversary of the Sandford Awards.
Over the last four decades over 500 sites including historic houses, museums, galleries, places of worship, gardens, landscapes and collections have received an award. They include the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh; official residence of Her Majesty The Queen in Scotland, Worcester Cathedral, Holdenby House in Northamptonshire, London Transport Museum and Lismore Castle Arts in Northern Ireland.
John Hamer, Chairman of the Heritage Education Trust, expressed his delight at returning to the Tower of London to celebrate the latest selection of award winners:
“We are delighted to be holding this, our 40th, Sandford Award ceremony at the Tower of London. The Tower was amongst the first small group of sites to receive an award in 1978 and since then has been a regular recipient. It is highly fitting, therefore, that we should be celebrating 40 years of Sandford Awards in this iconic setting.”
BGU has administered the award for the last 10 years and the Reverend Canon Professor Peter Neil, Vice Chancellor of BGU, discussed how he was pleased to see important heritage projects getting the recognition they deserve:
“For the past ten years BGU has worked in partnership with the Heritage Education Trust in supporting this award. During this time we have seen some excellent examples of creative and innovative programmes and this year continues that tradition of high quality entries.”
The Heritage Lottery Funded Sandford Cascade project is also administered at BGU and provides support and encouragement within heritage learning so that more sites and collections apply for the prestigious Sandford Award.
For more information about the Sandford Awards, please contact Jayne Ellis, Sandford Award Administrator, on 01522 583695 or via Jayne.ellis@bishopg.ac.uk
Sandford Award Winners 2018
The Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, East Anglia
Bassetlaw Museum, Nottinghamshire
The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, Kent
Belton House, National Trust, Lincolnshire
Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre, Leicestershire
Boughton House, Northamptonshire
The Bowes Museum, County Durham
Brading Roman Villa, Isle of Wight
The Commandery, Worcestershire
Creswell Crags Museum and Heritage Centre, Derbyshire
Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery, Wales
Derby Museum and Art Gallery, Derbyshire
Dinefwr, National Trust, Wales
Discovery Point and RRS Discovery, Scotland
Eastbury Manor House, Greater London
Fota Wildlife Park, Ireland
Gilbert White & The Oates Collections, Hampshire
Hampton Court Palace, London
Harewood House Trust, West Yorkshire
The Historic Dockyard Chatham, Kent
International Bomber Command Centre, Lincolnshire
The John Moore Museum, Gloucestershire
Leeds Discovery Centre, West Yorkshire
Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills, West Yorkshire
Museum of London Archaeology - Time Truck, London
Mousetrap Theatre Projects’ Creative Learning Portfolio, London
Muckross Traditional Farms, Ireland
The Museum of Cannock Chase, Staffordshire
National Civil War Centre - Newark Museum, Nottinghamshire
National Coal Mining Museum for England, West Yorkshire
National Justice Museum, Nottinghamshire
Peterborough Museum, Cambridgeshire
The Postal Museum, London
Preston Park Museum and Grounds, County Durham
The Priest’s House Museum, Dorset
Ripon Museum Trust, North Yorkshire
River & Rowing Museum, Oxfordshire
The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, Buckinghamshire
Southwell Minster and the Archbishop’s Palace, Nottinghamshire
Staircase House, Greater Manchester
St Albans Cathedral Learning, Hertfordshire
Thwaite Mills Watermill, West Yorkshire
Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery Trust, Cumbria
Verdant Works, Scotland
Victoria Tunnel, Newcastle upon Tyne
Wilberforce House Museum, Hull and East Riding
Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, the All England Lawn Tennis Club
Worcestershire County Museum
The Workhouse, Southwell, Nottinghamshire