Buxton Museum wins regional heritage award in 2019

Archive: This article describes Buxton Museum in 2019. Its former Terrace Road premises closed in 2023. The museum reopened in a temporary home next to Buxton Library in October 2026; see the museum for current exhibitions and visiting information.

In 2019, Buxton Museum and Art Gallery won an East Midlands heritage award for Hoards: a hidden history of ancient Britain, a touring exhibition created by the British Museum and Salisbury Museum.

The Biennial Regional Heritage Awards were held in Newark on 24 September 2019. Derbyshire Record Office, which accepted the museum’s award, reported that it won “The Sky’s the Limit” category.

Museum Development East Midlands organised and funded the awards, which recognised work by museums, historic houses and heritage sites across the region.

Hoards was shown at Buxton from 13 April to 16 June 2019. Buxton was one of five venues on the tour and the only one in the Midlands and North West.

Coins with ceramic money boxes, jewellery, silver and other treasure, including spectacular Iron Age gold torcs and recent prehistoric and Roman discoveries from Wessex were just some of the objects featured in the exhibition. The glittering display of finds explored why ancient people placed precious objects underwater and in the ground since the Bronze age. Tracing the story of hoarding from weapons discovered in the River Thames and the first Iron Age coin hoards, through to hoards buried after the collapse of Roman rule in Britain and in more recent times, the exhibition showcased recent discoveries reported by finders and archaeologists through the Treasure Act.

For the Buxton exhibition, Peak District photographer Nick Lockett created landscape images connected to the display. A museum account describes the photographs and the stories accompanying them.

The museum’s 2017 redevelopment received Heritage Lottery Fund support. The museum reported that Hoards broke its visitor records; our original report also noted record figures from April to July 2019.

The record office reported that the 2019 awards attracted 83 entries from 48 organisations and were attended by 130 guests.

Our 2019 report said Buxton Museum’s category had 19 other entries, including projects from the University of Nottingham and Derby Museums.

The original report named the judges as Dr Abi Hunt, Chris Keady and Katt Hanson. Their roles were described as they were in 2019.

The organisers’ results confirm the following awards listed in our original report:

The Sky’s the Limit

Winner – Buxton Museum and Art Gallery for ‘Hoards: a hidden history of ancient Britain’

Highly Commended – Chesterfield Museum and Art Gallery for ‘The Trench Experience’

Highly Commended – Markham Vale Heritage Group for ‘Walking Together Markham Vale Mining Memorial Heritage Trail’

Behind the Scenes at the Museum

Winner – National Justice Museum for ‘HM Prison Service Collection Digitisation Project’

Highly Commended – Creswell Heritage Trust for ‘Instagram Video Series: The Collection’

Best Project on a Shoestring (less than £1,000)

Winner – Mansfield Museum for ‘Fitness, Food & Fun’

Highly Commended – The Friends of Metheringham Airfield for ‘Creating a Memorial Room fit for heroes at Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre’

Partnership Working

Winner – Canalside Heritage Centre for ‘Canalside Visions: Beijing to Beeston and back again’

Highly Commended – Crafting Relationships for ‘Local History Café’

Heart of the Community

Winner – Erewash Museum for ‘The Beach’ at Erewash Museum

Highly Commended – Spiral Projects for ‘March of the Fifty’

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For more information on the latest events, what’s on and exhibitions at Buxton Museum and Art Gallery, visit their website or follow them on social media: