The No 1 Royal Crescent has been named amongst some of the best visitor attractions in the UK at the Museums & Heritage Awards for Excellence.
The Whole Story project at the visitor attraction run by the Bath Preservation Society, was Highly Commended in the prestigious Permanent Exhibition category, beating a tough shortlist of attractions from across the UK.
It was announced by TV personality Sue Perkins at the glittering ceremony held in central London on Wednesday night.
Commenting on the accolade, Caroline Kay, Chief Executive of Bath Preservation Trust, said: “I could not be more delighted with this prestigious recognition for the hard work – and imaginative ambitions – of a dedicated and excellent project team.
“Everybody involved thoroughly enjoyed working on the project and this is a fitting reward for what we achieved within the constraints of a Grade I listed building and tight budget!”
Now celebrating its twelfth year, the annual Awards, created by The Museums + Heritage Show, recognise the leading lights of the heritage sector and celebrate excellence and innovation at museums, galleries and visitor attractions across the UK and Europe.
Among the night’s other big winners was London’s Victoria and Albert Museum which walked away with the 2014 ‘Best of the Best’ accolade.
Hundreds of sector professionals joined together at the ceremony – the ‘Oscars’ of the museums and heritage industry – to celebrate the groundbreaking achievements and spectacular projects taking place in cultural attractions over the past 12 months.
Museums and Heritage Awards Director Anna Preedy said: “No.1 Royal Crescent clearly embraces the art of interpretation and has transformed how visitors experience Georgian life both above and below stairs. Portraying the house as the living home of its first occupant, Henry Sandford, with authentic furnishings, decorative schemes and quality collection items has reinvigorated our understanding of the period.”
The 2014 winners included: Portsmouth’s New Mary Rose Museum which fought-off strong competition to win the much-coveted Permanent Exhibition Award as well as the accolade in the Restoration/Conservation category.
The winner of the International Award was National Archives in the Netherlands for their Memory Palace exhibition while the Haslemere Educational Museum was victorious in the Project on a Limited Budget category.
Other winners included London’s Victoria & Albert Museum – a double winner in the Innovation category and Temporary/Touring category; National Museums Liverpool in the Educational category while London’s Horniman Museum and Gardens were named as winners in the Marketing category for their Walrus on the Move campaign.
The final accolade was awarded to the UK institution that best demonstrated a groundbreaking approach to audience engagement over the past 12 months. It was chosen by members of the Guardian Cultural Professionals Network and awarded to Powell-Cotton Museum in Kent.
Bernard Donoghue, Director, ALVA and a member of the judging panel, said: “These awards recognise the amazing achievements, creativity, innovation, hard work and utter commitment evident throughout the museums and heritage sector.
“The number of applications, of really impressive quality, grows year after year as the awards have become the benchmark for excellence. If you are shortlisted, let alone win one of these awards, you know you are among the best of the best”.
The winners and highly commended entries are a reflection of the industry’s growing diversity. Each museum, cultural and heritage visitor attraction is recognised for its excellence – whether for an innovative and groundbreaking exhibition or for making a considerable achievement on the smallest of budgets.
The Awards are judged by a panel of sector experts including: Dr Ellen McAdam, Director of Birmingham Museums; Bernard Donoghue, Director, Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA), Diane Lees, Director General, Imperial War Museums; Matthew Tanner, Chief Executive of SS Great Britain and Sam Mullins, Director of the London Transport Museum.