Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust celebrates reaching the finals of national award

The Buxton Crescent Visitor Experience celebrates being shortlisted for a national award, Stefan Hales-Jozefczyk and Ben Offord in the Review Room which has a range a head gear to try on

The work of the Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust along with exhibition designers ImageMakers has been recognised by the prestigious Engaging People Awards, from the Association for Heritage Interpretation for the Buxton Crescent Visitor Experience.

Scott Russell, Head of Engagement for the Trust said: “Many years of hard work from a cast of dozens have gone into researching, writing, designing and producing a new visitor attraction that we feel has hit the brief perfectly.

"We’re really pleased to have been shortlisted alongside some other really great projects across the UK.

“The team at Buxton Museum and Art Gallery were great supporters of the project, sharing their collections, expertise, and staff during the project.”

The innovative new visitor experience opened its doors in 2020 and is located on the ground floor and in cellar spaces of The Buxton Crescent.

It is the immersive experience, which takes guest through a series of rooms dedicated to telling the story of the remarkable building, it’s restoration and the fascinating characters involved in its history, which secured the Trust a place in the final of the awards.

The biennial awards are the only awards to recognise excellence in all types and sizes of heritage interpretation. The category winners were announced on Thursday 4 November. They all compete for the overall AHI Award for Excellence on the 18 November.

Scott said: “Louise Cross, the Trust’s executive director up until June this year, worked quietly behind the scenes to make sure the dream of Trust and the Visitor Experience became a reality.

"Finally, our front of house team – Visitor Centre and Experience Hosts, helped us open the brand-new attraction during the pandemic, in very challenging circumstances.

"They rolled with the changes, adapted, adapted again, and consistently supported our visitors in safe and enjoyable visits.

"We really couldn’t have opened without them.”

Stephen Owen, CEO of the Trust added: “We owe a huge thanks to our sponsors and supporters, Derbyshire County Council, High Peak Borough Council, D2N2, Arts Council England, Buxton Water, Wedgewood, Marketing Peak District and Derbyshire and The Bingham Trust.”

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