Erewash Museum have been awarded the title of ‘Museum of the year’ at the prestigious Derbyshire Heritage Awards, which took place at a ceremony at The Silk Mill, Derby on Tuesday 20th September.  With over sixty museums in the county, this is a massive achievement for the museum.

The Awards, which are held annually, celebrate the work of museums and heritage sites throughout the county, and are supported by Renaissance East Midlands and the Derbyshire Museums Forum. The Museum of the Year is awarded to an organisation that has excelled in all areas of museum work and development, and is an example of good practice for all museums to follow.  This year saw a record number of entrants to the awards with a wonderful display of events, projects and exhibitions at the county’s museums.

The museum were also awarded the title of ‘Best Event’ for the Swing Back to the Forties event which took place in June 2011 and was attended by over 1100 people!  The judges congratulated the museum for using the event to encourage local pride and promote the museum’s role within the community.  They were impressed by the enthusiasm of the museum’s staff and volunteers, and by the number of new contacts built in the area.

This is the second year running that the museum have walked away from the awards as winners- in 2010 they were awarded the title of ‘Best Exhibition’ for the Stanton Ironworks gallery. 

Each award was presented by Pauline Beswick, member representative for cultural heritage and historic environment issues at Peak District National Park Authority.  The celebration marks a year of success and achievement for the museum with record visitor figures, exciting new events and exhibitions, together with a Visit England Accreditation award which the museum received in February 2011, for the high quality of visitor experience.