£9.3m New Year 'hat trick' for historic parks
Three parks in London, Walsall and Devizes are celebrating the beginning of the New Year following confirmed grants totalling £9.3m* from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Big Lottery Fund (BIG). This money from the two Lottery distributors will give a vital boost to plans for these popular local parks.
Carole Souter, Chief Executive of HLF, said on behalf of HLF and BIG:
Sleeping giant comes to life
HLF awards £3m to Northern Ireland’s treasured coastal landscape
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has announced today a £3m grant¹ for the spectacular Giant’s Causeway World Heritage Site in Northern Ireland and £3.7m for Liverpool’s pioneering Florence Institute for Boys. In addition, it has given initial support² for projects at Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge, the Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough, Roman Maryport in West Cumbria and the University Church of St Mary the Virgin in Oxford.
Dame Jenny Abramsky, Chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund, said:
Fra Angelico to Leonardo: Italian Renaissance drawings
The BP Special Exhibition
22 April – 25 July 2010 / Reading Room / Admission charge
This major exhibition, supported by BP, will bring together the finest group of Italian Renaissance drawings to be seen in this country for over seventy years. Drawn from the two foremost collections in the field, the Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe Uffizi in Florence and the British Museum, the display will chart the increasing importance of drawing during the period between 1400 and 1510, featuring 100 works by amongst others Fra Angelico, Jacopo and Gentile Bellini, Botticelli, Carpaccio, Leonardo da Vinci, Filippo Lippi, Mantegna, Michelangelo, Titian and Verrocchio. In addition, infrared reflectography and other non-invasive scientific analysis of the works will give fresh insights into the techniques and creative thinking of Renaissance artists as they experimented with a freedom not always apparent in their finished works
Read more: Fra Angelico to Leonardo: Italian Renaissance drawings
Historic York Catholic Church becomes first UK user of new DRU Kamara heaters
St George’s is an historic 19th century Catholic Church in the ancient city of York. Designed by Charles and Joseph Hansom (of Hansom cab fame), the church was built in 1850 to serve the needs of the large number of Irish immigrants arriving in England at that time to find work in the farms and on railway construction.
St George’s is still a thriving church with a large and cosmopolitan congregation. In common with many other similar period churches, it has had a problem finding effective heating during the long winter months.
Read more: Historic York Catholic Church becomes first UK user of new DRU Kamara heaters
Henry VIII's Window Sheds Light On His Life On The Day He Died
- Major New Cultural Venue in Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site Moves Closer to Opening -
29 January 2010: A window from the Royal Tudor Palace of King Henry VIII was reinstalled on the site of his famous palace on the exact day Henry died, 463 years ago on 28 January 1547. The window, reconstructed from stonework excavated on the site of Tudor Palace is one of the unique exhibits in Discover Greenwich at The Old Royal Naval College, a new £6m contemporary cultural venue exploring the history of the area, opening on 23 March 2010. [Link to pictures below]. The site of King Henry VIII’s Greenwich Palace lies under the Old Royal Naval College.
Read more: Henry VIII's Window Sheds Light On His Life On The Day He Died
Taking Flight with EPL Skylift at the Royal Liver Building
Lavendon Access Services’ Vehicle Mount Division, EPL Skylift, has recently supplied Chester-based company Wasp Ltd, with its largest truck mounted boom, a 72 metre model, for a job at the Royal Liver Building on the banks of the River Mersey in Liverpool.
Read more: Taking Flight with EPL Skylift at the Royal Liver Building
Leave Your Historic Environment to the Experts
The IHBC www.ihbc.org.uk is the professional body for building conservation practitioners and historic environment experts working in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with connections to the Republic of Ireland. The Institute exists to establish, develop and maintain the highest standards of conservation practice, to support the effective protection and enhancement of the historic environment, and to promote heritage-led regeneration and access to the historic environment for all.
Preserving history:
Lecture series to highlight the value of built heritage
Robert Gordon University's Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment have announced a new lecture mini-series that will focus on the
importance of preserving and working with our built heritage. This will be done by showcasing a number of conservation and regeneration projects currently being undertaken in Scotland and beyond.
British Organ Builders
Martin Goetze & Dominic Gwynn
Martin Goetze and Dominic Gwynn is a firm of six craftsmen dedicated to the production of pipe organs of high quality in classical styles. There are three partners, Martin, Dominic and Edward Bennett, and usually four other craftsmen. All three partners are full time organbuilders. Generally speaking Martin and Dominic alternate responsibility for the design, supervision and finishing of each project, though the advantage of a small firm with three committed and experienced partners is that much of the responsibility is shared.
Kingdom of Ife: sculptures from West Africa
Sponsored by Santander Additional support provided by The A.G.Leventis Foundation
4 March – 6 June 2010 / Room 35 / Admission charge
Kingdom of Ife: sculptures from West Africa will tell the story of the legendary city of Ife (pronounced ee-feh) through some of the most refined and beautiful sculptures ever to be found in Africa. Ife is today regarded as the spiritual heartland of the Yoruba people living in Nigeria, the Republic of Benin and their many descendants around the world. The exhibition will feature nearly 100 superb pieces of Ife sculpture, most of which have never been seen in the UK before, and have been drawn almost entirely from the magnificent collections of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria. The British Museum is planning a series of Africa-related events, activities and displays to coincide with the 50th anniversary of African Independence celebrations in 2010
Brick Development Association

The BBC and British Museum announce ‘A History of the World’
A unique and unprecedented partnership focusing on world history for 2010
The BBC and the British Museum have joined forces in an original and unprecedented public service partnership, focusing on world history. At its heart is a landmark series on BBC Radio 4, ‘A History of the World in 100 Objects’ which will broadcast from 18 January 2010.
Read more: The BBC and British Museum announce ‘A History of the World’
Volunteers return in CSR scheme
For the second year running, volunteers from construction and management consultant Turner & Townsend returned to Shandy Hall in Coxwold, North Yorkshire, to carry out maintenance and decoration of the exterior of the 18th-century parsonage as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) scheme.