We are very pleased to have been awarded a £40,800 grant from the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund to deliver a year-long project: Pocklington’s Ancient Heritage – Towards a Permanent Museum. This will enable the trust to produce a high-quality roadshow of information, artefacts and illustrations; which it will take around the district and to heritage events to tell stories and showcase archaeological finds from Pocklington and the surrounding area.
Visitors will be able to see a replica how the stunning Pocklington Shield would have looked when it was first made. The Shield, discovered on The Mile in 2019 was described by Iron Age expert, Professor Melanie Giles, as: “The most important Celtic art object of the millennium.”
The aim is to have both elements ready to showcase at this year’s Pocklingto Heritage Festival, which is planned for 14-16 November 2024.
Vice-chair, Sue Lang, who steered the heritage trust’s grant application said: “We are delighted to have secured this grant to support the creation of a travelling museum. The substantial award will not only enable us to have a stand-alone display system that we can use in a range of local venues, but will also be vital in testing out how best to fit out a permanent Pocklington museum.
‘The travelling museum will use cutting edge digital visualisations as well as real objects to inspire community learning and uncover the area’s past. We have been able to line up leading exhibition designers and replica makers to help us deliver the project; and we are very excited about their ideas and how these will be developed by involving local people and our wider audiences.”
Yorkshire-based heritage design and interpretation practice, The Creative Core, will design and build the displays, using the Trust’s existing collection of artefacts and access to a vast range of research and interpretation materials. The replica shield will be made by Cheltenham-based craftsman, Roland Williamson, using techniques as close as possible to those used by our Iron Age ancestors.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda; providing £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025 and aiming to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK. Managed in East Yorkshire by East Riding of Yorkshire Council, more than a dozen projects across East Yorkshire have already benefited, including locally Pocklington Arts Centre and Allerthorpe and Sancton village halls.
