The Washburn Heritage Centre is delighted to announce that its application for a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant has been successful. The Centre has benefitted from two previous grants and feels very grateful to have been given a third.
In 2008 the Heritage Fund was the principal funder for the building and equipping of the Centre which opened in February 2011. The Centre is attached to St Michael and St Lawrence Church, Fewston and known graves had to be moved for it to be built. The excavation of the graves revealed 154 individuals, now called the ‘Fewston Assemblage’. The size, location, and age of the Assemblage meant that it had ‘global significance’ to archaeologists. When volunteers were told of its importance, they felt that it was a heritage opportunity not to be missed. A second grant application was approved in 2014: this enabled extensive scientific and family history research work and the publication of the discoveries which were made.
Since the publication of the booklet ‘Churchyard Secrets Revealed,’ the interest in the Assemblage has not waned, and the work has received significant praise. Because of this enthusiastic reception, volunteers felt that wider audiences should know of the Fewston Assemblage.
This most recent grant for £70,445 is to fund a collaborative project, ‘Churchyard Secrets Shared.’ The partners are the Heritage Centre and the Universities of York and Durham.
Professor Rebecca Gowland from Durham University said:
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to continue our work alongside the fantastic volunteers at the Washburn Heritage Centre and colleagues at the University of York. This community-led project has been producing outputs of international significance for many years now and it’s wonderful that we now have funding to develop it further.”
Michelle Alexander, Professor of Bioarchaeology at the University of York, is a member of the project team and commented:
“Working alongside the Washburn Heritage Centre’s volunteers and colleagues at Durham University to uncover the lives of the people buried in Fewston churchyard has shown how archaeology can help people today connect more deeply with their own past. I’m really delighted that this community-led project can now continue to grow and reach a wider audience.”
The grant will fund the creation of digital interpretation and learning resources aimed at schools and younger audiences. It will also allow the development of a dedicated, accessible website, including geographical mapping showing how people lived, and how they travelled through the Washburn Valley. In July, the Centre will host a five-month programme of exhibitions, talks, walks and events including a Commemoration linked to the 10th anniversary of the 2016 reburial of the Assemblage.
Ian Bergel, chair of the Washburn Heritage Centre Management Committee explained: “This is excellent news for the Centre which is now in its 15th year of operation. It allows us to spread the word about what volunteers have discovered and increases our knowledge of the heritage of the Washburn Valley.”
Helen Featherstone, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said “We’re thrilled to be supporting Washburn Heritage Centre for their ‘Churchyard Secrets Shared’ project, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players. By bringing together research and archives it will enable more people to discover the fascinating heritage of the Fewston Assemblage and Washburn.”
