Daventry Museum’s Borough Hill exhibition receives a Highly Commended award

Daventry Museum’s ‘Borough Hill and its History’ exhibition received a Highly Commended award at the Northamptonshire Heritage Forum Awards.

The exhibition, held at Chester House Estate on Wednesday, July 12, brought the historic age of Borough Hill alive through educational displays and entertaining activities.

The exhibition brought the historic age of Borough Hill alive through educational displays and entertaining activities

It was inspired by the centenary of the publication of William Edgar's book 'Borough Hill Daventry and its History'.

Remains have been found on Borough Hill since the 1820s, two Bronze Age barrows, two Iron Age hillforts, and a late-era Roman villa and farming settlement have been excavated over the years.

The exhibits included fossils, neolithic flints and stone tools, Bronze Age axes and pottery from the Roman Villa.

Some of the antiquities discovered at the archaeological site are now kept at the British Museum.

The Northamptonshire Heritage Forum Awards is a prestigious event which showcases excellence within Northamptonshire's museums, galleries and historic houses.

The judges of the ‘Best Exhibition’ category were particularly impressed with Daventry Museum’s archaeological displays and the various ways in which the museum engaged with the community, especially with local schools.

The museum team worked hard to develop engaging activities for children to learn more about Borough Hill's rich history and its importance in Daventry.

Mike Arnold, one of Daventry Museum's volunteers, assisted in the creation of the exhibition and offered guided walks of Borough Hill's history.

The museum was able to cater to 300 local students in school years one and two, as well as seven and nine, by establishing connections with the National Curriculum.

This exhibition facilitated collaboration with other heritage sites and groups, such as the Sywell Aviation Museum, the Archaeological Resource Centre, the Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, the Community Landscape Archaeology Survey Project, the Museum of London Archaeology, and the Northamptonshire finds liaison officer.

The award would not have been achieved without the support of the Daventry Town Council and the dedication and hard work of the museum's volunteer team.