Donington le Heath breaks a record!

Donington le Heath Manor House has smashed its all-time annual record for visitors with over 25,000 visits for the first time.

The stone built manor house on the edge of Coalville has seen visitor numbers soar by a massive 15% between 2005 and 2006. Peter Liddle, Keeper of the Manor House, explains “In 2006 we had 25,024 visits, which was 3,230 more than 2005. We put this down to a number of improvements:-
• Our new computerised ‘virtual tours’ and reconstructions of the house
• Our new audio guides featuring local radio personality John Florance
• New wooden games and dressing up boxes
• Our re-opened tea room which is fast building a reputation
• Our newly planted Donington le Heath Woodlands on land bought with the aid of the National Forest
• Our improved education provision
• Our gardens that have started a complete makeover
• And our unique atmosphere as one of Leicestershire’s finest medieval buildings!
All of this has been very hard work by both our staff and our volunteers, particularly the Friends of Donington, but it has certainly been worth it and more improvements are in the pipeline.

Mr Ernie White, cabinet lead member for Community Services commented “it is very pleasing that Donington le Heath is going from strength to strength. I am particularly happy that we are attracting an ever increasing number of schools. Our museums have always had great potential as an educational resource and this is a great example of how this potential has been realised. The work at Donington is being seen as a model for museums across the region”

Donington le Heath Manor House is on the South West edge of Coalville, near Hugglescote and is open from 11.00 – 4pm seven days a week.

Ends

Press release issued: February 6 2007