Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre gains Accredited Museum status

Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre is celebrating after being recognised by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) as meeting the national standard for UK museums.
 
Run by Leicestershire County Council, Bosworth Battlefield officially opened in 1974 and has made the transition from a well known visitor attraction to an officially accredited Heritage Centre & Museum.

MLA’s Accreditation Scheme sets the benchmark for quality, for visitors and users of museum services and recognises museums who demonstrate commitment to achieving and maintaining a professional standard.

The exhibition, which officially opened in February 2008, and was funded by Leicestershire County Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund, takes visitors back in time to medieval England and follows King Richard III on his fateful journey into battle.

The interactive exhibition has learning and enjoyment at its heart, with eight exciting galleries, including “Preparing for battle”, where visitors can test their skills as a Knight’s Squire and the atmopsheric “Battle Room”, where the bloody conflict of 1485 reaches its dramatic conclusion.

The final gallery is set out as a state of the art evidence laboratory, Bosworth Field Investigation, (BFI), where visitors can try their hand at the latest techniques used in battlefield archeology and see some of the amazing finds from Bosworth’s unique collection. The majority of the collection was gathered during the ongoing metal detector survey, which aims to locate the battlefield.

The Accreditation recognises that Bosworth Battlefield meets the MLA’s nationally agreed standards for UK Museums. This includes meeting requirements on the information and services we offer to users, how our object collections are documented and cared for, as well as how they are governed, managed and displayed.

Mr Ernie White, Leicestershire County Council’s Cabinet member for Community Services, said: “Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre is the first accredited museum on a battlefield in the UK and it’s great to know we are meeting national standards. Accreditation also allows Bosworth to display nationally important objects from other museums for the people of Leicestershire to enjoy.”

Mark Wood, Chair of MLA, said: “Being awarded Accreditation is an impressive achievement. It recognises the high standard and service that Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre provides and acknowledges the hard work of the staff.”