Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust shortlisted for award

Since 2014 Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust has been delivering an international training programme for young people. The project involves international collaboration, knowledge sharing, sharing of cultures, conservation and learning traditional building skills. Young people from the UK, Bulgaria, Estonia, Taiwan and cross Europe work side by side on heritage projects learning from each other and from the buildings they are preserving.

Conservation projects in Great Yarmouth are used as a vehicle for training, and the preservation trust also hosts annual workshops in Bulgaria at a derelict farmhouse they own.

The young people involved in the project come from a diverse range of backgrounds, nationalities, genders and cultures, they all share a passion for heritage and preservation.

The project was established to address skills shortages, it fosters international relations, broadens horizons, and helps to create a generation which is eager to engage with and advocate conservation. It builds an international network of emerging heritage professionals and encourages the ongoing sharing of information, training and experiences from a broad range of culture and perspectives.

"This is an enormous honour for Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust and is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of all the young people that have been involved with the project". Bernard Williamson Chair of Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust

"There is something wonderful in seeing a Taiwanese conservation student sharing carpentry skills with a Bulgarian architecture student, or young people from Yarmouth and Estonia communicate through nods and gestures as they rebuild a dry stone wall". Darren Barker Project Director Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust

Andrew Lloyd Webber, who founded the Historic England Angel Awards in 2011, said: "I am thrilled to see the wide range of heritage projects included in the shortlist for the 2018 Historic England Angel Awards. This year we can truly call the Angel Awards a national celebration with England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and, for the first time, Wales hosting Heritage Angel Awards.

Everyone involved in these projects deserves to be recognised and congratulated on the vital role they play in protecting unique heritage, buildings, landscapes and craft skills for future generations. I am excited that for the first time we will be crowning an overall UK winner at the final ceremony."

Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England said: "The Angel Awards allow us to celebrate the people who work tirelessly to care for our irreplaceable heritage. So often they are in the background, but now we turn the spotlight on the volunteers and heritage professionals whose work ensures we can continue to enjoy England's wonderful historic sites for generations to come."

Vote for us!

While the five category winners will be decided by a panel of expert judges, each project is now seeking the public's support to win a further award. All 15 shortlisted projects - three per category - are in the running for the Historic England People's Favourite award chosen solely by the public.

Voting is now open. Cast your vote at HistoricEngland.org.uk/AngelAwards. Voting closes 18 November 2018.

Chaired by Andrew Lloyd Webber, the 2018 judging panel comprises historian Bettany Hughes, TV's Restoration Man George Clarke, the Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Baroness Lola Young and Historic England's Chief Executive Duncan Wilson.

The winners will be announced and presented with their awards at a glittering ceremony at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, London on 27 November 2018.

Press release issue on behalf of the Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust, October 8, 2018