Bletchley Park is delighted to announce its win as Shop of the Year at this year’s Museum + Heritage Awards.
The Museum and Heritage Awards celebrate the very best in the world of museums, galleries, and cultural and heritage visitor attractions both in the UK and overseas with those shortlisted coming from all over the globe.
Visitors to Bletchley Park enjoy a range of carefully curated individual product lines, including books, clothing, gifts, pocket-money pick-up items, confectionery, spy kits and puzzle books.
Many of the best-selling products are exclusive to Bletchley Park. The shop offers visitors the opportunity to purchase souvenirs of their visit to Bletchley Park, as well as to help them learn more and build on the story they have experienced while on the site.
The Awards, which are judged by an independent panel made up of the leading lights in the museum world, are open to all museums, galleries, archives, and cultural and heritage organisations, both digital and in-person. Entrants are from all areas of the cultural sector; from organisations that connect objects, stories and spaces with audiences and people, as well as the individuals, companies and organisations which support their work.
Bletchley Park’s shop was chosen as the overall winner from five finalists that were shortlisted in the category. This is the second time the shop has made it through to the final and to receive this important accolade is a culmination of the efforts put in by Bletchley Park’s Visitor and Retail team to provide the best experience for those who visit.
The five national finalists for each category were announced in March following a rigorous judging process. The judges - who remain anonymous - praised both the ambience and merchandising closely reflecting the museum and its narrative, as well as demonstrating very strong financial performance.
This year's Museum and Heritage Awards were held in London on the 10 May. Finalists from all over England attended the nationally recognised awards, where winners were announced across 18 categories. Bletchley Park was also shortlisted for the Permanent Exhibition of the Year Award for its newest and largest exhibition, ‘The Intelligence Factory’.
Rebecca Foy, Director of Public Engagement at Bletchley Park commented: “We are delighted to have our shop recognised as Shop of the Year by the Museums + Heritage Awards. This award is a real credit to all our teams who work tirelessly to make sure our shop is successful. We have a unique collection of products not available anywhere else, and we also build and change our offering throughout the year.
"This takes a dedicated team, and we are immensely proud of the work they do to ensure the shop highlights Bletchley Park’s remarkable history, the people who worked here, and the museum’s collections.”
Bletchley Park is open daily – local residents can enjoy 50% off general admission, and all general admission tickets act as an Annual Pass, enabling unlimited free returns within twelve months.
Bletchley Park’s latest and largest exhibition, ‘The Intelligence Factory’, is not to be missed: find out about the scale of Bletchley Park during the height of its operation, when the workforce grew to nearly 9,000.
Visitors this summer can enjoy a number of special events, including family activities, live music and outdoor theatre.
Click here for the latest What’s On information.
