News
Musuem and Heritage awards 2010
19 May 2010
Last week, Martyn Heighton, Director and Secretary to the Advisory Committee won the award for the Outstanding Contribution by an Individual at the Musuem and Heritage awards 2010.
He has had a long and extensive career in the martime field. After reading History at Cambridge and a short spell in teaching, Martyn moved to Oxfordshire Museums, firstly as Senior Education Officer running the schools loan service, then completing the new Museum of Oxford, and finally directing the project to set up Cogges Manor Museum, Witney. In 1978 he moved to Liverpool to lead the development of the new Merseyside Maritime Museum as the home for Liverpool's internationally important maritime collections and as the focal point for the regeneration of the Albert Dock.
1985-1997 IMartyn ran Bristol's Leisure Services:- museums; galleries; concert hall and support for theatres; arts; youth, sports and parks services; libraries; cultural grants programme; the historic harbour; Tourism; was the city council's champion for the successful Landmark Millenium project Explore @ Bristol ; initiated the "Matthew" project (building a 15th century replica of John Cabot's ship and sailing it from Bristol to Newfoundland to recreate his epic voyage of discovery) and in 1996 initiated and hosted the UK's first International Festival of the Sea.
1997-2001 he became Chief Executive of the Mary Rose, worked with Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in hosting 2 further International Festivals of the Sea, and was instrumental in establishing the Designated Museums Scheme for non-government funded museums with nationally significant collections. He then joined the Management Board of the National Trust as Territory Director for Western England & Wales, overseeing all operations, leading the campaign and negotiating the purchase of Tyntesfield House and estate in Somerset, and initiating the Trust's SeaBritain 2005 programme.
I left the Trust to organise the South West's Brunel 200 celebrations, after which I took up my present position as Director of the new DCMS organisation, National Historic Ships, the body supporting, advising on and promoting historic vessels in the UK.
