Award-winning Irchester Field School brings Roman history to life for local community
A University of Leicester partnership with North Northamptonshire Council has won an MJ Award.
The partnership between the University of Leicester and North Northamptonshire Council is bringing heritage to life through hands-on learning for all ages and vibrant community events. From Roman festivals to community-led archaeological excavations, activities are bringing people and organisations together to explore, investigate and celebrate their local history and heritage.
The Irchester Field School is a flagship partnership project based at the Chester House Estate, enabling people of all ages to get involved with archaeological research.
Each June and July students and staff from the University of Leicester work alongside volunteers and staff at the Chester House Estate. They are excavating one of the best-preserved Roman small towns in Britain and running a wide range of public events and learning programmes.
The University of Leicester Heritage Hub coordinates an interdisciplinary team which includes students and staff from the School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS), the School of Engineering and many other departments.
Finds from the excavations are housed in The Archaeological Resource Centre (ARC), the state-of-the-art archaeological archive repository for Northamptonshire which is located at the Chester House Estate. The curator, Ben Donnelly-Symes, has led many innovative public engagement programmes at the ARC since it opened in 2021. It is now one of the most accessed archaeological collections in the UK. Ben is also a postgraduate researcher at the University of Leicester.
The partnership directly supports the goals of the Northamptonshire Visitor Economy Strategy by increasing visitor numbers, developing skills, supporting business growth and promoting inspirational places. It also advances the University’s mission to strengthen public engagement and collaboration across the region, inspiring socially responsible and locally relevant heritage research, innovation and enterprise.
The partnership has received the MJ Award for Innovation in Public Private Partnerships. The MJ Awards recognise the efforts of local government to support local communities.
The partnership "stood out for the way it deepens public connection with place, making history and archaeology relevant for all sections of the community. It is a project that develops year on year, and is showing impressive results, not only in engagement, but also in non-educational outcomes such as public health and wellbeing," according to the MJ Awards.
Professor Sarah Scott, Director of the University of Leicester Heritage Hub, said: "We are honoured to be recognised alongside North Northamptonshire Council for the MJ Award for Innovation in Public Private Partnerships.
Our partnership has helped the Chester House Estate become a vibrant centre for community-led research, learning and public engagement. We are especially proud of how the Irchester Field School has brought people of all ages and backgrounds together through archaeology. The collective curiosity, creativity and commitment of the people involved are what make this partnership so special.”