Highly Commended -Leicester Heritage Awards

Foxton wins  Highly Commended  in the Working with children category for its  work with partners,  http://www.wow4water.com/  and folk group Box a Holicks. the full story can be found at http://www.goleicestershire.com/see-and-do/leicestershire-heritage-forum-awards2012.aspx the competition was of a very high standard this year, in fact it gets better every year. we were very happy to be beaten by Ashby de la Zouch Museum - Kids' History Club, it is an excellent inshative. 

At Foxton WoW volunteers prepare the ground and take children round the site, undertaking various activities including visiting a working boat, wildlife, and how the locks work.  In the museum The Folk group perform 3 songs to help children remember the canals history and then the children look at the museum, it works very well and will get better every year.

Acredited Museum

We have just heard that Foxton Canal museum is now officially an accredited museum with the Arts Council.   http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/supporting-museums/accreditation-scheme/ The accreditation scheme ensures that museums work to high standards and can be relied upon to take care of artefacts archives and information are cared for and properly documented. Foxton is a volunteer run museum, but it complies to the latest museum standards in the same way that national museums operate.

We are very pleased to have past  this test and proud of the achievements of our volunteers and staff.  particularly pleased that the arts council accreditation committee told us that they were very impressed by the high standard of our application.

Foxton Inclined Plane Trust, the owner of the Museum is keen to keep the standards high, and the museum is a big help in informing the public about the boat lift which the trust wish to see restored, and it is vital to research the lifts history.

Torch Comes to Foxton

The torch arrived held high by  Robert Gomez

On the July the second the Olympic Torch came to Foxton, it  was wet, a wild and windy day but we still had a large number of people who came to see it, from as far away as Derby. The torch arrived held high by  Robert Gomez who ran to the upper  middle lock of the 10 lock flight and boarded historic narrowboat Swift where the torches 'kissed' and David Willson took over. the crowd who had waited for as long as two hours to see it in the terrible weather all cheered and waved as the boat descended until only the flame could be seen. David ducked to get under the bridge as the boat sailed across the passing pond and into the next lock where it was met by Tony Hales the Chairman of The newly formed Canal And River Trust. The ownership of the canals had changed at midnight from British Waterways, to the new charity C&RT. the torch then moved on by land to go to Foxton village and then to Leicester. 

David Willson ducks under the bridge as they leave the lock

Tony Hales the Chairman of The newly formed Canal And River Trust greets  Robert Gomez and the Torch


For More info go to www.fipt.org.uk

This is a first for Foxton that all of those present will never forget. the large amount of security men and policemen took a back seat as volunteers from C&RT and Foxton Inclined Plane Trust helped with the cheerful crowds.