HLF invests £1.2m in Huguenot Heritage Centre for Rochester
French Hospital secures grant for new museum
The Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded a grant of £1.2m to the French Hospital in Rochester to establish the UK’s first museum dedicated to the history of the Huguenots.
The planned Huguenot Heritage Centre will tell the story of the thousands of French Protestants who fled to Britain in the 16th and 17th centuries to escape religious persecution in France.
The new centre will be based above the Visitor Information Centre on Rochester’s High Street. It will explore the contribution of the Huguenots to “the development of modern Britain” and the issues facing contemporary refugees that resonate with the Huguenot experience.
The French Hospital was established as a charity in the 1700s to offer sanctuary to impoverished Huguenots. The new museum will display items from the French Hospital's extensive Huguenot collection, including paintings, prints, clock, furniture and silverware.
The centre will also provide access to archival records to enable local communities to trace their Huguenot ancestry.
The project will run schools and community outreach programmes on the culture and legacy of the Huguenots, teaching Huguenot crafts such as silk weaving and silver smithing.
Peter Duval, chairman of the Huguenot Heritage Centre, said: “The directors of the French Hospital have been working towards the creation of a Huguenot Heritage Centre for many years.
“I am delighted by the news of this award, which allows us now to bring the little known but fascinating, and hugely important, story of Huguenot immigration and integration to a wide audience.”
The new centre is set to open in summer 2015.
The planned Huguenot Heritage Centre will tell the story of the thousands of French Protestants who fled to Britain in the 16th and 17th centuries to escape religious persecution in France.
The new centre will be based above the Visitor Information Centre on Rochester’s High Street. It will explore the contribution of the Huguenots to “the development of modern Britain” and the issues facing contemporary refugees that resonate with the Huguenot experience.
The French Hospital was established as a charity in the 1700s to offer sanctuary to impoverished Huguenots. The new museum will display items from the French Hospital's extensive Huguenot collection, including paintings, prints, clock, furniture and silverware.
The centre will also provide access to archival records to enable local communities to trace their Huguenot ancestry.
The project will run schools and community outreach programmes on the culture and legacy of the Huguenots, teaching Huguenot crafts such as silk weaving and silver smithing.
Peter Duval, chairman of the Huguenot Heritage Centre, said: “The directors of the French Hospital have been working towards the creation of a Huguenot Heritage Centre for many years.
“I am delighted by the news of this award, which allows us now to bring the little known but fascinating, and hugely important, story of Huguenot immigration and integration to a wide audience.”
The new centre is set to open in summer 2015.