In brief

The French Hospital in Rochester has received a first-round pass from the Heritage Lottery Fund to develop the Huguenot Heritage Centre. The project aims to display the material heritage of the Huguenot French Protestants who fled religious persecution in the 16th and 17th centuries. The plan is to open the heritage centre by 2015.


Newly found artefacts from the Staffordshire Hoard have been saved for the nation with the help of a donation of more than £57,000 from Wartski jewellers. The donation has allowed the purchase of an additional 81 pieces of Anglo Saxon treasure found in the same field as the hoard. Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Birmingham City Council own the hoard.


A hoard of 3,000-year-old Bronze Age axes has been declared treasure. The 11 axes were discovered in the Vale of Glamorgan in April 2012. Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales is keen to acquire the axes, which were buried in a pit a distance away from any known Bronze Age settlements.


Epping Forest District Museum has been awarded £1.65m by the Heritage Lottery Fund for its redevelopment project. The scheme aims to bring the collection of more than 50,000 objects under one roof, and also includes the development of education and community spaces and a temporary exhibition gallery. The Waltham Abbey museum will close for refurbishment in the autumn and is scheduled to reopen in Easter 2015.