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On the 18th June 2009, the Wedgwood Museum at Barlaston emerged from the finals of the Best Museum of The Year competition to claim the winner's prize.

Gaye Blake Roberts, the director of Wedgwood Museum says, "Getting down to the final shortlist was a huge achievement for the museum, especially as we only opened last October! The museum's win should provide a significant boost to tourism in the region."

"Previous award winners have seen a surge in visitors, receiving national and international attention, and giving a much needed boost to their local economy."Ìý

Art Fund Award voting

The award is normally voted for by a panel a judges but the on-line Peoples Choice poll was introduced for the first time this year. The winner of the online vote got an extra vote at the final judges' meeting – effectively securing 14% of the overall result.

However, voting was suspended in the public on-line poll some half a day early. The organisers of the 'Art Fund' vote found some "irregularities"...
Voting was stopped with the Wedgwood Museum nearly 12 hundred votes ahead of its nearest rival, a Glasgow art gallery. However, after the investigation, it was clear that Wedgwood had got the public thumbs-up, well ahead of the other galleries.

The Museum

The museum is an independent charity, financially separate from the Wedgwood business and nearly 10 years was spent raising funds to build it and put artifacts inside.

They include a vast collection of Wedgwood pottery editions, as well as an extensive archive of social history documents (from copies of birth certificates to details of employees who have worked for the Wedgwood company over the last 250 years)!

*For more about the Museum, including photos and video, click on the link in the top right-hand corner of this page.