York project that is ‘actively changing lives’ wins national award

A project that tackles mental health and isolation in York has received national recognition.

Archaeology on Prescription is an initiative led by York Archaeological Trust which has been praised for ‘actively changing lives’.

And now it has won the Community Engagement Award at the Museums and Heritage Awards 2022.

Archaeology on Prescription is run by the trust’s attractions and archaeology teams, pairing people with mental health or substance dependency issues with expert archaeologists to learn new skills, make friends and explore the history of their area. 

A pilot project was run last summer at Willow House next to Walmgate Bar and the city walls, with partners including Converge and Changing Lives. The second phase of the pilot is ongoing.

This is what the award judges said of the scheme: “The judges were impressed by this simple, strong, confident concept. One which is not limited in ambition or scope. 

“Intelligent thinking lies behind the long-term strategic approach to the design of this impressive programme.  It is both impactful and scalable and is actively changing lives.”

Sarah Maltby, the trust’s director of attractions, said:  “We have an incredibly dedicated team working on this project, and it has been amazing to see such fantastic results and feedback from the participants so far.” 

She said they were grateful to City of York Council for giving them permission to use the site.

“This kind of community engagement project is not suited to every archaeological dig, and having this site so close to the city walls has meant that the dig has been meaningful and helpful in helping us understand the area’s history and past uses. 

“It has also opened the door for discussions with other groups around the city and beyond about how we can scale the project up in the future, including working directly with the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group.”