02/12/2016
Volunteer wins national award
David Williams received a Heritage Heroes Award for his hard work and dedication at a ceremony in London.
An English Heritage volunteer from Lincoln Medieval Bishops' Palace has been praised for his hard work and dedication after receiving a national award.
David Williams received an Ecclesiastical Award for Heritage Heroes at a ceremony in London in recognition of his involvement in a project to restore the vineyard at the historic site.
Lincoln Medieval Bishops' Palace has been home to 300 vines since the 1970s when they were gifted to the city of Lincoln by its twin town, Neustadt an der Weinstrasse in Germany, marking the 900th anniversary of Lincoln Cathedral.
Bringing the vineyard back to its former glory
Three years ago responsibility for the maintenance of the vines was transferred from the local council to English Heritage and through the restoration project, the charity - along with David - is aiming to bring back the vineyard to its former glory and cultivate the vines so they produce usable grapes.
'I'm determined that we'll have usable grapes'
Speaking after hearing that he'd won an Ecclesiastical Award for Heritage Heroes, David said: "I was bowled over when I heard I'd won this award - it was completely out of the blue! I just enjoy working with the vines. Once you start doing it you can't just walk away and leave it to go back to how it was before, so I've just carried on. The vines have produced grapes in the past and my goal for next year is for them to produce a healthy batch; I'm determined that we'll have usable grapes and wine next year or the year after."
Now in its seventh year, the Ecclesiastical Heritage Heroes Award are organised by the Heritage Alliance; England's biggest coalition of independent heritage organisations. The awards were established to celebrate the outstanding contribution to society made by heritage volunteers in England. The awards ceremony for the 2016 awards took place on Thursday 1 December at the Freemasons' Hall in London and David was presented with his award by the Chairman of the Heritage Alliance, Loyd Grossman.
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