Partners
Owners
The Staffordshire Hoard is owned and cared for by Birmingham City Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council, on behalf of the nation.
Display & interpretation partners
The Mercian Trail Partnership brings together Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Lichfield Cathedral, Lichfield District Council, Tamworth Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council. The aim of the partnership is to tell the emerging story of the Staffordshire Hoard and the Anglo-Saxon history of the region, through a series of informative permanent and temporary displays and a programme of outreach activities aimed at residents and visitors alike.
Fundraising & funding partners
The Art Fund
After the hoard was declared treasure and valued at £3.285 million, an international fundraising campaign to save the hoard for the nation was mounted by the Art Fund on behalf of local, regional and national partners. The Art Fund kick-started the campaign with an initial grant of £300,000 and led on the public giving campaign.
The National Heritage Memorial Fund
The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) is the government’s fund of last resort for heritage items at risk.
The NHMF generously donated £1,285,000 to secure the Staffordshire Hoard for the nation.
Staffordshire Hoard Partnership
Birmingham City and Stoke-on-Trent City Councils have also pledged £100,000 each, Staffordshire County Council gave £80,000 and Lichfield District Council and Tamworth Borough Council gave £20,000 each.
Grants and Donations
We are very grateful to the thousands of members of the public who donated towards the acquisition of the Staffordshire Hoard and who continue to support this campaign. Generous contributions towards the acquisition, care, conservation and research of the Staffordshire Hoard have also been received from: The Assay Office, The Back Yard Brewhouse, Baron Davenport’s Charity, Birmingham Common Good Trust, Birmingham Decorative & Fine Art Society, Birmingham St George’s Day Association, Bromsgrove Society, C.B. & H.H. Taylor 1984 Trust, Charles Cooper Foundation, Charles Henry Foyle Trust, Coutts Charitable Trust, Douglas Turner Charitable Trust, Edward Cadbury Charitable Trust, Eva Wishart – in her memory, Format of Birmingham Ltd, Friends of Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, The Friends of Charnwood, Friends of The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke-On-Trent, The Garfield Weston Charitable Foundation, GJW Turner Trust, The Goldsmiths’ Company Charity, The Grimmitt Trust, Hartnett Conservative Trust, Hazel Wood Trust, The Headley Trust, Hortons’ Estate Ltd, John & Christine Hurdley, The J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust, Leek and District Historical Society, Limoges Trust, Marian Allsobrook, Michael & Joyce Darby, Mr S.D.V. Gronow, Museums, Libraries & Archives Council, National Council for Metal Detecting, The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham, Rowlands Trust, Sir Sigmund Warburg’s Voluntary Settlement, St Philips Chambers, Trevor Denning – in his memory, Wakefield Trust, William A. Cadbury Charitable Trust, Wolfson Foundation, Wragge & Co LLP and a number of donors who wish to remain anonymous.
National Partners
English Heritage
English Heritage immediately recognised the exceptional nature of the finds and provided £25K of emergency funds and specialist advice to Staffordshire County Council to assist in the vital task of retrieving the precious archaeology and preserving its context. English Heritage has also provided funds to The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent for the preparation of a project design for the research and scholarly publication of the Staffordshire Hoard.
Portable Antiquities Scheme
The Portable Antiquities Scheme records archaeological finds found by members of the public and publishes them on its online database, www.finds.org.uk. There is a network of Finds Liaison Officers based in museums and county councils around England and Wales and six National Finds Advisers and other staff based at the British Museum. The project is managed by the British Museum on behalf of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.
The British Museum
The British Museum has a statutory role in the administration of the Treasure Act on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Staff provide advice on finds to the coroner and provide the secretariat of the Treasure Valuation Committee. The Treasure Valuation Committee advises the Secretary of State on the valuation of finds of Treasure that museums wish to acquire.
University of Birmingham
Birmingham Archaeology (part of the University of Birmingham) were initially invited by Staffordshire County Council to provide assistance with the excavation. Based on the quantity and distribution of finds recovered from the test-pit it was decided by Staffordshire County Council in consultation with English Heritage and the Portable Antiquities Scheme to extend the area for investigation. Birmingham Archaeology also undertook a rapid geophysical survey of the whole field. Outside the area for hand excavation Birmingham Archaeology provided assistance with metal detector surveys which aimed to recover any objects associated with the Staffordshire Hoard.