Awards

An award-winning open air museum

  1. Thank you to everyone who has ever nominated or voted for us. Each award received is a fitting tribute to the Museum and our bostin’ colleagues. It is always a great recognition for our collections and our mission to tell the story of the Black Country – the world’s first industrial landscape, to as wide an audience as possible.

  • VisitEngland Awards for Excellence – Large Visitor Attraction of the Year
  • West Midlands Tourism Awards – Large Visitor Attraction of the Year
  • VisitEngland Quality Rose Marque - Gold
  • TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice Award 2025
  • School Travel Awards – Best Museum Visit (finalist)
  • Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Award 2024
  • RIBA West Midlands Award for the Visitor Centre (Napier Clarke Architects)
  • Civic Trust Awards (Highly Commended) for the Visitor Centre (Napier Clarke Architects)
  • Black Country Chamber of Commerce Awards – Employer of the Year (finalist)
  • Museums + Heritage Awards – Marketing + Communications Campaign of the Year (finalist)
  • Group Leisure & Travel Awards – Best Museum or Gallery (shortlisted)
  • School Travel Awards – Best Museum Visit (finalist)
  • School Travel Awards – Best Education Workshops (finalist) 
  • VisitEngland Quality Rose Marque
  • School Travel Awards – Best Museum Visit (shortlisted) 
  • Day Out With The Kids – Best Museum Visit (finalist)
  • AJ Architecture Awards – Civic Project (shortlisted) for the Visitor Centre (Napier Clarke Architects)
  • VisitEngland Quality Rose Marque
  • VisitEngland Awards for Excellence – Resilience and Innovation Award
  • West Midlands Tourism Awards – Resilience and Innovation Award
  • Digital Culture Awards – Being Social
  • Day Out With The Kids – Best Museum Visit (finalist)
  • School Travel Awards – Best Museum Visit (shortlisted)
  • VisitEngland Quality Rose Marque
  • What’s On Readers’ Awards – Best Visitor Attraction in Wolverhampton & The Black Country
  • What’s On Readers’ Awards – Best Event in Wolverhampton & The Black Country for Peaky Blinders Nights
  • What’s On Readers’ Awards – Best Visitor Attraction in Wolverhampton & The Black Country 
  • What’s On Readers’ Awards – Best Event in Wolverhampton & The Black Country for Peaky Blinders Nights
  • Black Country Chamber of Commerce Awards – Business Partnership Award 
  • Black Country Chamber of Commerce Awards – Education Partnership Award
  • Day Out With The Kids – Best Educational Day out in the Midlands 
  • Phil Harris, Volunteer Horologist, was awarded Visitor Attraction Volunteer of the Year in the Forging a Future For All Awards 2019 (in partnership with Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council)
  • Friends of President won the Marsh Team Volunteer Award, presented by the Princess Royal
  • Newman University Students’ Union Annual Excellence Awards – Work Placement of the Year

  • School Travel Awards 2016/2017 – Best Museum Visit

  • Black Country Chamber of Commerce Awards – Young Person or Apprentice of the Year Award, awarded to Jordan Holloway
  • West Midlands Volunteer Group Awards 2016 (runner-up), for the ‘Knit and Natter’ group
  • Museums + Heritage Award for Trading & Enterprise
  • What’s On Readers’ Awards – Best Visitor Attraction, Wolverhampton and Black Country
  • What’s On Readers’ Awards – Best Midlands Visitor Attraction
  • The Historic Narrow Boat Club’s Hemelryk Award, awarded to ‘Kildare’
  • Sandford Award
  • Museums + Heritage Awards – Project on a Limited Budget for WWI Greengrocers
  • Black Country Chamber of Commerce Awards – Social Enterprise or Charity of the Year
  • Black Country Chamber of Commerce Awards – Large Business of the Year
  • The Ken Keay Award for wooden narrowboats for the restoration of ‘Birchills’ 
  • Dudley Volunteers Awards – Gordon Lindsey Award for Long Service, awarded to Alan Hallman from the Friends of Black Country Museum 

  • Group Travel Awards – Best Attraction for Groups (finalist)

  • Telegraph Family Friendly Museum Awards – ‘Top 20 Family Friendly Museums’ (finalist)

  • Group Travel Awards – Best Museum for Group Visits (runner-up)

  • Group Leisure Awards – Best Guided Tour (finalist) 

  • Designation by Arts Council England

  • Beacon Radio Awards – Best Daytime Family Attraction of the Year

  • The National Group Travel Awards – Best Attraction for Group Visits, Long Visit (Highly Commended)

  • TripAdvisor – Certificate of Excellence Award Winner

  • UK Coach Awards – Coach Friendly Historic Attraction (runner-up)

  • The National Group Travel Award – Best Attraction for Group Visits, ‘Long Visit’ (Finalist)

  • UK Coach Awards – Most Coach Friendly Historic Attraction (Highly Commended)

  • Beacon Radio Awards – The Most Bostin’ Daytime Family Attraction in The Black Country

  • The Heart of England Excellence in Tourism Awards – Regional Culture Award (Silver Award)

  • The Heart of England Excellence in Tourism Awards – Best One-Off or Annual Event of the Year (Silver Award)

  • Public nomination for The Guardian Family Friendly Museum Award

  • The Heart of England Excellence in Tourism Awards – Large Visitor Attraction of the Year (Highly Commended)

  • The Heart of England Excellence in Tourism Awards – Event of the Year for the Women Chainmakers Festival (Highly Commended)

  • The National Group Travel Awards – Best Attraction for Group Visits, ‘Long Visit’ category

  • Beacon Radio Awards – The Most Bostin’ Daytime Family Attraction in The Black Country

  • Express & Star Best of the Black Country – Outstanding Business Achievement Award went to Ian N. Walden OBE, Retired Director and Chief Executive of the Museum

  • The Black Country Hotel and Tourism Awards – Large Visitor Attraction of the Year (Gold Award)
  • The Black Country Hotel and Tourism Awards – Business / Conference Venue of the Year (Silver Award)

  • Public nomination for The Guardian Family Friendly Museum Award 

  • Folkes’ Park received a public nomination at The Association of British Landscape Industries (BALI) awards

  • At the Thames Traditional Boat Rally Henley, steam narrowboat ‘President’ won the Ellenbrook trophy for best presentation of working boat, the Reade Propeller for restoration or maintenance of steam plant and the Fred & Shelia Bourne Trophy for best boat in show 

  • The Heart of England Excellence in Tourism Awards – ‘Favourite  Day Out’

  • The Heart of England Excellence in Tourism Awards – Tourism Website of The Year, commercial (Gold Award)

  • The Heart of England Excellence in Tourism Awards – Business Tourism (Highly Commended)

  • The Black Country Hotel and Tourism Awards – Festival or Event of the Year category for the Women Chainmakers Festival (Gold Award)

  • The Black Country Hotel and Tourism Awards – Large Visitor Attraction of the Year (Gold Award)

  • The Black Country Hotel and Tourism Awards – Small attraction of the Year for the Locksmith’s House (Silver Award)

  • The Group Leisure Awards – Best UK Attraction (finalist)
  • Going Places Awards – Midlands Top Tourist Attraction
  • Express & Star Spotlight Awards – Best Family Day Out
  • Express & Star Spotlight Awards – Best Day Out
  • BBC – The People’s Museum (nominee)
  • Wonder of the West Midlands Award 

  • Heart of England Excellence in Tourism Awards – Karl Atkins from the Black Country Living Museum won gold in the Customer Service Award.