New Year Honours List celebrates contributions to cultural heritage

Museum and heritage professionals across the UK have been recognised for their services in the New Year Honours List 2025.

Gabriele Finaldi, director of the National Gallery, received a knighthood for services to art and culture. Loyd Grossman, chair of the Royal Parks, was awarded the same honour for services to heritage. Both individuals have overseen increased public engagement across their cultural sites.

Roger Bland, a former museum curator and chair of the Treasure Valuation Committee, received a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for services to heritage.

The first female president of the Royal Academy of Arts, Rebecca Salter, was awarded a CBE for services to art. Claudia Kenyatta, director of regions at Historic England and granddaughter of the Kenyan politician Jomo Kenyatta, received the honour for services to heritage.

The executive director of the Derby Museums Trust, Tony Butler, was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to the arts. The trust oversees the Derby Museum and Art Gallery, Pickford House, and the Museum of Making, the latter of which opened in 2021.

Paul Roberts, keeper of antiquities at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum, received an OBE for his contribution to archaeology and heritage. Simon Murphy, former CEO of the Battersea Power Station Development Company, received the same honour.

Kim Streets, the CEO of Sheffield Museums Trust, received an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for services to culture. The trust operates six of the city’s leading museums and heritage sites.

Francis Galvin, the former chair of Manchester Historic Buildings Trust, which owns and runs Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, received an MBE for services to heritage in Greater Manchester.

The development director of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, Jane Lawson, received an MBE for services to museums. The organisation will open the V&A East Storehouse in Stratford this year, and the V&A East Museum in 2026.

Arts consultant Edwina Sassoon received an MBE for her contributions to the visual arts, museums, and gardens. Sassoon is currently a trustee of both the Royal Society of Sculptors and the Garden Museum.

Honoured for their contributions to preserving local heritage were Thomas Muir, engagement and exhibitions officer at Orkney Museum in Kirkwall, and Mike Davies, founder of the Rayleigh Town Museum in Essex. They received an MBE and BEM (British Empire Medal) respectively.

Knighthood

• Gabriele Maria Finaldi, director, National Gallery. Knighthood for services to art and culture.
• Loyd Daniel Gilman Grossman, chair, The Royal Parks. Knighthood for services to heritage.

CBE

• Rebecca Margaret Salter, president, Royal Academy of Arts. CBE for services to art.
• Roger Farrant Bland, curator, numismatist and chair, Treasure Valuation Committee. CBE for services to heritage.
• Claudia Rose Kenyatta, director of regions, Historic England. CBE for services to heritage.

OBE

• Anthony John Butler, executive director, Derby Museums Trust. OBE for services to the arts.
• Paul Christopher Roberts, archaeologist and lately keeper of antiquities, the Ashmolean Museum, OBE for services to archaeology and to heritage.
• Kerrie Jean Sweeney, chief executive, Maritime Belfast Trust. OBE for services to maritime heritage and to tourism in Northern Ireland.
• Gillian Clare Carr, professor of conflict archaeology and Holocaust heritage, and fellow, St Catharine’s College, University of Cambridge. OBE for services to Holocaust research and education.
• Simon James Murphy, lately chief executive officer, Battersea Power Station Development Company. OBE for services to real estate, heritage and to the community in London.

MBE

• Kimberley Jane Streets, chief executive officer, Sheffield Museums. MBE for services to culture.
• Francis Patrick Galvin, former chair, Manchester Historic Buildings Trust. MBE for services to heritage in Greater Manchester.
• Philip Martin Benham, chair, Friends of the National Railway Museum. MBE for services to railway heritage.
• Mark William Fane, lately chair, the Garden Museum. MBE for services to horticulture.
• Jane Lawson, development director, Victoria and Albert Museum. MBE for services to museums.
• Thomas Stewart Muir, engagement and exhibitions officer, Orkney Museum, Kirkwall. MBE for services to Orkney folk tales.
• Edwina Sassoon, arts consultant. MBE for services to the visual arts, museums and gardens.
• Pamela Susan Thiedeman, lately head of culture and visitor economy, Barnsley Council. MBE for services to culture and to heritage in South Yorkshire.
• Sarah Anne Thomas, chair, Ilkley Arts, trustee, Ilkley Manor House Trust and chair, Manor House Trust. MBE for voluntary and charitable services in Ilkley, West Yorkshire.
• Philip John Crummy, lately director and principal archaeologist, Colchester Archaeological Trust. MBE for services to archaeology and heritage.
• Graham Knowles, chair and trustee, British Glass Foundation. MBE for services to heritage.
• David Hugh Fellows Odgers, consultant and researcher, Historic Building Conservation. MBE for services to heritage.

BEM

• Michael Francis Davies, founder, Rayleigh Town Museum. BEM for services to heritage in Rayleigh, Essex
• Jeremy Norman Brown, coordinator, Culture on Scilly. BEM for services to the arts and culture on the Isles of Scilly.
• Diana Antoinette Sykes, lately director, Fife Contemporary. BEM for services to visual arts and craft in Fife.

 

 

Correction
08.01.2025

The article originally reported that Kim Streets received an OBE. In fact she received an MBE.