GOOGLE DONATES £550,000 TO HELP ACCOMPLISH BLETCHLEY PARK RESTORATION VISION

Search engine Google, has announced a very generous donation of £550,000 towards the match funding needed for the Bletchley Park Trust to embark on the first stage of a £15 million project to transform the site into a world-class heritage and education centre.  

Google’s backing draws the Bletchley Park Trust nearer to its goal of developing the site, both to educate and inspire generations to come and as a permanent testament to the brilliant people who worked there.  Once the remaining funding is in place the Trust will get underway with the restoration of iconic codebreaking huts 1, 3 and 6 and create a world-class visitor centre and exhibition in the currently derelict Block C.  This development will not only conserve buildings of highly-significant heritage value and but also considerably improve the educational offering and visitor experience at Bletchley Park.

Peter Barron, Director of External Relations for Google, said, "The Bletchley Park Trust has been doing great work to honour Alan Turing and the codebreakers who helped shorten the second world war and to educate the next generation about the history of modern computing.  We are delighted to make this charitable donation to help support the next phase of this important project"

Simon Greenish, CEO of the Bletchley Park Trust, said, “We are tremendously grateful to Google for bringing us considerably closer to achieving our development aims.  We have received other generous contributions towards the project but this is the largest single element of the partnership funding and absolutely vital in potentially getting the project underway much sooner than might otherwise have been the case.  It would be wonderful if other donors follow Google’s example to help preserve our computing heritage.  We could then proceed as soon as possible with restoration of the profoundly historically significant codebreaking huts”.

The Bletchley Park Trust is one of several dozen organisations receiving grants from Google.org at the end of 2011 and the grant is part of over $100 million in total charitable giving from Google in 2011.


Editor’s Information

The Heritage Lottery Fund announced a £4.6 million grant for the Bletchley Park Trust in October 2011.  It is a pre-condition that in order to draw down the funding to commence the current stage of the £15 million project, the Trust must have raised the match funding required to complete the package.  

In addition to the Google grant and a number of other awards from Trusts and Foundations, individuals are also supporting the Trust’s ‘Action This Day!’ campaign to help raise the match funding.  To donate please go to www.bletchleypark.org.uk
For corporate or other opportunities to help support the campaign, please contact Kelsey Griffin, Director – Museum Operations and Media Relations, Bletchley Park Trust kgriffin@bletchleypark.org.uk or 01908 272662.

Media contacts

•    Kelsey Griffin, Director – Museum Operations and Media Relations, Bletchley Park Trust, 01908 272 662,   kgriffin@bletchleypark.org.uk
•    Caroline Murdoch, Redworks PR, 01869 810 443, caroline@redworks.co.uk.

Admission information
•    Bletchley Park is open  every day except Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day:  
o    1 March to 31 October – 9.30 am to 5.00pm (weekdays and weekends)

o    1 November to 28 February – 9.30 am to 4.00pm (weekdays and weekends.)

•    Admission charge is a one-off fee for an annual season ticket.

Prices

Adults:      £12.00
Concessions: (Over 60's and students with   valid ID.)      £10.00
Children 12 to 16:      £6.00
Children under 12:  (with friends and family only.   Groups of children with clubs, such as Cub Scouts, should contact us in advance)     Free of  Charge
Family Ticket:  (Two adults + Two children aged 12 to 16)      £26.00

Tickets include a guided tour (subject to availability) and/or the use of an audio guide.  On-site parking is £3 per car.  

The National Museum of Computing

The cost of admission to the Colossus and Tunny galleries;- Adults £2, Children (13 to 16) and Concessions (over 60s and students with a valid ID card) £1, children aged 12 and under will be free.  This is NOT an annual season ticket but a one-day admission pass.
When the rest of TNMOC is open on Thursdays and Saturdays, a visitor can upgrade their £2 admission with an additional £3 to visit the TNMOC museum.