There is a growing body of evidence which describes the social inclusion role of museums and the role that museums play in improving health and wellbeing, including previous research funded by the AHRC. This research has shown that engaging in museums provides: positive social experiences, leading to reduced social isolation; opportunities for learning and acquiring news skills; calming experiences, leading to decreased anxiety; increased positive emotions, such as optimism, hope and enjoyment; increased self-esteem and sense of identity; increased inspiration and opportunities for meaning making; positive distraction from clinical environments, including hospitals and care homes; and increased communication between families, carers and health professionals. Given the wide range of benefits it is not surprising that more and more museums and galleries are adapting their access programmes to consider the wider social, health and wellbeing benefits that museum encounters can bring about. From museum object handling to reminiscence sessions, through to interactive exhibitions, tours, talks and participatory arts and creative activities, museums offer a diverse range of opportunities for active engagement. With over 2500 museums in the UK alone, most of which are free, museums offer a largely untapped resource as places which can support public health. Museums, however, are very well placed to address issues such as social isolation, physical and mental ill-health and evidence suggests that museums can help to build social capital and resilience, and improve health and wellbeing. The Health and Social Care Act (2012) is bringing about considerable changes to the way health and social care services will be delivered in the future. A key part of these health reforms sees a shift towards 'prevention is better than cure', within a model which will require a multi-agency approach with an increased reliance on third sector organisations such as charities, voluntary and community organisations. Part of the reason for the health reforms is the realisation that individuals are living longer but with unhealthier lifestyles, with a significant increase in age- and lifestyle-related diseases, such as dementia and diabetes; this places added pressure on health services (including the NHS) and social services. It has also been shown that there is a 'social gradient' in relation to health, whereby individuals from poorer socio-economic backgrounds experience reduced health, wellbeing and social resilience. It is easy to see how museums could fit into this new era of health commissioning considering the benefits described above. One of the biggest challenges facing the museums sector is understanding how best to meet these needs; here lessons from arts-in-health could help inform the museums sector. Over the past few decades arts-in-health has gained considerable support, backed up by a robust evidence base. Many arts organisations have developed more formalised relationships with health and social care providers, offering schemes described as 'social prescribing'. Social prescribing links patients in primary care with local sources of support within the community. The proposed research seeks to test a novel 'Museums on Prescription' scheme (MoP). The research will link museums with health and social care providers, and third sector organisations such as AgeUK, and using lessons learnt from arts-based social prescribing schemes, will set up two MoPs, one in Central London and one regional MoP in Kent. By working closely with health/social care service users, and museum, health, social care and third sector professionals, the research will use a range of techniques, including quality of health measures, interviews and questionnaires, to develop a MoP model which can be adopted by the museums sector as a way to provide a novel public health intervention.

The Becket Connection offers a unique opportunity to model creative collaboration and technological innovation in bringing history and heritage to life for local, national and international audiences, through the story of one of the most famous and controversial figures of the Middle Ages. CONTEXT 2020 will mark 900 years since the birth of Thomas Becket, 850 years since his murder in Canterbury Cathedral, and 800 years since the 'translation' of his relics. This triple anniversary coincides with 'The Canterbury Journey', a £24.7 million conservation, education and interpretation project at the Cathedral (completion 2021) which will ensure a long-term legacy for resources created. Moreover, a newly-founded Heritage Forum convened by the City Council is now seeking to reinvigorate the city's World Heritage site, and broaden and enhance Canterbury's tourism offer by connecting the much-visited Cathedral more closely to the city's many other outstanding historic sites. This Follow-on initiative is driven by: - new understanding of Becket's medieval cult and present-day visitor needs generated by the 2014-17 AHRC 'Pilgrimage and England's Cathedrals' (PEC) project - the digital visualisation expertise of the Centre for the Study of Christianity & Culture (Univ. of York) - collaboration with the British Museum, Canterbury Archaeological Trust, Canterbury Museums & Galleries, Museum of London - educational needs - newly emerging heritage/tourism goals. Collaboration with PEC partners and wide-ranging consultation with the City Council, business and community groups, heritage, tourism and cultural bodies in Canterbury, have revealed significant new heritage-tourism, educational and community engagement possibilities. The PEC project created detailed digital reconstructions of four key sites inside the cathedral (including Becket's shrine) which are already changing perceptions of pilgrim experience at Canterbury. The Follow-on proposal will create a new digital model of the whole Cathedral set in the medieval City of Canterbury, thus placing the interior models in a broader geocultural context, including medieval pilgrim routes and key buildings. OUTCOMES This innovative, interactive Cathedral/City model (amplified by other PEC research data) will have seven main outcomes for key heritage, educational, cultural, business and local community partners: CONNECTING CATHEDRAL AND CITY - Use in the new permanent Cathedral exhibition, revealing the multi-layered relationship between the Cathedral, Becket's shrine, and the city which grew in response to his cult and pilgrim needs. - Providing a visual foundation for presenting a more integrated tourism offer for Canterbury, enhancing connections between the Cathedral, the City, and the rich multiplicity of heritage sites. CONNECTING BECKET WITH HIS TIME A new online/Flash Drive education resource (particularly for History, Literature and RE curricula) SHAPING BECKET 2020 MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS/ACTIVITIES Collaboration with the British Museum (providing digital assets for a major exhibition), Canterbury Museums and Museum of London EXPLORING THE BECKET STORY TODAY THROUGH WORD AND IMAGE Supporting drama, poetry, art and craft workshops, with the Marlowe Theatre and the Canterbury Journey, to stimulate creative contemporary responses to the Becket story from all age-groups and backgrounds CONNECTING BECKET AND PILGRIMAGE TODAY Shaping visitor trails and services for 2020, when the Cathedral also hosts the international Lambeth Conference ENHANCING CANTERBURY-LONDON TOURISM LINKS Connecting Becket's cult to his influence on London and its landscape for the Becket 2020 website USING HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES TO INFORM CURRENT MANAGEMENT Conference for managers of sacred sites, statutory advisors (including Historic England), historians, theologians, social scientists, reviewing current moves to restore shrines and relics to Anglican cathedrals