National Lottery Grants for Heritage

Have You Forgotten Yet

Applicant: Westminster City Council

Project Description: Organise a walk for school children to visit the ‘Sassoon’ tree on the site of the former house of Siegfried Sassoon and learn about the local heritage surrounding the First World War, with evaluations to continue and expand the project after it is finished.

Decision: Award grant of £8,057

Energy Efficiency Month

Applicant: CarringtonLIME Heritage Skills Training CIC

Project Description: Project aims to provide resources and support for professionals, homeowners and tradespeople looking to retrofit traditional buildings. Talks and courses will be held on understanding damp, insulating traditional homes, and permitted energy efficiency works for listed buildings.

Decision: Reject

Stories To Tell About Subco's Iconic Building

Applicant: Subco Trust

Project Description: This project aims to preserve diverse stories surrounding their building at 49 Plashet Road, Newham and in particular, the lives of Asian elders. This will be done through 10 oral histories, an exhibition, podcast and vox pops linked to their website.

Decision: Award grant of £9,592

Our War, Their Story

Applicant: Horsebridge Arts and Community Centre

Project Description: Aims to collect material from families of people who participated in the First World War, hoping to uncover unseen photographs, letters, artifacts and stories and share this heritage through activities.

Decision: Award grant of £9,768

Going Digital at Deal!

Applicant: Deal Maritime & Local History Museum

Project Description: Training of volunteers, enhancement of archive material, installation of an InfoPoint and webcam to engage a wider audience and make the museum more accessible.

Decision: Award grant of £10,000

Petticoat Lane Heritage Trail

Applicant: London Historic Buildings Trust Ltd

Project Description: This project will deliver the Petticoat Lane Heritage Trail, building on the momentum of previous work to make the trail permanent, enhanced by community consultation.

Decision: Award grant of £31,498

People & Communities: Cycles of Change

Applicant: Newham New Deal Partnership

Project Description: Newham New Deal Partnership is a local charity with its roots in regeneration, connecting people and communities in East London. This project will explore the history of the Newham New Deal Partnership through oral histories, workshops, and events.

Decision: Award grant of £97,692

Camden Highline – Tracking the Heritage

Applicant: Camden Highline

Project Description: Will identity and describe significant industrial heritage assets as well as the assets and stories that resonate best with young people new to heritage exploration, using the outputs of these activities to deliver school workshops, a heritage walking tour, an interactive community exhibition and create a website.

Decision: Award grant £136,749

In the Pipes

Applicant: Bristol Music Trust

Project Description: Bristol Music Trust and Bristol City Council will deliver an 18-month project to complete the installation and voicing of the organ within Bristol Beacon, working towards environmental sustainability and also delivering an engagement programme.

Decision: Award grant of £237,999

Resilience Funding – The Sussex Archaeological Society

Applicant: The Sussex Archaeological Society

Project Description: The project aims to increase organisational resilience by developing a comprehensive staffing, financial and environmental plan. It plans to increase outreach by hiring a Learning & Participation Advisor and Cultural Strategy Advisor. The project also aims to carry out community consultation to help develop and restructure existing learning programmes.

Decision: Award grant of £249,993

Passion For The Planet

Applicant: Damn Cheek Productions CIC

Project Description: A community-focused theatre project covering ecology, conservation, sustainability and the need to care for the earth and each other. It will use workshops and ‘making days’ at schools and community organisations to ultimately create an immersive and interactive performance.

Decision: Reject

Developing the Audience for Blake's Cottage

Applicant: The Blake Cottage Trust

Project Description: Application for an Audience Development Plan to ensure integration of planned community activities. In addition the project will develop an Outreach Programme to build an audience to facilitate the submission of future grant applications for a site on the Heritage at Risk register.

Decision: Reject

Crime and Punishment in Faversham from the Tudor Times to the Present Day

Applicant: EKC Schools Trust Ltd

Project Description: This project seeks to develop children of primary school age’s understanding of Faversham in a global landscape and to share these findings with the local community through presentations and exhibitions.

Decision: Award grant of £9,180

WonderDomes

Applicant: Valise Noire Storytelling Theatre

Project Description: The aim of this project is to inform and share the story of Marianne North to inspire wellbeing. The project is a performance that will be informed by research at Kew Gardens and feedback from Talbot Heath School. It will be performed at Bournemouth Arts by the Sea Festival and Parks in Mind (social prescribing). A free downloadable education pack will be created, and the project aims to tour across the country.

Decision: Award grant of £10,000

Unveiling the Heritage: Krystyna Bednarczyk (1923-2011) – Polish Poet and Co-founder of Poets' and Painters' Press in London

Applicant: The Polish Writers Abroad Charity

Project Description: The project aims to preserve the legacy of a Polish woman poet who emigrated to the UK in the 1940s and established a publishing house. The project touches on the broader theme of ethnic minority women and their contribution to creative expression in the UK. The proposal is an opportunity to celebrate British-Polish relations through the literary heritage of UK-based Polish writers.

Decision: Award grant of £10,000

Mote Park Hidden Histories

Applicant: Maidstone Borough Council

Project Description: Carry out a community archaeological dig led by professional archaeologists to further investigate the site of the old ‘Mote House’ in Maidstone’s Mote Park. The project will create new interpretation to explain the history of the house and its place in the wider park landscape.

Decision: Award grant of £10,000

DIY TV: The History and Influence of the BBC's Community Programmes Unit

Applicant: The University of West London

Project Description: Project focuses on a 1970s initiative to expand the range of voices on the BBC by providing the public with resources and editorial control. Following a 12-month pilot, the project aims to preserve Community Programme Unit materials through digitisation. Participants will be trained in oral histories and media techniques.

Decision: Award grant of £10,000

What if...? What would Dartmoor be like if the change to farming had never happened?

Applicant: Manaton and East Dartmoor Theatre

Project Description: An exploration of the impact of human activity on the planet since the Prehistoric era through the Devon landscape, with talks, walks, a residential weekend for teenagers from rural Devon to experience Mesolithic life, a young people’s festival of plays and a rural touring community play interpreting this heritage.

Decision: Award grant of £22,000

Getting Gloucestershire Beaver Ready

Applicant: Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust

Project Description: Project aims to complete a feasibility study for the reintroduction of beavers to Gloucestershire and West England Forest District. This will include the creation of holistic plan considering environmental, social and legal factors at a local and regional level and following wide community engagement.

Decision: Award grant of £36,499

Coastal Communities, Coastal Stories

Applicant: Bournemouth University Higher Education Corporation

Project Description: This project looks to recognise local heritage and inspire community engagement through a range of accessible and inclusive creative activities, exploring the value of Bournemouth high street and how this can inform plans for development. 

Decision: Award grant of £46,710

Arundel: Civil War, History and Songs

Applicant: Arundel Museum Society

Project Description: The project aims to engage children and audiences with the events of the English Civil War. It will do this through increasing participation events at Arundel Castle, Walberton and Worthing. Arundel Museum Society hopes to find resonance between the English Civil and modern conflicts, while remaining politically neutral. Project outputs include partnerships with heritage and landscape organisations, an exhibition and a free educational video.

Decision: Award grant of £52,340

East Boldre's Chapel Story

Applicant: East Boldre Community Stores Limited

Project Description: A six month-long project (August 2023 to February 2024), based in the New Forest that will contribute to wider work on regenerating the disused locally listed chapel into a community hub. This will include capital repairs, restoration and heritage activity relating to the site. This wider programme will also install the local shop and post office within the chapel.

Decision: Award grant of £54,000

Kerala Comes to Whitehill and Bordon

Applicant: Kala Chethena Kathakali Troupe

Project Description: Creation of an exhibition, and partnering with local organisations, to celebrate the heritage of East Hampshire’s Kerala community, with Kathakali, Mohiniattam and Bharatanatyam costumes, traditional Kerala dress, drums, photographs, films, memories and personal artefacts donated by the Kerala community.

Decision: Award grant of £64,148

Trailblazer50

Applicant: Big Ideas Community Interest Company

Project Description: The project will explore and share the contribution of Black British players at Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club (BHAFC) over the past 50 years. The launch will tie in with Black History Month. It will engage schools and groups across the county through digital heritage workshops, a mural, and other activities.

Decision: Reject

Beyond the Plate: Recipes from home kitchens to communities across Earlsfield

Applicant: Bounce Theatre Community Interest Company

Project Description: This project will produce a community recipe archive, supported by oral histories from local underserved communities and engagement activities.

Decision: Reject

Windrush Travelling Songbook Exhibition and Learning and Participation Programme

Applicant: Pegasus Opera Company Limited

Project Description: A 12-month (Jan 2024–Dec 2024) cross-territory project to deliver a touring exhibition as well as a learning, participation and oral history programme in London (LB Haringey and LB Lewisham), Bristol, Birmingham and Liverpool, exploring the story of the Windrush generation’s arrival in the UK through music and the influence of the Windrush Generation on the genre of classical music.

Decision: Award grant of £100,000

The Hampshire Hedge – Hedgelaying Skills and training project

Applicant: Campaign to Protect Rural England, Hampshire Branch

Project Description: Campaign to Protect Rural England, Hampshire Branch propose a 3 year 7-month (September 2023-March 2027) project to create four miles of hedgerow, promoting and training participants in the traditional skill of hedge laying.

Decision: Award grant of £120,000

Community WildBelt (Delivery Stage)

Applicant: The Chiltern Society

Project Description: Two-year (August 2023 to July 2025) nature recovery project to empower local communities and upskill volunteers to take positive actions for the natural heritage in local community spaces. The project area covers the triangle between Wendover, Aylesbury (Buckinghamshire) and Tring (Hertfordshire).

Decision: Award grant of £144,989

Gods House Tower – a sustainable future and a broader range of communities

Applicant: A Space: growing creative communities Ltd

Project Description: Three year-long project focusing on improving the resilience of God’s House Tower, a scheduled ancient monument and cultural venue, and helping develop it as a vibrant local community asset in Southampton. The plan includes self-sufficient business model strengthening audience development and commercial opportunities.

Decision: Award grant of £236,700

Rediscovering High Angle Battery

Applicant: Dorset Council

Project Description: 18-month project (September 2023 to March 2025) from Dorset Council aiming to repair, improve access to and interpret High Angle Battery on the Isle of Portland to provide a safer and more engaging visitor experience. Habitat improvements will increase the site’s ability to support wildlife and a Friends group will provide a legacy of volunteering, conservation and engagement.

Decision: Award grant of £245,565

1944: Home Fires – HMP Wormwood Scrubs

Applicant: HP Produktions Ltd

Project Description: Performance of an opera at HMP Wormwood Scrubs exploring the history of the LGBTQ+ experience in prisons.

Decision: Withdrawn

Equality Diversity and Inclusion – Plantlife Organisational Resilience Project

Applicant: Plantlife International – the wild plant conservation charity

Project Description: Project aims to understand barriers facing groups under-supported by the heritage and environment sector. The project aims to increase opportunities for progression within the sector for disabled people, people from low socio-economic backgrounds and people from global majority groups. The project forms part of the organisation’s broader effort to increase EDI and organisational resilience.

Decision: Award grant of £10,000

Apperley Church War Memorial Clock

Applicant: Parochial Church Council of Deerhurst and Apperley

Project Description: Restoration of Apperley Church War Memorial Clock.

Decision: Reject

Restoration of Wind Damaged Chancel Roof Coverings

Applicant: Glanvilles Wootton Parochial Church Council

Project Description: Repair works to the Chancel Roof of the Grade II* listed St Mary the Virgin Church, Glanvilles Wootton, damaged in a storm.

Decision: Reject

Undocumented

Applicant: Film London

Project Description: Expanding existing events programme in partnership with other London-based film organisations to deepen engagement with Black cultural heritage and increase awareness of screen heritage in Black communities.

Decision: Reject

Dean Academy Music Department

Applicant: The Athelstan Trust

Project Description: To purchase equipment that will ensure children from all backgrounds have access to exceptional music education including djembes for West African drumming, guitars, bass guitars, amps and trumpets.

Decision: Reject

Ilford and Me

Applicant: Art Services Grants Limited

Project Description: This project aims to capture and celebrate the narratives of Ilford’s residents through a workshop and jewellery co-creation programme

Decision: Reject

Chesham in its own voice

Applicant: Invisible Folk Ltd

Project Description: Project aims to provide residents of Chesham an opportunity to share their stories, memories and histories of the local area. In doing so, the project aims to reshape the definition of Chesham as a place with a low Social Mobility index. Collected material will be made available at Chapter Two bookshop and a museum. Other outputs include poems, sketches and songs to be performed.

Decision: Reject

Keeping the Authenticity of Kathak for future generations

Applicant: Pushpalata Dance Troupe

Project Description: This is a 20-month project (August 2023 to February 2025) that will see Pushpalata Dance Troupe deliver an intangible cultural heritage project focusing on the North Indian classical dance form of Kathak.

Decision: Reject

The Inevitable Journey

Applicant: Universal Refugee Service CIC

Project Description: A 12 month-long project to engage migrant volunteers in telling their own stories of seeking asylum in Britain, focusing on the Hounslow community. An oral history archive and three film documentaries will be created and their stories shared locally.

Decision: Reject

The New Exonians

Applicant: Inclusive Exeter CIC

Project Description: This project explores why people from six Global Majority communities (Filipino, Bengali, Afghan, Karela, Hong Kong, and Kurdish) settled in Exeter, how they established their new lives, and how they have maintained their cultural heritage. It will do this through the collection of oral histories and events.

Decision: Reject

The Sound of Bristol

Applicant: Bristol Community FM Ltd

Project Description: A 3-year project aiming to explore how the ability to record sound has changed communities and national archive audio collections. The project aims to create three pop-up charity shops of memories (selling donated clothes and playing audio clips), host community interviewing workshops and create a local heritage podcast.

Decision: Reject

Project Falmouth

Applicant: The Extraction Action Alliance Community Interest Company

Project Description: Project Falmouth aims to reduce coastal erosion by planting seagrass and laying Reef Cubes. The organisation aims to use the Heritage Fund’s support to buy equipment and fund the employment of two existing volunteers. The project covers the whole of the Cornish coastline.

Decision: Reject

Grant increases, rejects and changes

Out of the Blue

Applicant: Milton Keynes Council

Project Description: Project to carry out improvements to the Blue Lagoon Local Nature Reserve. Aims include sharing the history of the Blue Lagoon (its geology, biodiversity, and history of industrialisation) and constructing a new visitor centre.

Decision: Reject