National Lottery Heritage Grants £10,000 to £250,000

Bussing Out: Recovering the Forgotten Histories of Britain's Post-War Migrant Generations

Applicant: University of Bradford

Project description: Bussing Out is a touring installation that reveals and preserves the forgotten history of bussing Black and Asian children to rural schools, centring lived experiences through oral histories, education resources, and a public archive to enrich the UK’s diverse heritage. 

Decision: Award grant of £32,760 (17%)

Reconnecting Roots: A Hongkonger Cultural Heritage Project

Applicant: Konger CIC

Project description: Preserving the memories, traditions and stories of Hongkongers in the UK, using oral history, workshops and community events to strengthen cultural identity, connect generations and keep Hong Kong heritage alive in a new home. 

Decision: Award grant of £19,000 (100%)

Beyond the Try Line – Celebrating Community Heritage in Rugby

Applicant: British Asian Rugby Association C.I.C.

Project description: To preserve the untold story of South Asian Rugby in West Yorkshire, celebrating community resilience and inclusion through lived experiences, memorabilia and oral histories to ensure this sporting heritage is recognised and remembered. 

Decision: Award grant of £99,763 (100%)

Resolve

Applicant: Liverpool Irish Festival

Project description: The Liverpool Irish Famine Trail highlights the city’s deep Irish roots through key sites and stories of migration, resilience and identity, connecting past and present to show that famine is not inevitable. 

Decision: Award grant of £57,210 (92%)

Central Library Centenary: A History of Gateshead in 100 Objects

Applicant: Gateshead Council

Project description: To unlock Gateshead Archive’s hidden heritage by conserving and showcasing rarely seen collections – photographs, posters, films and objects – while engaging local communities to share their own stories and enrich the borough’s diverse historical record. 

Decision: Award grant of £72,460 (100%)

Memories from the Dance Floor Up North

Applicant: Material Queer CIC

Project description: Celebrating and preserving LGBTQ+ histories, highlighting community, activism and identity through storytelling and research. 

Decision: Award grant of £25,774 (100%)

Sweet Stories & Strong Voices

Applicant: Digital Voice for Communities C.I.C

Project description: To uncover and share the hidden heritage of Chester-le-Street, focusing on untold stories from women, migrants and working-class communities. Through creative digital storytelling, it will connect generations, build skills and preserve local history for the future. 

Decision: Award grant of £12,591 (100%)

The Time and Toil project

Applicant: BOLDON COLLIERY HERITAGE GROUP

Project description: Preserving mining and military history through a restored memorial, oral histories and education, fostering community pride and connection for future generations. 

Decision: Award grant of £103,400 (100%)

Heritage Growth

Applicant: Great Angels Foundation

Project description: To preserve and share the childhood experiences of Black children from Igbo Land and the UK in the 1970s–80s through oral histories and film, building skills and connecting communities while creating lasting cultural records. 

Decision: Award grant of £32,742 (100%)

Nelson: My place to come to go out

Applicant: In-Situ-In-Place

Project description: To raise awareness of Nelson’s music, cinema and night-tie heritage through a sound booth archive and community collected images, reconnecting diverse voices amid the town’s declining social nightlife. 

Decision: Award grant of £44,075 (81%)

The Parish of Easington Colliery, The Church of The Ascension renewal Project

Applicant: The Parochial Church Council of Easington Colliery

Project description: The Easington Ascension roof repair seeks to preserve the church as a vital place of worship and community support, enabling the continuation and growth of essential outreach services, family engagement and local partnerships. 

Decision: Award grant of £224,568 (93%)

"Legacy of Sound: Preserving the Heritage of the Black Music Festival"

Applicant: Black Health Initiative

Project description: To celebrate and preserve the rich cultural heritage of Leeds’ Black Music Festival, documenting its origins in the Windrush generation’s fight for recognition and tracing its growth into Europe’s largest free Black music event. 

Decision: Reject

Copy That – The Revolution in Photomechanical Printing

Applicant: Mirador

Project description: Celebrating Karel Klic’s revolutionary invention of rotogravure in Lancaster, a breakthrough that transformed image reproduction and laid the foundation for modern mass media and visual culture. 

Decision: Reject

Bury Parish Church Ledger Stones

Applicant: The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Saint Mary the Virgin, Bury

Project description: To improve Bury church as a safe and welcoming community space, preserve its 400-year-old heritage and share its history more widely to protect it for future generations. 

Decision: Award grant of £210,770 (72%)

The African Roots Project

Applicant: West African Development

Project description: Celebrating and preserving Arican heritage in Tameside through events and workshops, promoting inclusion, education and stronger community cohesion. 

Decision: Reject

1996–2056: Celebrating the last 30 years and Futureproofing the next 30 years

Applicant: The Monastery of St Francis Gorton Trust

Project description: To protect and revitalise Gorton Monastery, celebrating its 30-year journey with events and restoring key features, while securing its future as a community hub for years to come. 

Decision: Award grant of £249,650 (85%)

Diversifying Engagement with Brass Band Heritage: Sharing the Story with Young People

Applicant: Brass Bands England

Project description: Preserving brass band heritage by collecting oral histories, engaging young people and expanding access to the Brass Bands Archive, building skills and inspiring a more diverse future for the sector. 

Decision: Award grant of £248,911 (79%)

Safeguarding heritage at the Lancashire Mining Museum

Applicant: Lancashire Mining Museum Limited

Project description: To safeguard ‘at risk’ mining heritage at Astley Green, improve visitor engagement through new interpretation and trails and strengthen the museum’s skills and governance for long-term sustainability. 

Decision: Award grant of £198,910 (62%)

Empowering Youth, Embracing Roots

Applicant: University of Sheffield

Project description: To empower diverse young people in Sheffield to share their heritage, influence policy and shape inclusive heritage activities through workshops, education and skills development. 

Decision: Reject

Saddleworth Museum – Our villages, past, present and future

Applicant: Saddleworth Museum

Project description: To revitalise Saddleworth Museum by improving its spaces, safeguarding the collection, expanding community use and strengthening governance.

Decision: Award grant of £228,845 (85%)

Gorton Together – from community action to community power

Applicant: Healthy Me Healthy Communities CiC

Project description: Preserving the social and democratic heritage of Gorton Community Centre by capturing stories, photos and artefacts from its resident-led movement and promoting community cohesion through shared history. 

Decision: Award Grant of £145,803 (100%)

Cultivating History: Revitalising Kersal Vale's Wartime Legacy

Applicant: Lower Kersal Young People & community group

Project description: To protect a historic Salford site that has preserved traditional growing practices and community resilience, with roots in wartime self-sufficiency and a continued role in sustainable, community-led urban agriculture. 

Decision: Reject

The Reins Restoration Project

Applicant: Bishop Burton College

Project description: To preserve and interpret a rare Medieval deer park boundary, combining conservation of historic earthworks and woodland with hands-on learning, community access and ecological protection. 

Decision: Reject

24/7/365 church

Applicant: Seacombe United Reformed Church

Project description: To restore and celebrate Seacombe’s historic “church on the corner”, a community-built Gothic landmark, preserving its heritage and renewing its role in a changing neighbourhood while contributing to the conservation of a rare, intact pre-war streetscape. 

Decision: Reject

Making an Impact

Applicant: Leeds Buildings Preservation Trust Limited

Project description: Showcasing Leeds Buildings Preservation Trust’s role in saving at-risk heritage by opening St George’s Clock Tower to the public and developing restoration plans for Roundhay Park Gate Lodges. 

Decision: Reject

Challenges facing African Traditional Medicine in the UK

Applicant: Citizen Outreach Coalition

Project description: To explore and preserve the heritage of African traditional medicine in the UK, highlighting healing practices, cultural knowledge and the use of herbs and seeds across generations. 

Decision: Reject

Burnley Empire – Preserving Space to Create

Applicant: Burnley Empire Trust

Project description: To protect the historic Burnley Empire, bringing it back to life through urgent repairs and public events. 

Decision: Reject

Project Title: Hidden Histories: Disability and Sport in Liverpool

Applicant: Apollo Active CIC

Project Description: Uncovering and celebrating the overlooked history of disability and sport in Liverpool, sharing lived experiences to challenge stigma, promote inclusion and highlight untold stories through exhibitions and events. 

Decision: Reject

Cultural Grief – Hidden Voices

Applicant: The Widows Empowerment Trust

Project description: Preserving and celebrating African Widowhood traditions in the UK, creating a supportive space to share stories, challenge stigma and connect younger generations with their heritage. 

Decision: Reject

Restoration of the drainage system surrounding the church and the creation of a heritage hub to share the rich history of the church to our visitors. Increasing the number of visitors will help to financially sustain the building into the future.

Applicant: St Michael & All Angels Church

Project description: To repair drainage and restore stained glass at the 12th-century church, preserving it as a community hub and heritage site. 

Decision: Reject

Iceborn Vikings

Applicant: Iceborn Vikings CIC

Project description: Bringing history to life through interactive Viking demonstrations, community events and traditional craft workshops, inspiring learning and strengthening local connections, especially among young people.

Decision: Reject

Lower Hall Upgrade

Applicant: Wilsden Village Hall

Project description: Refurbishing the lower floor of the building with upgrades to flooring, accessible toilets and a kitchen, creating a safe and welcoming space to support community use and preserve the hall.

Decision: Reject

Manchester Caribbean Carnival Heritage 2025

Applicant: Manchester Carnival Together CIC

Project description: To preserve and promote carnival heritage through film, youth skill development, support for Black and Caribbean craft businesses, and a programme of live and digital events. 

Decision: Reject

Our Retail Heritage – The Luxurious History of Department Stores in Sunderland

Applicant: Harbour Printworks C.I.C

Project description: To celebrate Sunderland’s lost department stores through art, fashion and oral histories, connecting young queer people with local heritage and creating a lasting digital legacy. 

Decision: Reject

Digitising historic images of Newcastle upon Tyne for the benefit of interested parties both nationally and internationally.

Applicant: Newcastle Photo Archive

Project description: To digitise historic images of west and central Newcastle, making them accessible online to a global audience, while promoting heritage learning and community pride through events, publications and film. 

Decision: Reject

The Neurodiverse Museum – putting neurodivergent people at the heart of heritage services

Applicant: The Neurodiverse Museum CIC

Project description: To improve access to heritage spaces for neurodivergent people through training, resources and peer support – making visiting, working and volunteering more inclusive. 

Decision: Reject

Re-Pointing work

Applicant: The Parochial Church Council of St. Andrews, Hartburn, with St. John's Meldon

Project description: To repoint St Andrew’s Church to prevent water damage, protecting its use for community and worship and safeguarding the building’s long-term future. 

Decision: Reject