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Industrial, maritime and transport

Industrial, maritime and transport

two people pulling a rope on a historic ship, with a river estuary in the background
Tom Curtis and Simon Whitehouse from The Pioneer Sailing Trust working on the CK18 Pioneer. Credit: Megan Taylor.
Celebrating the innovative buildings, transport and technology that helped shape the modern world.

Since 1994 we have awarded over £610million to more than 1,500 industrial, maritime and transport projects across the UK.

We want to help more people conserve their local industrial heritage and pass on skills to younger generations. 

What do we support?

Projects we fund include:

  • printing presses
  • pumping engines
  • windmills
  • historic ships
  • locomotives
  • natural landscapes transformed by industry

Project ideas

Our funding could help people:

  • uncover and record people’s memories of our industrial past
  • give a disused site a new purpose
  • restore and maintain operating machinery
  • reveal the history of industry in your area
  • explore the nation's network of canals
  • provide staffed visitor facilities and learning resources
  • help young people learn new skills and care for their heritage

See the stories and projects below for more inspiration. 

How to get funding

If you have an idea for a project, we would love to hear from you.

Explore our available funding
A computerised impression of the new railway heritage building
An impression of what the new heritage railway attraction might look like. Credit: Darlington Borough Council

Projects

Stockton and Darlington Railway

A state-of-the-art visitor attraction and new community engagement scheme will celebrate this historic railway line.

Colourful illustration of water works building with celebration fireworks drawn by Quentin Blake
Quentin Blake's illustration of the Engine House building, the new home of the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration. Credit: Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration.

Projects

New centre for illustration: celebrating Quentin Blake’s 90th birthday

A new development grant brings the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration one step closer to realising their ambition for a new space, creating a permanent home for illustration in the UK.

Dockside buildings under a blue sky
London International Cruise Terminal and Riverside Station, Tilbury, by David Anstiss, licenced under CC BY-SA 2.0

Projects

Back on Track: Tilbury Riverside Station

This project will restore and celebrate the Grade II* listed Tilbury Cruise Terminal, where the Empire Windrush docked in 1948 to bring Commonwealth citizens to the UK.

A group of people posing for a photo

Projects

Waterway Heritage Skills

The Canal & River Trust’s Waterways Heritage Skills Project created a pool of committed and skilled young people in waterway heritage skills, filling skills gaps within the Trust’s own workforce and the wider heritage sector.

Aerial view of Plymouth coast with lighthouse and dramatic sunrise
Site of the new marine park at Plymouth.

News

Heritage Horizon Awards: £50million to five life-changing projects

We are proud to announce the recipients of our Heritage Horizon Awards. Over £50million of funding has been awarded to five transformational projects across the UK. When we launched the Heritage Horizon Awards in 2019, we set out to fund ideas that unlocked possibility. From innovative farming