Cultures and memories
Since 1994 we have awarded over £510million to more than 24,600 community and cultural heritage projects across the UK.
What do we support?
We fund projects which help to explore, save and celebrate the traditions, customs, skills and knowledge of different communities.
This cultural heritage is sometimes referred to as intangible or living heritage. This is because it is constantly changing and kept alive when practiced or performed.
We also fund projects which document and share people’s memories. This often involves capturing oral histories and ensuring they are accessible now and in the future.
Project ideas
Our funding could help people:
- research and share oral traditions, such as storytelling or local dialects
- train others in traditional skills and crafts, from dry stone walling and blacksmithing to basket weaving and textile making
- research the origins of culture, such as music, theatre or dance, and create performances influenced by past styles
- share the history and fun of celebrations, festivals or rituals with new audiences, from games and cooking to carnivals and fayres
- capture accounts of traditional knowledge or pass it on, such as woodland management or home remedies
- record the stories of ordinary people through oral histories, for example about growing up, migration or work
- retell people’s memories about a place or event, such as a long-stay hospital, the miners' strikes or the punk movement
How to get funding
If you have an idea for a project, we would love to hear from you.
Projects
A Miller's Tale: Football, Community and Remembrance in Central London during the Great War
Young people from schools in Fulham used archives to discover how the First World War impacted on their area, creating an exhibition, an animation and a drama piece.
Projects
Closing the gap - turning theory into practical application
An HLF Skills for the Future grant enabled the CBA to offer year-long workplace learning bursaries.
Projects
ESAMP Heritage traineeships
This HLF-supported project took on seven trainees in 2011 for 12 months of work-based training focusing on heritage building skills and historic landscape management.
Projects
Marine heritage skills for placements
The Marine Graduate Training Programme provided work-based training in marine conservation and community engagement for recent university graduates.
Projects
Emily Inspires! Her Past, Our Present, Your Future
Emily Inspires! pays tribute to the legacy of Emily Wilding Davison, who was buried at Morpeth after falling under the hooves of the King's horse at the Epsom Derby in June 1913 - a moment that changed history.
Projects
York Remembers Rowntree
The Rowntree Society aims to raise awareness of the legacy of the York-based industrialist, social reformer and philanthropist, Joseph Rowntree.
Projects
Sharing the Heritage of Caldwell's Nurseries
The Cheshire Gardens Trust led on a project to explore the fascinating history of Caldwell’s Nurseries in Knutsford.
Projects
Luton remembers the First World War
People living in Luton took a step back in time to explore what life was like during the First World War and the impact it had on people living in Luton at the time.
Projects
Hospital Under Canvas: Millicent Sutherland's Ambulance in the Great War
A collection of paintings depicting nursing during the First World War was researched and exhibited, engaging the local community with this exceptional collection.
Projects
Chinese Heritage
A first for the West Midlands, Chinese Lives in Birmingham was created to capture the hidden histories of Birmingham's Chinese community.
Projects
People Like Us
A two-year project explored, collected and shared the social and cultural history of people with learning disabilities in the Liverpool and the Merseyside region.
Projects
Cardiff and Newport Multicultural Project
Cardiff People First delivered a two year project working with people with learning disabilities from predominantly BAME cultural backgrounds, to learn about Welsh heritage in both Newport and Cardiff.