Industrial, maritime and transport

Celebrating the innovative buildings, transport and technology that helped shape the modern world.

Since 1994 we have awarded over £660million to 1,700 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

An artist's impression of the DNA Museum

Projects

DNA Museum to celebrate North West’s rich heritage

24/09/2025

A new museum that will explore the history and culture of Derry/Londonderry and its connection to the North Atlantic is now under construction.

29/01/2013

SS Great Britain sits in dock on Bristol waterfront, on a bright and sunny day.

SS Great Britain has found a permanent and popular home in Bristol.

Projects

Bristol communities to tell the global story of SS Great Britain

22/08/2025

The original research and ideas of local people will transform how Brunel’s world-changing vessel is shared with the public.

02/04/2025

Three male stonemasons talk to a woman about their craft, discussing the tools they use. Pieces of carved stone are on a table in front of them.

Left to right: stonemasons Jason Boag, Billy King and Ross Cowie, speaking to Caroline Clark, Director of Scotland at the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Credit: Kirsty Anderson.

Projects

Lock 16: Scotland’s centre of excellence for canals and traditional skills

03/04/2025

A vacant former Irn-Bru factory on the Forth & Clyde Canal in Falkirk is becoming a training hub for specialist skills needed to maintain Scotland’s canal heritage.

04/03/2025

A small train billowing steam in the yard of the museum buildings

The yard at Amgueddfa Lechi Cymru. Credit: Amgueddfa Cymru.

Projects

Unlocking the living gateway to Wales' slate story

08/07/2025

Amgueddfa Lechi Cymru, The National Slate Museum, in Llanberis is being transformed through a £12million grant, securing its future at the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage slate landscape.

27/03/2024

A visiting schoolgirl rings a cast iron bell on a bracket.

A visiting school child tests a bell. Credit: Loughborough Bellfoundry Trust.

Stories

Ringing the changes: engaging the next generation at Britain’s last working bell foundry

Our support is helping to connect the global history of an at-risk craft with new audiences and young people keen to build a career in heritage.

A group of people in high-vis standing around a table converted from an old railway wagon

A behind the scenes tour of the newly renovated Boston Lodge. Credit: Chris Parry.

Stories

How volunteers are powering a historic railway

Boston Lodge shows that investing in people and skills can inspire visitors, boost volunteering and transform heritage.

A large group of young people cheering outdoors

Participants in the New to Nature programme including future Game Changer, Lisa Manning.

News

Meet the future game changers of heritage

The next phase of The National Lottery’s Game Changer campaign highlights the incredible impact of young adults across the UK.

13/05/2025

A black and white photograph showing RAF staff celebrating in an office, throwing their arms and papers in the air.

Orderly room staff at RAF Andover celebrate victory in Europe, May 1945. Credit: RAF Museum Collection.

News

Royal Air Force and Royal Marines heritage to benefit from £13.7million investment

On the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day, we’re celebrating two grants that will transform how these nationally important military history collections are shared with future generations.

08/05/2025

Four people stand in front of a train engine and hold a progress pride flag

Joanna Jarvis , Imogen Watmore, Ashlynn Hudson-Welburn and Harvey Barker holding Pride banner in front of HST loco in Great Hall, National Railway Museum, (NRM) York. © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum.

Stories

Mind the gap: uncovering missing stories from railway history

People, Pride and Progress is recording the experiences of LGBTQ+ workers to explore unheard perspectives on railway heritage.

A person wearing ear protection stands behind brightly coloured threads.

Ribbon Weaver at Wyedean Weaving Company. Credit: Tim Smith.

Projects

Lost Mills and Ghost Mansions

20/02/2025

This oral history project captured the unheard voices of Bradford’s textile mill workers to celebrate the area’s rich industrial heritage.

08/02/2023

A person at an archaeological dig site holds up a piece of stone which has been excavated

DigVentures will engage 4,000 participants to help map archaeological sites and ecological habits in the third phase of its Heritage Innovation Fund project.

News