Between 2012 and 2014, HLF awarded £4.5million in small grants to 542 projects. This enabled communities to explore places, unearth local knowledge and share unexpected discoveries, with the findings then shared on Historypin – an interactive digital archive.

The programme evaluation report, published earlier this week, shows that All Our Stories had wide-reaching benefits for local communities. This included new skills for volunteers and increased understanding of community networks.

The following three examples showcase a few of the creative ways in which participating community groups and organisations explored the heritage of their local area.

Fruitful finds in Bristol

Horfield Organic Community Orchard’s heritage project focused on discovering more about the fruit, land and histories of Bristol and sharing this information with members of the public at Apple Day events. The project involved identifying the varieties of fruit grown in the area and creating a new website.

A great gig in the North East

The Lawnmowers Kulture Krew, another group of creative community historians, unearthed local knowledge in the North East, and interpreted the findings through song.

The team, which included learning disabled researchers and artists, learned new music skills and performed at a local gig. They continue to raise the profile of learning disabled artists in 2015.

Another great discovery

Great Yarmouth’s communities used imaginative and artistic ways to capture local transport heritage, which included the history of the impressive Vauxhall Bridge. Animation, photography, model making, and local people’s stories all contributed towards a successful public exhibition. More can be found on the Vauxhall Links page on Historypin.

Find out more

You can read about more in the All Our Stories evaluation report.

Are you part of a group interested in applying for a community heritage grant? Although All Our Stories  has finished, our Sharing Heritage grants programme continues to offer funding for community heritage projects throughout the UK.