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Areas, buildings and monuments

Areas, buildings and monuments

exterior view of a large norman castle in the middle of a city
We've supported Norwich Castle's transformation with £13million in funding.
Safeguarding our historic buildings, monuments and archaeology for future generations.

Thanks to National Lottery players, since 1994 we have awarded £3.6billion to 10,800 area, historic building and monument projects across the UK. See stories from projects we've funded below.

We provide grants for heritage projects from £10,000–£10million to ensure that heritage is valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future.

These projects can help to sustain jobs, support economic growth and protect heritage at risk. They can also bolster local pride, nurture traditional craft skills and help communities enjoy and make use of the places they care about.

What do we support?

Projects we fund include:

  • investment in places of worship
  • conservation and repairs to historic buildings and places
  • finding appropriate new uses for historic buildings
  • community archaeology projects

Places of worship

Places of worship are among the UK’s oldest and most cherished historic buildings. We want to help congregations become truly resilient and their buildings genuinely sustainable.

Places of worship we fund

Project ideas

Our funding could help people:

  • repair and transform a historic building at the heart of their community
  • help volunteers learn building conservation skills
  • rescue a building on a Buildings at Risk register
  • undertake a community archaeology project
  • regenerate a historic town centre or high street
  • look after and learn about a local war memorial

How to get funding

Our National Lottery Heritage Grants programme is open for applications.

Find out more and apply
a group are given a tour of a church with mosaics under repair near a scaffolding tower
Bookable and impromptu tours of the church's history and mosaics helped thousands of new visitors understand the heritage of this Catholic church in Droitwich, Worcestershire. Credit: Church of the Sacred Heart and St Catherine of Alexandria.

Stories

Grantee Q&A: attracting visitors to Droitwich’s Catholic gem required a lot of volunteers

From carefully planning public engagement to administrative hitches, Jim Spink and Peter Vella share their insight into connecting people with a little-known piece of Worcestershire’s heritage.
three young women dig a plot of ground marked with string with trowels
Free archaeology activities helped young people in Harrow, west London, experience an archaeological dig.

Projects

Providing access to archaeology for young people in Harrow

A sixth form college in northwest London involved local students in digs on school grounds to investigate a lost tower.

People gather in the central courtyard on an event day, shopping and eating food
The reopened market has helped bring a buzz back to the town centre. Credit: Lottie Matthews.

Projects

Creating Cornwall’s first food hall

A cluster of Grade II listed buildings known as the Buttermarket has been transformed into a thriving food and cultural hub, reviving Redruth’s heritage as a popular market town.

an empty historic swimming pool converted into an exhibition space
Pilot activities included transforming the Gala Pool with artworks, rugs and soft furnishings to create a space for visitors to explore Balsall Heath's heritage. Credit: Katja Ogrin.

Projects

Moseley Road Baths’ community-led future

After a 20-year campaign the swimming baths in Balsall Heath are being restored and reopened as a wellbeing, leisure and cultural destination for Birmingham.

Inside Dewsbury Arcade, showing original timber shopfronts and a new glazed roof with shoppers walking down the central walkway
The historic shopfronts and glazed roof have been restored and a range of independent businesses occupy the units, with more coming soon. Credit: Kirklees Council.

News

Reopening Dewsbury Arcade as the UK’s first community-run shopping centre

With the help of £4.5million from us, customers are back under its beautifully restored glass and cast-iron roof for the first time in a decade.
Exterior image of St Columb's Hall, a stone building next to a busy city centre street
St Columb’s Hall known as the People’s Hall was built in 1886 mainly using donations from local people. Credit: Lorcan Doherty Photography.

Projects

Securing a sustainable future for the People's Hall

Our investment has helped bring St Columb's Hall back into community ownership and is funding improvements to make it welcoming, accessible and no longer at risk.

the deputy mayor and a group of people in a museum looking at building plans
The Deputy Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council looks at plans for Ballycastle Museum. Credit: Causeway Coast and Glens Museum Services.

News

Seven historic buildings we’re funding to become community hubs

From a cart and wagon shed on the site of the UK’s first war dog school to the oldest building in Britain’s first recorded city, explore recently-funded projects restoring historic spaces as venues for local people and visitors.
a busy high street with gazebos with information about the museum's redevelopment
Ballycastle Museum’s current home, the black and white building, will expand sideways into the cream building. Credit: Causeway Coast and Glens Museum Services.

Stories

Grantee Q&A: how Ballycastle Museum pivoted from project-ending issues to success

Dogged perseverance and good teamwork can overcome (almost) any problem says Dr Nic Wright, Ballycastle Museum Project Officer at Causeway Coast and Glens Museum Services.
A mosaic constructed with tiles. In the middle of the mosaic is a teal circle, inside the circle is the text 'Heritage Fund' and The National Lottery's crossed fingers logo
Acknowledgement mosaic, Stockton Northern Gateway Townscape Heritage Project. Credit: Stockton Borough Council.

News

Announcing the winners of our acknowledgement awards 2026

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council has been named the winner of our acknowledgement awards, with Hyde Park Picture House, Black Country Living Museum and Hull Maritime recognised as runners-up.
shopfronts on restored high street buildings
The restored shopfronts of 2-4 Market Place in Caistor. Credit: Caistor and District Community Trust.

Projects

Bringing new life to Caistor’s market place

We’re helping Caistor and District Community Trust restore derelict historic buildings in the town centre and repurpose them for commercial and community use.

a memorial to a mining disaster in public square
The memorial for a New Year's Day mining disaster at Sneyd Colliery in 1942 is in Burslem town centre. Credit: BiscuitsBeforeBias/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

Projects

Local people have their say on Stoke-on-Trent monuments receiving repair funds

War memorials, tombs, fountains and sculptures that tell the city’s story are sharing £240,000 in repair and conservation funding – and were largely chosen by a public vote.

a digital 3D model of a historic timber-framed building
Gainsborough Old Hall was scanned by Historic England to create a digital climate resilient house, which helps people understand how historic buildings will be affected by the climate crisis. Credit: Historic England.

Projects

Old Hall, New Beginnings: reviving Gainsborough Old Hall, Lincolnshire

English Heritage are learning more about the Old Hall, revitalising the garden and hosting a range of activities and volunteering opportunities for the local community.

If you query is regarding our application portal, please contact our support team.