Community heritage
Celebrating our community heritage can help bring people together, feel pride in where they live and save stories and traditions.
Thanks to National Lottery players, since 1994 we have awarded over £500m to 26,700 community and cultural heritage projects across the UK.
What do we support?
We help people who are researching and sharing the history of a community or of a place.
We also fund projects which combine different types of heritage in a particular location.
Project ideas
Our funding could help people:
- research the impact of a historical event on their town. They could then share their findings through displays, talks and online
- investigate the names on a war memorial
- crowdsource documents and photographs linked to the LGBT+ community, creating an online archive and exhibition
- set up an audio trail around a range of buildings, parks and monuments in a town
- enable a youth group to research their local history and create an animated film about their learnings
How to get funding
Our National Lottery Grants for Heritage programme is open for applications, with refocused priorities for 2021-22.
News
Help us shape the future of heritage funding and strategy
UK Heritage Pulse is a collaborative research project for the UK’s heritage sector, creating a broad and diverse community – and we want you to be part of it. The information you share through our quarterly UK Heritage Pulse surveys will help shape our strategy and funding approaches. In return, you
Thomson Park, Burnley.
Credit: Burnley Borough Council
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Thriving Places
We are committed to supporting heritage projects that create better places to live, work and visit.
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How to consider environmental sustainability in your heritage project
We expect the highest standards of environmental sustainability in all the projects we fund – and there are lots of ways to get started.
Programme
Local Places for Nature
A capital grant scheme to enable communities in Wales to restore and enhance nature. Grants up to £250,000 available.
The current Lord Leycester Brethren. Credit: Kevin Fern
News
A new chapter for the Lord Leycester Hospital
National Lottery funding – announced ahead of Remembrance Sunday – means former soldiers and their stories will continue to have a historic home in Warwick.
Wickham Market's community saving The George Community Pub. Credit: Julian Evans
News
A new lease of life for Wickham Market’s community pub
A grant of £988,200 has been awarded to The George pub in Wickham Market, Suffolk – a Grade II listed building which will serve as a thriving community hub.
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How we’re working towards an ambitious vision of inclusive heritage
The Review, launched in June 2020, drew on internal expertise and evidence, commissioned external research and examined best practice in the heritage sector and beyond. We set out to define an ambitious vision of inclusive heritage for ourselves and the sector. It was led by Andrew White, Director
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Full steam ahead for the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways
North Wales’ largest tourist attraction has secured a £3.1million National Lottery Heritage Fund grant.
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Coastal communities to help wildlife of Dee Estuary
Cheshire Wildlife Trust to receive a £540,000 grant for conservation project bringing together communities in the North of England and Wales.
Sustainability award 2021 winner: Penzance Jubilee Pool
Stories
Could you be the Sustainable Project of the Year 2022?
The National Heritage Lottery Fund is sponsoring the sustainability category at the Museums + Heritage Awards for a third year running – entries are now open for 2022.
St Helen's WFC, 1977.
Copyright: National Football Museum
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Revealing the hidden history of women’s football
As England prepares to host the UEFA Women’s EUROs this summer, a National Lottery funded project will tell the stories of the country's female pioneers of the game.
Uncovering the Second World War pillbox in Pontypridd
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£193,502 awarded to local heritage projects across Wales
Second World War Pontypridd pillbox and park in Britton Ferry among 24 projects receiving a 15-Minute Heritage grant.
Green fingers and happy faces at the South Riverside Community Development Centre
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£300,000 nature funding for under-served communities in Wales
Five of Wales’s most excluded and disadvantaged communities will be making the most of nature on their doorsteps thanks to ‘Local Places for Nature – Breaking Barriers’ grants.
Jumping for joy at the Green Valley Conservation and Heritage Project
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South Wales wellbeing garden wins National Lottery award
A project which uses gardening and nature to improve people’s employability and wellbeing has been named the 2021 National Lottery Wales Project of the Year.
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£7million legacy for nature and communities for the Queen’s jubilee
Last updated: 21/1/2022 In June 2022, Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate her Platinum Jubilee. To mark the milestone, we’re committing £7m to help communities across the UK re-connect with nature and support young people to take their first step towards a career in natural heritage. "Not only will
Volunteers in ‘The Wilderness’ garden. Credit: MHA
Projects
The Wilderness: Saving Nature’s Heritage To Improve Wellbeing
Despite challenges during the pandemic, The Wilderness project shows how older people’s wellbeing can be improved by actively restoring and engaging with natural heritage.
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Spotlight to shine again on Leeds’ favourite building
Victoria Hall in Leeds is to receive a £250,000 grant for restoration, helping to bring investment in the North of England's heritage to more than £1.9billion.
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How we're tackling climate change
In our corporate plan we have committed to play our part in tackling climate change – both within our organisation and in our grant giving.
One of last year’s grantees: Tin Shed Theatre company
Stories
15-Minute Heritage grant programme for local heritage in Wales re-opens
Communities across Wales can now apply for grants between £3,000 and £10,000 to help celebrate local heritage.
Marquess of Anglesey's Column
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Latest National Lottery funding opens up access to heritage
More than £14million has been awarded to projects that will help a wider range of people benefit from heritage.
Site of the new marine park at Plymouth.
Credit: Chris Gorman/Big Ladder Photography
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Heritage Horizon Awards: £50million to five life-changing projects
From the Scottish mountains to England's southwest coast, these big heritage ideas champion environmental, community and cultural heritage as part of our Heritage Horizon Awards.