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Community heritage

Community heritage

The interior of a 1950s hairdresser's shop. A visitor is having their hair styled by a stylist in vintage clothing. A child sits in a high chair next to the visitor.
Credit: Nigel Roddis
Celebrating community heritage can help people come together, feel pride in where they live and save stories and traditions.

Since 1994 we have awarded £460million to more than 24,100 community and cultural heritage projects across the UK.

What do we support?

We fund projects that are researching, conserving and celebrating the heritage of a community or place.

These projects could include lots of types of heritage, such as people celebrating living customs or improving a historic green space. What's most important is that the project involves and benefits the community.

Project ideas

Our funding could help people:

  • research the impact of a historical event on their town, and share their findings through displays, talks and online
  • investigate the names on a war memorial
  • crowdsource documents and photographs linked to the LGBTQ+ 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

For more inspiration, see the stories below or browse projects we've funded.

How to get funding

If you have an idea for a project, we would love to hear from you.

Explore our available funding
Shelves full of pamphlets and bookmarks highlighting significant LGBTQ+ writers
Lavender Menace in Edinburgh. Credit: Andrew Thompson.

Stories

Five community spaces that made LGBTQ+ history

Lavender Menace, Edinburgh Founded in 1982, Lavender Menace was the first LGBTQ+ bookshop in Scotland. The shop, and its successor Wilde & West, soon became a hub where people could meet, share experiences and discover LGBTQ+ literature that was hard to find elsewhere. Today it’s been reimagined as
five people on a tour of an allotment garden on a sunny day
An activity in the community garden for Roots, part of Belfast 2024's Our Future Heritage programme.

Stories

Grantee Q&A: delivering a heritage-inspired creative programme

We asked Christine Osborne from Belfast City Council to share what she’s learned from the Council’s Belfast 2024 project journey – from developing their application to building a legacy plan.
Trevor Swinburne talks to a group of the community.
Retired professional football goalkeeper Trevor Swinburne previously played for Sunderland. Credit: Foundation of Light.

Projects

Improving community wellbeing through heritage-based learning

Coals to Goals empowered under-served communities to share their memories, knowledge and skills while exploring Sunderland’s rich mining and football heritage.

A podcast episode is being recorded in a studio designed to feel like a cosy living room, with three SWI members talking to a host.
Recording a podcast episode with SWI members Maz Thorn, Janettte McKirdy and Sandra MacArthur. Photo: Scottish Women's Institutes.

Stories

Grantee Q&A: preparation is critical to every stage of your heritage project

It’s a big challenge to capture and share over a century of community history. Scottish Women’s Institutes (SWI) CEO Diane Cooper tells us what she’s learned from developing and delivering its unique heritage programme.
Two women, sat at the bar of a cosy pub, raise their glasses and smile at the barman.
The restored pub has become a focus for socialising and a hub of key community facilities. Photo: Ty'n Llan.

Stories

Grantee Q&A: collaboration and contingency key to community project success

Siôn Jones, project manager for the restoration of the Grade II listed Ty’n Llan Tavern near Caernarfon, shares what he’s learned throughout the process – from the importance of meticulous planning to managing the day-to-day surprises of delivery.
Three wheelchair users protesting about the inaccessibility of public transport. They are in a busy road in London and have stopped a bus. The central figure has handcuffed themself to the bus and the person on the right of the photograph is about to do the same. The central figure also holds a placard that says “2007 WE WILL RIDE 2007”. On the pavement behind them a crowd looks on.
The Disabled People’s Archive is preserving moments of protest and community. Credit: The Disabled People's Archive, Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People.

Stories

Access and activism: the archives preserving disabled people’s heritage

Meet two projects in the north of England opening up their archives to shine a spotlight on the fight for disability rights.
Celebrating dance at Newham Heritage Month
Newham Heritage Month events celebrated the intangible cultural heritage of the borough's communities including Bharatnatham dance. Credit: K J Martin.

News

Celebrating the stories of London boroughs

From Kingston to Barnet, we’ve supported communities across the area to connect with the diverse heritage on their doorstep.
A view of the now-destroyed tree at Sycamore Gap on Hadrian's Wall.
Preventing acts of criminal damage to heritage sites is a critical concern. Photo: Gordon Leggett, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Stories

Crime, AI and innovation: what our heritage sector surveys revealed in 2025

Our new UK Heritage Pulse research investigates the impact of crime on heritage settings. It’s the latest insight from our conversations to understand the views and experiences of our sector.

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