Community heritage

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

Queer Looks exhibition at Brighton Museum. Credit: Tessa Hallmann

Projects

Wear it out: The culture and heritage of LGBTQ+ dress in Sussex, 1917-2017

This cultural heritage project explored how some people from LGBTQ+ communities have historically used clothing to express identity. It focused on Sussex in the time period 1917-2017.

20/12/2016

Looking over salt marsh on Cleethorpes coast.

Salt marsh on Cleethorpes coast. Credit: North East Lincolnshire Council.

News

£10million funding milestone for North East Lincolnshire’s heritage

Since 2019, we’ve supported over 30 projects across North East Lincolnshire with a focus on heritage-led regeneration.

09/01/2025

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

Heritage organisations to share innovative solutions to workforce challenges

The third phase of our Heritage Innovation Fund is supporting projects across the UK to roll out creative new ways of working.

05/12/2024

A National Lottery scratchcard held in front of a large building with classical architecture and lawn

News

Sign up your project for National Lottery Open Week 2025

It’s a great way to acknowledge your Heritage Fund grant, reach new audiences and benefit from a UK-wide PR campaign.

26/11/2024

A room with a high vaulted ceiling, a large glitter ball and trestle style tables. The room is warmly lit. Large glass doors look out onto a courtyard.

The newly restored dining hall and courtyard at The Buttermarket. Credit: Sam Sabatelli, for Redruth Revival CIC.

Projects

Rediscovering the market town of Redruth

26/11/2024

A cluster of Grade II listed buildings, collectively known as the Buttermarket, has been transformed into a thriving cultural and community hub.

14/09/2021

Supporting diversity, equity and inclusion in the great outdoors. Photo: Wayfinding project.

Stories

Inclusion, access and participation: eight ways to improve your project’s reach and impact

Find out how projects we’ve funded are finding creative ways to open up heritage, involve audiences and create better opportunities to take part.

a memory box made during a craft activity at a mental health community centre: inside an old case is a garden scene with trees, planters and a pond, with figures and messages

A memory box made by people who use the community centre, recording their experience of community and wellbeing. Photo: Philip Formby.

Projects

The Hidden Heritage of Wellbeing in the Community: co-creating oral histories of mental health care

Nottingham’s Middle Street Resource Centre celebrated 50 years of service by recording stories from its community with researchers at Nottingham Trent University.

23/03/2022

A person teaching a young child about past events and showing them an old type writer

Child learning at the Black Country Living Museum. Credit: Richard Jinman

Projects

Our Heritage: supporting D/deaf children in Walsall

Families of children with D/deafness or hearing impairments took part in social activities that taught them about local heritage, traditions and skills passed down through generations.

23/01/2020

Three people are walking side by side in a pretty green landscape, they are talking and smiling

Harriet Bennett, Land Management Officer for the Chilterns Landscape Partnership project and Andrew Stubbings, of Manor Farm with Drew Bennellick, our Head of Land, Sea and Nature. Photo: Oliver Dixon.

Projects

Chalk, Cherries and Chairs – Working together for the Chilterns

13/11/2024

Over five years, the Chilterns Conservation Board worked with partners to engage communities, celebrate the rich heritage of the area and enhance habitats and wildlife.

25/10/2016

two visitors are given a tour of a timber framed hall by two older gentlemen wearing long black coats at traditional hats

Two Brethren give visitors a tour of the Lord Leycester. Image: Kevin Fern.

Projects

Warwick’s Lord Leycester: 700 years of history restored

The Grade I listed Lord Leycester has been restored, refurbished and further opened up for visitors to enjoy.

11/06/2019

An artist's impression of a building with glass walls and a low wooden roof, with the words 'staffordshire history centre' on the side of the building

The extension will provide space for exhibitions and activities with storage space for 55 years of future collections. Image: Staffordshire County Council.

Projects