Cultures and memories

They are also our personal histories, and the experiences that have shaped us and our society.
Since 1994 we have awarded over £500m to 26,700 community and cultural heritage projects across the UK.
What do we support?
We fund projects which help to explore, save and celebrate the traditions, customs, skills and knowledge of different communities.
This cultural heritage is sometimes referred to as intangible or living heritage. This is because it is constantly changing and kept alive when practiced or performed.
We also fund projects which document and share people’s memories. These projects often involve oral history interviews, capturing people’s stories and opinions digitally, and making sure they are deposited and accessible now and in the future.
Project ideas
Our funding could help people:
- research and share oral traditions, such as storytelling or local dialects
- train others in traditional skills and crafts, from dry stone walling and blacksmithing to basket weaving and textile making
- research the origins of culture, such as music, theatre or dance, and create performances influenced by past styles
- share the history and fun of celebrations, festivals or rituals with new audiences, from games and cooking to carnivals and fayres
- capture accounts of traditional knowledge or pass it on, such as woodland management or home remedies
- record the stories of ordinary people through oral histories, for example about growing up, migration or work
- retell people’s memories about a place or event, such as a long-stay hospital, the miners' strikes or the punk movement
How to get funding
Our National Lottery Grants for Heritage programme has resumed with refocused priorities until the end of the 2022–2023 financial year. Find out more and apply.

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Celebrating 100 years of Port Talbot’s sporting heritage
South Wales' Port Talbot Harriers has received a £9,200 grant to celebrate the running and multi-sport club’s 100-year history.

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Dunfermline & West Fife - Wellbeing Through Heritage
The innovative project will help people improve their mental health and wellbeing through access to heritage.

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Help us shape the future of heritage funding and strategy

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Latest National Lottery funding opens up access to heritage
Programme
15-Minute Heritage Grants (Round 2)

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David Livingstone Birthplace re-opens

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Heritage Horizon Awards: £50million to five life-changing projects
Projects
HHA2019 International Slavery Museum: Igniting Ideas and Action
The International Slavery Museum in Liverpool will be transformed from a collection of galleries into a prominent museum, the first of its kind in the UK.

Blogs