Cultures and memories
Hibiscus Rising, Leeds. © David Lindsay.
These are the customs and traditions, skills and knowledge, passed down to us through generations.
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 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. This often involves capturing oral histories and ensuring they are 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
If you have an idea for a project, we would love to hear from you.
News
Sharing First World War stories from home and abroad
The second project will compare the experiences of the local community on the Home Front with those of people living in Eastern Europe during the 1914-18 conflict. One in three local people in this part of the Fens now hails from countries such as Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Russia.Helen Grant
News
Willaston to remember its First World War fallen
Today, Willaston Village Festival Society has received £9,800 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for a project, Lest We Forget – Willaston Remembers Its First World War Fallen. Awarded through HLF’s First World War: then and now programme, the project will focus on researching the background of
News
Remarkable First World War story of Mabel Stobart to be told
Dorset County Museum is proud to announce an exciting new exhibition of national and international interest. Mabel Stobart: A Dorset Woman at War will open at the museum on Saturday 31 May 2014 to mark the centenary of the start of the First World War. The exhibition, which has been funded by a £9
News
Down Memory Lane
On Saturday 15 March at the Broomhall Centre, ‘Our Broomhall’, the Heritage Lottery Funded project, is putting on a celebration event called ‘Down Memory Lane’, to mark its first year. Project Manager, Jennie Beard, explained: “At the event we would like to give the opportunity to people who grew up
News
Innovative Lottery funded project: Stories of Wales’ long-stay institutions hidden no more
The three year “Hidden Now Heard” project will capture the living memories of former residents and staff from six of Wales’ long-stay hospitals which closed in 2006. This is the first pan-Wales project of its kind and will capture a hidden and often painful part of Wales’ history which is at a risk
News
Investing £5million in UK’s natural heritage
These projects will bring together a variety of partners to protect and nurture some of our most precious and vulnerable habitats and species and are part of a wider package of £16m of HLF support, also announced today. Carole Souter, Chief Executive of HLF, said: “The Heritage Lottery Fund is one
News
Countdown to Capability Brown 300th birthday celebrations begin
The Capability Brown 300 Celebration and Festival has received a first round pass and will receive £139,200 development funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) it was announced today. The bid is led by the Landscape Institute on behalf of a partnership which includes the Association of Gardens
News
Funding boost for V&A at Dundee
Designed by the celebrated Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, V&A at Dundee is also the flagship for Dundee's ambitious plans for its waterfront redevelopment. The HLF grant will primarily support the capital costs of the building, in particular the development of its Scottish Design Galleries dedicated
News
Morley and the Home Front
Awarded through HLF’s First World War: then and now programme, the project will focus on the home front and how the onset of the Great War had significant impact on local life. Rachael Kennedy, Town Events Manager is leading on this project and explained: “This series of events will enable the local
News
HLF backs Battle of Waterloo website
Yet despite heralding almost a century of peace on the continent, the significance of this battle is little remembered or understood. Thanks to a grant of £96,300 from the HLF, a new project will inspire greater awareness of this fiercely fought and narrowly-won battle and create a lasting legacy of
News
First World War: Stories of the Empire to be revealed
As the Centenary approaches, people of all ages throughout the United Kingdom will be reflecting on the events of the conflict, the experiences of men and women here and overseas, and how the war has shaped the last 100 years. The event is hosted by the Victoria and Albert Museum as part of an
News
Lottery boost for Belfast heritage projects
The plans to help young people from North Belfast to learn more about the history and legacy of the First World War received a grant of £10,000. Using artefacts, photos and diaries held by museums and other historical institutions they will explore the local and international contexts within which