Industrial, maritime and transport

Celebrating the innovative buildings, transport and technology that helped shape the modern world.

Since 1994 we have awarded £630million to 1,600 industrial, maritime and transport projects across the UK.

We want to help more people conserve their local industrial heritage and pass on skills to younger generations.

What do we support?

Projects we fund include:

printing presses
pumping engines
windmills
historic ships
locomotives
natural landscapes transformed by industry

Project ideas

Our funding could help people:

uncover and record people’s memories of our industrial past
give a disused site a new purpose
restore and maintain operating machinery
reveal the history of industry in your area
explore the nation's network of canals
provide staffed visitor facilities and learning resources
help young people learn new skills and care for their heritage

See the stories and projects below for more inspiration.

How to get funding

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

Explore our available funding

A group of people wearing cold weather gear stand on the platform of a rural train station holding a sign

Members of the Friends of Blair Atholl station.

Projects

On track to tell the community’s stories of a Highland railway station

Blair Atholl station opened in 1863, as the development of rail travel opened up the Highlands to visitors and created new opportunities for local people.

28/11/2023

An archive image of people hanging cloth on tenter frames

Hanging cloth on tenter frames. Photo: Otterburn Mill.

Projects

Restoring the last remaining tenter frames in England

Led by Otterburn Mill, this project will carefully restore a relic from the textile industry to its former glory.

02/11/2023

Three people are looking at worksheets and smiling.

Participants at the residential event in June 2023, as part of Heritage Trade Up. Photo: School for Social Entrepreneurs.

Stories

Five tips for more robust and innovative heritage organisations

Hear from the organisations who took part in our Business Support and Enterprise campaign about how they improved organisational resilience in challenging times.

Ted at Etty & Tyler motor and cycle repair shop in Forest Gate. Credit: Andrew Baker Photographer.

Projects

Full Cycle: a history of cycling in Forest Gate

This project will look at the cycling history of Forest Gate in Newham – an important cycling epicentre in the late 19th century close to Epping Forest.

04/10/2023

An aerial view of Leas Lift on the cliff edge with town buildings above

The water balance cliff lift provides step-free access from the Leas to the seafront and Lower Coastal Park. Photo: Chris Gorman.

News

£4.8million funding boost to revive Folkestone Leas Lift

The rare surviving water lift, a remarkable example of Victorian engineering, will be returned to its original use connecting seafront and town.

06/11/2023

Brunel's SS Great Britain in the dry dock. Photo: Adam Gasson / SS Great Britain Trust.

Stories

Case study: SS Great Britain – Voyage to Carbon Neutral

The SS Great Britain Trust's innovative decarbonising of the conservation system for the world's first iron ship jointly won Sustainable Project of the Year at the Museums + Heritage Awards.

Donaghadee Harbour with a lighthouse and a number of boats.

Donaghadee Harbour. Credit Bernie Brown bbphotographic for Tourism Ireland

Projects

Sir Samuel Kelly Lifeboat commemorated with exhibition space in Donaghadee

Donaghadee Heritage has secured £90,000 to bring the story of the lifeboat and the town's history to life.

26/06/2023

Alison Kay, National Railway Museum’s Archives Manager and Ashlynn Welburn, Oral History Project Archivist at Eurostar. Photo: JK Doran

Projects

People, Pride and Progress: recording the histories of LGBTQ+ railway workers

Through the collection of real-life stories, this project aims to spotlight the LGBTQ+ community’s contribution to the railways for the first time.

11/04/2023

Illustrated map showing 58 UK UNESCO sites

The UNESCO illustrated map, showing 58 heritage sites across the UK. Credit: Tom Woolley / UNESCO

Projects

UNESCO launch a new illustrated map of the UK’s top heritage sites

Designed by Birmingham-based creative cartographer Tom Woolley, the map shows all 58 sites, cities and natural landscapes, helping to bring to life the huge variety of heritage on people’s doorsteps.

13/07/2022

Conservators from the National Museum of the Royal Navy with the polar Kellett sledge flag Credit: National Museum of the Royal Navy

News

Rare polar sledge flag used in search for Franklin’s doomed expedition saved for the UK

The National Museum of the Royal Navy's campaign to save a rare polar expedition sledge flag has been successful, thanks to National Lottery funding.

22/05/2023

Two Skylark IX volunteers work on building a wooden rowing boat

Two Skylark IX volunteers honing their boatbuilding skills

Stories

Recovery and resilience: advice from a heritage project improving skills and wellbeing

In Dumbarton, Scotland, The Skylark IX Recovery Trust is preserving a Second World War rescue ship through heritage training opportunities to support local people, including those recovering from drug addiction.