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

Two people pull a rope on the deck of a historic sailing vessel

Learning the ropes on a historic vessel at the Pioneer Sailing Trust, Essex. Photo: Megan Taylor.

News

£14.8million awarded to projects forging the future of our industrial past

We’ve recently awarded seven projects with funding to reimagine and protect the UK’s history of innovation, transport and industry.

09/04/2024

the courtyard of the National Slate Museum in Llanberis, north Wales, with stone factory buildings surrounding a courtyard with industrial equipment for processing slate, and the slate mine visible in the background

Amgueddfa Lechi Cymru – National Slate Museum originally opened in 1972. Photo: Aled Llywelyn.

Projects

Unearthing the legacy of Welsh Slate at Amgueddfa Lechi Cymru – National Slate Museum

The museum will be transformed into a world-class visitor attraction at the heart of the Wales Slate Landscape in north west Wales.

27/03/2024

Museums and Heritage sign at the awards ceremony

News

Six organisations shortlisted for Sustainable Project of the Year 2024

The Museums + Heritage Awards have announced the shortlist for the sustainability category. Discover how these projects are demonstrating best practice.

14/03/2024

A family look at a bird nesting box display

RSPB Belfast Window on Wildlife is offering free entry. Credit: Brian Morrison.

News

Hundreds of special heritage offers across the UK this spring

National Lottery Open Week is back, taking place from Saturday 9 to Sunday 17 March.

27/02/2024

A head and shoulders image of Helen Featherstone

Helen Featherstone. Photo: Roth Reed.

Blogs

A year as Director of England, North: resilience and saving heritage

Our Director of England, North Helen Featherstone reflects on her first year in the role, the needs of heritage organisations in the North and our commitment to supporting resilience.

15/02/2024

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.