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Industrial, maritime and transport

Industrial, maritime and transport

two people pulling a rope on a historic ship, with a river estuary in the background
Tom Curtis and Simon Whitehouse from The Pioneer Sailing Trust working on the CK18 Pioneer. Credit: Megan Taylor.
Celebrating the innovative buildings, transport and technology that helped shape the modern world.

Since 1994 we have awarded over £610million to more than 1,500 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
Edinburgh Printmakers

News

Edinburgh’s pioneering Wellington boot factory reborn

The people of Fountainbridge in Edinburgh are this weekend celebrating the reopening of a building they love - a symbol of their industrial past and a reminder of how their community was shaped by the Wellington boot.
Steam train

News

Yorkshire Jubilee steam locomotive returns to rails after 25 years

Often referred to as the Yorkshire Jubilee, the Bahamas 45596 has recently benefited from a five-year volunteer-led restoration programme. Until February 2019, it had not hauled a train on the mainline for 25 years. Built by the London Midland & Scottish Railway Company, this historic engine was one
Volunteer John has helped out for the last ten years

News

Windermere Jetty opens its doors with help from volunteer John

The £20million project received over £13m of funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, to revamp the site where the original Windermere Steamboat Museum stood and ensure that the historically significant collection of over 40 steamboats were not lost to history. Windermere Jetty is one of the
Distyllfa Penderyn ar safle gweithfeydd copr Hafod Morfa
Argraff artist o'r Ddistyllfa Penderyn arfaethedig yn safle gweithfeydd copr hanesyddol Hafod Morfa Abertawe.

News

Breathing new life into Swansea’s old copperworks

Swansea's former Hafod Morfa Copperworks site will be transformed thanks to £3.5million from the National Lottery.
Women wearing uniforms, stood at tables in a factory, making biscuits.
Women working in Carr's biscuit factory

Projects

Celebrating the Spirit of the Cracker Packers

This inspiring community heritage project explores the fascinating lives of Carlisle’s ‘Cracker Packers’ through the ages.

Members of the group during film production
Participants producing a film about the industrial and social history of Winlaton

Projects

Winlaton's Industrial Past

Trained volunteers supported people with learning disabilities to explore the industrial and social history of Winlaton in Gateshead.