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Community heritage

Community heritage

The interior of a 1950s hairdresser's shop. A visitor is having their hair styled by a stylist in vintage clothing. A child sits in a high chair next to the visitor.
Credit: Nigel Roddis
Celebrating community heritage can help people come together, feel pride in where they live and save stories and traditions.

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 that are researching, conserving and celebrating the heritage of a community or place.

These projects could include lots of types of heritage, such as people celebrating living customs or improving a historic green space. What's most important is that the project involves and benefits the community.

Project ideas

Our funding could help people:

  • research the impact of a historical event on their town, and share their findings through displays, talks and online
  • investigate the names on a war memorial
  • crowdsource documents and photographs linked to the LGBTQ+ community, creating an online archive and exhibition
  • set up an audio trail around a range of buildings, parks and monuments in a town
  • enable a youth group to research their local history and create an animated film about their learnings

For more inspiration, see the stories below or browse projects we've funded.

How to get funding

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

Explore our available funding
Architectural drawing of a stone and timber clad building showing how the historic stableblock will look when developed into The Gardeners' House
Architectural drawing of The Gardeners' House. Credit: The Gardeners' House.

Projects

The Gardeners' House: connecting people with nature

A new green community heritage hub has opened in Penzance, housing 200 years of Cornwall’s natural heritage and a sensory garden.

The view from Hall Ings to Norfolk Gardens.
Bradford's project will connect communities across the city and nearby towns with nature. Credit: SWECO.

News

Nature Towns and Cities launches with £15million investment

We’re supporting 40 towns and cities across the UK to improve and create accessible green spaces, streets and neighbourhoods.
Three people working on the Roma Heritage Project.
The Europia team working on the Roma Heritage Project. Photo: Joanna Rajs.

Projects

Exploring and recording Manchester’s Roma heritage

The Roma Heritage Project will work with local people in Manchester to share traditional dishes and record oral histories from Roma communities.

The left side of the image shows a traditional Traveller wagon, painted with decorative designs, and the right side of the image shows a man leading a pony and trap which a girl is riding
The project held an outdoor fair-style event in June 2023.

Projects

Roma and Irish Travellers: A Shared Story

People from different cultures and backgrounds came together for workshops and celebration events about Roma and Irish Traveller cultural heritage organised by Armagh Roma Traveller Support.

Three musicians with guitars and an accordion and four women dancers wearing traditional Eastern European dress.
Romane Cierhenia are a family group of Roma musicians and dancers from Poland.

Projects

Roma Empowerment Through Heritage

This pilot project trained volunteers including young Roma people to record heritage and ran a Roma cultural heritage festival.

Gypsy, Romany and Traveller site
Volunteers have collected photographs that document GRT sites and their way of life The Romani Cultural and Arts Company

Projects

Family Lines, Family Trails

Using National Lottery money, The Romani Cultural and Arts Company have been able to record, celebrate and preserve the cultural heritage of Gypsy and Traveller communities in South Wales.

A group of different ages from the Tylorstown community celebrate outside the Welfare Hall, smiling and raising their hands in the air.
The Tylorstown community celebrate outside the Welfare Hall. Credit: Steve Pope / FotoWales.

News

£43million awarded to help communities share skills and learn together

From the Norfolk coast to the canals of Scotland, our latest batch of grants will provide opportunities for people to get hands on with heritage and connect with their area’s past.

If you query is regarding our application portal, please contact our support team.