National Lottery Heritage Grants

Towards Bowes 2092 

Applicant: The Bowes Museum 

Project description: To improve the museum’s sustainability and accessibility through new investment and digital strategies, improving the skills and capacity of the workforce.  

Decision: Award grant of £249,760 (83%)

Wonderful Electric 

Applicant: Blackburn Youth Zone 

Project description: To redevelop part of their building, formerly Blackburn’s first gasworks and the first electric power station, into an ‘aspirations and skills hub’ for local young people to learn heritage skills.

Decision: Award grant of £195,196 (87%)

Growing Knowsley's Future – Celebrating Our Agricultural Past

Applicant: Global Feedback Ltd 

Project description: To use uncatalogued archives and knowledge of older residents to discover, revive, share and preserve the village's food and farming heritage to improve Knowsley’s access to fresh produce.  

Decision: Award grant of £237,521 (96%)  

Icons of Doncaster 

Applicant: Higher Rhythm Ltd 

Project description: To celebrate local history and heritage selected by local people in Doncaster and enable them to participate in the presentation of this heritage through radio and digital platforms.

Decision: Award grant of £177,806 (84%)  

Scottie Press – the History of the Vauxhall Community 

Applicant: Alt Valley Community Trust Limited 

Project description: To digitise copies of the country’s oldest community newspaper, revive it as a digital community paper and share the community’s history through podcast, exhibitions and digital publications, which will also provide a platform for training young people in heritage skills.

Decision: Award grant of £179,550 (93%)  

The Netty Project ('Netty' being a Geordie slang word for 'toilet') 

Applicant: The Parochial Church Council of Earsdon and Backworth 

Project description: To improve the facilities and accessibility of the Grade II listed Victorian church building with ramped access, toilets and baby change facilities, a kitchen and media room to be a more useful venue and improve their funeral and other broadcasting services.

Decision: Award grant of £53,059 (28%)  

Queer up North 1992-2002: Celebrating Manchester's LGBTQ+ Heritage 

Applicant: Manchester Histories 

Project description: To curate the most significant UK LGBTQ+ archives and build a programme of events, talks and art to raise awareness of Queer Up North Festival’s role in uncovering LGBTQ+ history in Manchester.

Decision: Award grant of £248,541 (97%)  

The History of Bradford & District Amateur Rugby League 

Applicant: The Bradford Bulls Foundation 

Project description: To chronicle the history of amateur Rugby league in Bradford through a virtual museum, built from collaborative research with other local clubs and family participation. The project will create oral histories, invite donations from local people and upskill staff and volunteers in memorabilia preservation.

Decision: Award grant of £96,940 (100%) 

Kosovo+25 

Applicant: The Fusiliers Museum and Learning Centre Limited 

Project description: To produce the largest existing collection documenting the troubles in Kosovo to mark their 25th anniversary and comprised of primary photography, a film, artefacts and oral histories to celebrate the affected communities and share their experience with Manchester schools and colleges. 

Decision: Award grant of £64,523 (88%)  

Digitising The Fans Museum's heritage and closing the digital skills gap within our community.  

Applicant: FANS MUSEUM CIC  

Project description: To enhance the museum’s online presence with a website and social media, which will display their collection of football heritage in images and augmented reality, boosting their collection’s accessibility and visibility.

Recommendation: Award grant of £99,080 (100%)

SEE MY WORLD 24–27  

Applicant: Big People Community CIC  

Project description: To commemorate the 1945 Pan-African Congress with arts and culture commissions, a heritage trail, youth and community workshops, networking events, and creation of archival website from the art, history, heritage and culture of Greater Manchester’s Pan-African diaspora, between 2024–2027.

Decision: Award grant of £249,940 (70%)  

Saving St Botolph's Church  

Applicant: The Parochial Church Council of Bossall with Buttercrambe and Howsham  

Project description: To conserve the 12th-century Grade I listed church building against environmental damage, reach more people through social media, and provide wildlife learning activities for school children via collaboration with a local youth group.

Decision: Award grant of £165,477 (87%)  

Restoring Todmorden's Historic Heart: Enabling Local Ownership and Starting the Next Phase for Todmorden Unitarian Church and Woodlands  

Applicant: Todmorden Unitarian Church  

Project description: To prepare the Grade I listed church building for new ownership by Todmorden Unitarian Church Committee, with architectural conservation, improved facilities and energy efficiency. 

Decision: Reject

Sixty Years of the Global Heartbeat of a Small Town  

Applicant: Billingham International Folklore Festival Ltd  

Project description: To collect memories as well as deliver online and live presentations, events, traditional performances and exhibits to commemorate Billingham Festival’s 60th anniversary.

Decision: Award grant of £73,680 (88%)   

A Town Through Time 

Applicant: Huddersfield Literature Festival 

Project description: To engage young people from four local schools with Huddersfield’s historic built heritage in a three-year project of workshops, activities and visits to then share in their schools.

Decision: Reject

Save our Pond, Preserve our Heritage – Brunswick Dam Conservation Group 

Applicant: Brunswick Dam Conservation Group 

Project description: To preserve the natural heritage of the millpond at Brunswick Milll by maintaining the area with volunteers and skilled local people. 

Decision: Reject

Back to School Heritage Fare 2024 

Applicant: Ndi Igbo Sunderland CIC 

Project description: To hold a fare for young people of second-generation and mixed Igbo heritage to connect with their Igbo heritage through music, dance, games, cuisine and customs.

Decision: Reject 

St Francis Hill Chapel Restoration Project 

Applicant: Lancaster R C Diocesan Parish of St Francis-Goosnargh 

Project description: To restore the 1755 Franciscan church building, which has been damaged from a leaking roof, to make it safer for use by the local community.

Decision: Reject

Once A Saint Always A Saint. 

Applicant: Saints Community Development Foundation Limited 

Project description: To celebrate the 150th birthday of the St Helens Rugby League Club by improving the management of the club’s memorabilia to engage more people with it. 

Decision: Reject 

Black Creative Heritage Project in Liverpool 

Applicant: Liverpool City Council 

Project description: To share Liverpool’s Black heritage over two years of partner activities, art, performance, talks and events as well as spotlight Black creatives in Liverpool and increase visibility of the connections to slavery in the city.

Decision: Reject

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Parson House Farm Outdoor Centre 

Applicant: Parson House Outdoor Pursuits Centre 

Project description: To expand records of the centre’s ecological and archaeological moorland heritage, and engage more people through exhibitions, learning activities, mental health support and a website.

Decision: Reject

Weaving Stories 

Applicant: The Cathedral Church of St Peter Bradford 

Project description: To create a tapestry with local people, artists and materials to showcase stories from Bradford residents. The project will support and celebrate Bradford’s history of weaving and wool trade.

Decision: Reject

Keighley Water Tank House tank renovation 

Applicant: Keighley & Worth Valley Railway Preservation Society Limited 

Project description: To renovate the 140-year-old and only remaining operational railway water tank in the UK by adding a lining. 

Decision: Reject

Putting the moss back in Moss Side 

Applicant: Sow the City CIC 

Project description: To restore lost moss land heritage in Moss Side through research and wetland creation, and engage people through recruitment, communications and 50+ school workshops.

Decision: Reject