National Lottery Heritage Grants

The Threads of Shed

Applicant: The Theatre Shed Ltd

Project description: To commemorate The Threads of Shed 20th anniversary with a year-long celebration of inclusive arts in Buckinghamshire. A multi-faceted approach with community engagement, youth lead projects, documentary production, partnerships, website development and a showcase event.

Decision: Reject

Mixture150 - Phase 1 - Repair and Relaunch

Applicant: Union Chapel Project

Project description: To provide vital and urgent repairs to the organ currently at risk, to start the initial stages of a community engagement programme in the build up to the 150th anniversary to honour and celebrate 150 years of Union Chapel's rare 1877 Father Henry Willis organ and promote the organ's heritage and historical significance.

Decision: Award Grant of £54,944

Portslade history - 1066 to 2066

Applicant: Fresh Start Portslade

Project description: To maintain and ensure the long-term survival of Portslade's Grade II* listed Norman manor house ruins. To claim back more land from the overgrown thicket areas and develop a learning space to be used for lectures and display history artefacts and memorabilia. To run community engagement programmes and heritage outreach activities, develop a pop-up, sessional, Portslade Museum to tour Portslade to increase engagement in local heritage.

Decision: Award Grant of £55,880

Exploring Alevism Together

Applicant: British Alevi Federation

Project description: To train and support teachers and pay volunteers to properly run workshops and dance groups to focus on the Semah – a spiritual Alevi dance/performance with traditional music/instruments. To grow relationships in schools/community, to ensure organisational sustainability and establish the centre as somewhere to learn and share traditions. 

Decision: Reject

Rediscovered Journeys: Voices of South Asian migration and hope in the SW

Applicant: Create Studios Digital Media CIC

Project description: To record the at-risk stories of 50+ South Asian elders who migrated to rural towns and villages in Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire between 1950 and 1975. 

Decision: Award Grant of £85,293 

Building Communities

Applicant: QueenSpark Books Ltd

Project description: To engage new communities to explore the heritage of their built environment, to enable better local involvement in current and future decisions around changes to, and uses of, 'heritage architecture'. To involve new participants in the planning and/or delivery of a series of community interventions. 

Decision: Reject

Chimes of Earlsfield.

Applicant: Home Community Cafe CIC

Project description: To celebrate the stories and memories of the community and congregation of St. Andrew’s Church, a Grade II listed building in Earlsfield during its 135th year anniversary. To capture, record and document the social story of the space, preserve its heritage as a building and continue to adapt to the religious and secular need of the community.

Decision: Reject

The British Engineerium Heritage Trail

Applicant: Latest Group CIC

Project description: To open and turn the Grade II* listed Victorian building which houses a 19th century water pumping station into a place of both heritage and scientific interest. To build on existing enthusiasm and engage with the community to set up a sustainable volunteer structure and provide access to show the building’s heritage, the heritage of water and its importance in creating the city of Brighton and Hove. 

Decision: Reject

Securing the sustainability of Watts Gallery - Artists Village as a creative home for our local community: An essential environmental control systems upgrade for the Watts Gallery building.

Applicant: Watts Gallery Trust

Project description: To repair the Gallery’s failing environmental control system to ensure a viable future for Watts Gallery and the historic site. To retain Government Indemnity Insurance, develop income streams, protect the gallery and the collection from the impact of climate change, maintain year-round access to important local heritage, and to support exhibitions and participatory programmes.

Decision: Award Grant of £116,628

Seeing Ability for 225 years.

Applicant: Royal School for the Blind

Project description: To preserve and raise awareness of the achievements of SeeAbility and its history to support people with learning disabilities, autism and sight loss. To campaign with and for this group to have a greater voice, increase awareness of the mission and to use the project as a platform to elevate the work and inspire the local community to support volunteer, fundraise and campaign for SeeAbility.

Decision: Reject

St. Bartholomew's Church, Dorset - Owen Jones Wall Paintings Restoration

Applicant: The Parochial Church Council of Sutton Waldron

Project description: To restore and repair the interior wall paintings designed by Owen Jones the last surviving example of a complete Jones' church interior and to extend the awareness of the polychromatic decorations across all society. 

Decision: Award Grant of £127,238

Swiss at Sixty

Applicant: Camden Council

Project description: To encourage the community to connect and celebrate the heritage of two cultural icons, The Swiss Cottage Library and Hampstead Theatre. To catalogue existing archives and create and preserve new oral histories and digital records.

Decision: Reject

The Time Travel In Sussex Club - building confidence and inspiring creativity through accessible experiences of heritage for the learning-disabled community

Applicant: Culture Shift

Project description: To develop the approach and build on the learning between heritage venues and members of the learning-disabled community. To expand activity reach, partner local day services and care providers with heritage venues and professional artists to co-design and create new exhibits, to represent the interpretations of learning-disabled people alongside existing museum collections and develop the practice of learning and engagement.

Decision: Reject

St Thomas Clapton: ringing the changes.

Applicant: THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST THOMAS CLAPTON COMMON

Project description: To enable and remove the church from the Heritage at Risk Register, meet legal obligations and develop a strategy to Net Zero. To enhance resilience and plan for a sustainable future and undertake key pieces of work to support the initial stage of a major capital repair project. To engage and bring people together to share the story behind the history of the church, and its close relationship to Clapton Terrace and the wider area. 

Decision: Award Grant of £156,458

The Rifles Berkshire and Wiltshire Regimental Museum Growth and Sustainability Project

Applicant: Rifles Wardrobe and Museum Trust

Project description: To enhance and revitalise the Museum, to establish it as a community hub and centre for historical learning. To introduce interactive technology, appoint a Community Engagement and Outreach Officer, improve the website, and create a temporary exhibition, activity space, and shop. 

Decision: Award Grant of £168,295

High level Masonry Repairs to the Spire of St Mary's Church at Fretherne

Applicant: Fretherne Parochial Church Council

Project description: To repair the spire section (Tower only) of St Mary's Church a Grade II* listed building and on Historic England's 'Heritage at Risk' register.

Decision: Award Grant of £174,633

Hastings West Hill Lift Restoration & Improvement Feasibility Project

Applicant: Hastings Borough Council

Project description: To provide a comprehensive assessment of the current condition and long-term maintenance requirements of the lift, tunnel, stations, carriages and surrounding area. To deliver insight into the condition of the asset, produce feasibility reports and designs to develop a strategy to ensure it remains a functional and an integral part of the heritage site.

Decision: Award Grant of £188,676

Saving the South Transept

Applicant: Friends of St Peter & St Paul, Ewhurst

Project description: To repair the church with the use of sustainable materials and craftsmen, to make it more accessible. To promote the history of the church and the village through scenario drama productions, to include research, script writing, production and technical aspects leading to new skills. To link with other village organisations and businesses to ensure the continuation of the church and village communities.

Decision: Reject

Histories of Creative Activism

Applicant: 64 Million Artists

Project description: To develop a cohort of individuals connected to histories of social movements in the UK and support them to research the ways that creativity helped their communities forge identity, attract people to join their campaigns and bring visibility. To culminate in the co-creation of a nation-wide creative campaign The January Challenge, and the launch of a Festival of Creative Activism in spring 2026.

Decision: Reject

Turning the Page

Applicant: The Devon and Exeter Institution

Project description: To create purpose designed shelving and display space for the rare newspaper and archive collections.  To create workshops and digital literacy resources, explore the themes of fake news, trolling and advertising and to build on the momentum of The Next Chapter project and develop the Institution's appeal to reflect new young audiences and their immediate reality. 

Decision: Award Grant of £213,000

St Martin's Church Centre renovation project

Applicant: The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Martin, Liskeard

Project description: To resolve significant damp issues, introduce an efficient new renewable heating system and to make the building carbon net zero. To reroof and insulate the roof, add solar panels and battery storage and repair/replace guttering and downpipes. Internal works are to create a centre to serve the church and community and become part of the annual Liskeard Unlocked heritage event. 

Decision: Reject

Enfield - Our Stories

Applicant: Enfield Voluntary Action

Project description: To run a heritage community grants scheme - the main theme being the diverse communities’ contribution to Enfield. To Increase Enfield Voluntary Action’s (EVA’s) capacity and strengthen sustainability. To coproduce with heritage partners to include strategic and practical guidance from Enfield Council. To build EVA’s capacity to develop heritage projects and access funding from heritage funders.

Decision: Award Grant of £237,369

Creating a sustainable future for the management of England's only natural World Heritage Site; securing the financial stability of the Jurassic Coast Trust as an independent charity.

Applicant: Jurassic Coast Trust

Project description: To build back resources and capacity to deliver management responsibility to retain World Heritage status. To increase inclusion and participation and expand capacity to support and grow the volunteer community. To use the Site’s palaeontology to produce and collaborate between museums, fossil collectors, academics and stakeholder communities to influence Site protection and Jurassic Coast Trust’s own operational sustainability.

Decision: Reject

Pathways to Heritage

Applicant: Chiltern Open Air Musuem Limited

Project description: To improve access and inclusion at Chiltern Open Air Museum (“COAM”). To expand the workforce and remove barriers to working in the heritage sector. To grow and diversify the audience and provide resources to extend reach and engagement. Create partnerships, improve access as well as our interpretation and collections care. Provide opportunity to diversify COAM’s workforce and support the sustainability of COAM to ensure it can be enjoyed by everyone.

Decision: Award Grant of £239,949

Rooted: In London - young people showcasing the cultural legacies of the capital's communities.

Applicant: The Federation of London Youth Clubs

Project description: To support underserved young people to celebrate their community's contributions to London’s multi-cultural identity. To deliver grassroots heritage projects and a showcase event for young people to share their creative heritage skills.

Decision: Reject

Merton United: A boroughwide project forming part of Merton's Cultural Impact Award.

Applicant: London Borough of Merton

Project description: To focus on local heritage, consider economic need, historical/cultural integrity and the happiness/wellbeing of Merton people. To work with Merton residents to make the heritage collection more representative of the borough’s diverse modern population. Increase organisational sustainability, strengthen links with Merton’s wider population and create a core team to support future engagement.

Decision: Award Grant of £248,000

CREST Ke Connection Project

Applicant: Cornwall Rural Education and Skills Trust CIO

Project description: To create an interconnected education and enterprise framework, regenerate heritage craft, traditional rural skills and reconnect people to land, craft, and community. To grow resilience through personal development, diversity, and interdependence, create legacies of green livelihood, nature connection, and land-based enterprise through local training, leadership development, and regional training sites.

Decision: Reject

Sir Joseph Bazalgette & the Great Stink of London

Applicant: Habitats & Heritage

Project description: To conserve the Grade II listed mausoleum and remove it from Historic England at-risk register. To educate people about past engineering achievements which improved human health, tell the story of London's water supply and wastewater management system, and relate past water pollution problems to the London of today. To expand the capacity of the charity to remove further historic buildings off the at-risk register in the future.

Decision: Award Grant of £249,935

Voices Gloucester Resilience Phase

Applicant: Voices Gloucester

Project description: To provide funding, mentoring and creative expertise, and offer a platform to amplify the voices of the city’s diverse communities and explore, celebrate and share their heritage stories. To be a resilient adaptable organisation able to respond to not-yet engaged communities to enable more diverse stories and grow audiences. Increase understanding of the role small grants play for under-served communities.

Decision: Reject

Bradwell Windmill Restoration and Activation Project

Applicant: Milton Keynes City Council

Project description: To restore Bradwell’s Grade II listed Windmill, interpret its unique heritage, improve access and usability of the site for residents and visitors. To offer a range of heritage, learning, training and volunteering activities. To secure the Mill’s long-term sustainability as a local heritage attraction and community asset in a priority area of need. 

Decision: Award Grant of £250,000

Buzzing in the East End (Southeast London)

Applicant: Bumblebee Conservation Trust

Project description: To protect and conserve rare bumblebees in four boroughs, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich and Lewisham. Increase habitat, improve landscape connectivity and work alongside a diverse range of organisations and community groups with a focus on faith and mental wellbeing. Put in place a network of volunteers to contribute to BeeWalk, the national bumblebee monitoring scheme that act as Bumblebee Champions in the local community.

Decision: Award Grant of £250,000

Enfield's Soul Food (Part 2)

Applicant: Cooking Champions

Project description: To increase participants' knowledge of different cuisines in the practical setting of a cooking lesson followed by a community lunch. To record and preserve recipes that are passed down through generations and share the recipes across our social media and website to provide a learning tool to be accessed by everyone.

Decision: Reject

Governance Review

Applicant: Somerset Building Preservation Trust

Project description: To fund a Governance Review to strengthen Somerset Building Preservation Trust (SBPT) and achieve implementable changes to ensure SBPT continues as Somerset's independent heritage organisation. To deliver projects and recognise the importance of heritage within communities as a catalyst to increase engagement and widen public participation in heritage.

Decision: Reject

Legacy - Memoirs of those who came before us.

Applicant: Hopeville CIC

Project description: To preserve and educate through "Legacy: Memoirs of a Lost Generation" a documentary series to illustrate the diverse narratives of the Windrush generation and to honour their experiences, resilience, and contributions to British society. Through interviews, archival footage, and re-enactments create a narrative to educate and preserve the history of this generation before it fades away.

Decision: Reject

Persian New Year (Nowruz)

Applicant: Inspired

Project description: To provide mental health support for Iranian refugees in the UK. To empower individuals to rebuild their lives, combat depression, and become active contributors to their new communities in the UK.

Decision: Reject

Project Roof

Applicant: Oxford Diocesan Bucks Schools Trust

Project description: To repair the roof to stop the water ingress into the main school hall a key feature of the Medd design. Prevent further damage to the overall structure to enable us to preserve the history of the building for future generations. 

Decision: Reject

Brading Bells Restoration and Future Bellringing Heritage Project

Applicant: Brading Bellringers

Project description: To refurbish, rehang and retune Brading’s church bells, to preserve bellringing for the local town and the Isle of Wight, and to become a centre of bellringing excellence for the wider community.

Decision: Reject

Water Guardians, or the Cotswolds Rivers Trust's Water Guardians programme

Applicant: Cotswolds Rivers Trust

Project description: To bring together a diverse audience, to forge stronger connections between people and the environment, and create a collective movement towards cleaner, healthier rivers. To collaborate, knowledge-share and upskill to amplify the impact of local efforts and inspire sustainable change to ensure the rivers are safeguarded for future generations. 

Decision: Reject

Qualification & Accreditation in the Conservation of Heritage Metalwork

Applicant: Heritage Ironwork Trust Limited

Project description: To ensure the vital skills and knowledge of historic metalwork is cared for and its conservation is passed on. To broaden training routes into heritage conservation work, address current gaps in heritage metalwork education and provide opportunity for blacksmiths to specialise, as well as demonstrate their suitability to work on significant historic fabric.

Decision: Reject