Midlands and East

Highgate Common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and an ancient lowland heath in South Staffordshire. It is home to over 5,000 species of insects and 140 species of wasps and solitary bees.

Longstone Local History Group carried out further archaeological work on an Iron Age Hill Fort near Bakewell, covering the full extent of Fin Cop.

From Ghana-born Arthur Wharton in the 1880s to Togolese Spurs star Emmanuel Adebayor, African footballers have been bringing their incredible skills to the UK's professional football leagues for nearly 130 years.

This three-year project recorded the oral histories of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland's LGBTQ+ communities, from before partial decriminalisation in 1967 to the present day.

This project aimed to make both the Mappa Mundi and Chained Library accessible to a wide range of people and involve audiences in an interactive way.

In June 1948, the SS Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury bringing the very first migrants from the Caribbean to settle in Britain. There are many in the Watford community who arrived then, or in the ten years that followed, in what has subsequently become known as the “Windrush Decade”.

Bedford High Street is in a designated conservation area, but before our grant for the restoration of some of its historic buildings, it was looking shabby and unloved.

A charity which supports the rescue and sustainable use of historic buildings across the UK had help from us in becoming fit for the future.

At a time of financial uncertainty, the Birmingham Pen Trade Heritage Association received a grant to help plan for a sustainable future.

Following decreases in their core funding the Birmingham Conservation Trust (BCT) had to look for new models to secure its future.

A small group of volunteers set out to preserve the last remaining coracle maker's workshop on the River Severn and started the Ironbridge Coracle Trust.

Volunteers developed skills to help them maintain their historic places of worship into the future without relying on professional contractors.