These are: restoring Belfast’s SS Nomadic, famed for its Titanic link; imaginative plans for the ‘Red House’ to mark the centenary of Benjamin Britten; redeveloping Colchester Castle Museum, a building dating from Norman times; and bringing Grade I listed Lytham Hall in Lancashire back to life.

Initial HLF support² was also awarded for a further six projects enabling them to develop plans to apply for a full grant at a later date. These include a project to commemorate the momentous Battle of Bannockburn in Scotland and re-housing some of the Tank Museum’s impressive military vehicles.

Carole Souter, Chief Executive of HLF, said: “The projects we are supporting today, from buildings and boats to battlefields and books, help us understand the stories of our past. Heritage Lottery Fund is all about the conservation and celebration of what makes us special and key to this is ensuring people are at the centre of everything we fund."

Restoring SS Nomadic and Hamilton Dock, Belfast – confirmed HLF grant of £3.2m
A £3.2m HLF grant will enable the Nomadic Trust to restore the last remaining White Star Vessel, SS Nomadic, and the Hamilton Graving Dock. Both the ship and the dock reflect Belfast’s strong industrial heritage; this project will help explore their amazing history, giving visitors the chance to experience what it was like to live and work in Belfast in the early 1900s. There will be a new education space on the vessel and a range of learning activities, including a heritage trail, with volunteers acting as tour guides and getting involved in restoration work. 

SS Nomadic, designed by architect Thomas Andrews, was launched on 25 April 1911 and is the tender ship that ferried 1st and 2nd class passengers from Cherbourg to the Titanic on her fateful voyage. This project forms part of the wider regeneration of the ‘Titanic Quarter’ in Belfast.

Celebrating 100 years of Benjamin Britten, Aldeburgh, Suffolk – confirmed HLF grant of £1.4m
HLF’s grant will be used to enhance ‘The Red House’ where Benjamin Britten lived and worked with his partner Peter Pears from 1957 until his death in 1976. His composing studio will be recreated, and his extensive archive - containing 99% of Britten's manuscripts, 80,000 items of correspondence and photographs - will be presented for the first time in a permanent exhibition.

Timed to celebrate Britten’s 100th birthday in 2013, the project will also create a new educational space and fund a learning officer who will lead workshops and outreach activities for local schools. An accompanying ‘Britten Trail’ will connect the house with the surrounding community and landscape that inspired much of Britten’s music.

Alex Jennings, actor, said: "Whilst preparing to play Benjamin Britten in Alan Bennett's The Habit of Art at the National Theatre, I was fortunate enough to stay at his former home, the Red House, and it’s easy to see how this magical place inspired him and his work. The presence of Britten and Peter Pears is tangible. It is fantastic news that the Heritage Lottery Fund is supporting this project that will help more people than ever enjoy the legacy of this great composer.”

Colchester Castle rejuvenation, Essex – confirmed HLF grant of £3.2m
HLF’s funding will help restore Colchester Castle Museum and transform it into a high-quality exhibition space incorporating recent important archaeological finds. The castle, one of the best surviving Norman buildings in Britain, has a long and intriguing history: from once housing royalty to being used as a jail. It is built on the foundations of a Roman temple and houses internationally-renowned collections of Iron Age and Roman artefacts.

Volunteers will play an active role in the project and will be trained in conservation, artefact documentation and giving visitor tours. Once completed, the castle will act as a gateway to Colchester’s rich Roman and Norman heritage, including the Roman Circus and town walls and form part of the wider rejuvenation of Colchester.

New life for Lytham Hall, Lytham St Anne’s, Lancashire – confirmed HLF grant of £2.4m
HLF’s grant will be used to restore and refurbish the Grade I listed Lytham Hall on the Fylde coast. Major conservation work can now begin and will eventually mean the building can be removed from the English Heritage’s ‘at risk’ register*. The site, including the surrounding parkland, will be revitalised and will include new visitor and conference facilities. A range of activities will offer visitors guided tours through the hall and gardens, exhibitions and workshops.

The Hall, designed by prolific British architect John Carr, was built between 1757 and 1764. Reputed to be one of Carr’s finest buildings, Lytham Hall was owned by the prominent local Clifton family until 1963 and houses important art and furniture collections that will be re-displayed as part of the project.

Initial support has also been awarded to the following projects:
Initial support and a total of over £600,000 in development funding have been awarded to the following:

• The Battle of Bannockburn, Stirling – initial support for a £3.8m HLF bid, including £163,000 development funding
  This project aims to commemorate one of Scotland’s greatest battles, the Battle of Bannockburn, timed to coincide with its 700th anniversary, and in doing so bring its story alive for a 21st-century audience. The new visitor centre will give people the opportunity to learn about this defining moment in Scottish history which led to the declaration of Arbroath in 1320 and the acknowledgement of Scotland’s independence in 1328.
• The Tank Museum, Dorset – initial support for a £2.5m HLF bid, including £149,000 development funding
  The Tank Museum plans to conserve an important part of its collection of over 300 vehicles by creating a Vehicle Conservation Centre. This will re-house the 130 vehicles currently stored in poor conditions and not accessible to the public, and allow essential conservation work to take place. Two major exhibitions will be staged including one to begin in time to mark the centenary of World War I in 2014. The collection is of outstanding national importance and holds the largest collection of pre-World War II vehicles in the world.
• Archives+ at Manchester Central Library, Manchester – initial support for a £1.6m HLF bid, including £72,500 development funding
  The Archives+ project aims to bring together the largest and most important archives from different Manchester venues and re-house them in Manchester Central Library. The project will create exhibition spaces to provide new ways for more people to discover the archives, share their own stories and have a personalised experience of Manchester's history. A new learning programme will help people learn about and enjoy this nationally important collection comprising 10km of items dating from the 12th century, including parchments, leather-bound volumes, photographs, glass negatives, film archives and over 50,000 rare books.
• Cherishing Churchyards, England and Wales – initial support for a £409,000 HLF bid, including £7,700 development funding
  The project aims to ensure that the natural and built heritage of churchyards across England and Wales is protected for the future. Training opportunities and workshops will be introduced across 15 sites providing volunteers with skills, including dry stone walling, scything of grassland and biological recording. 
• York: Gateway to History – initial support for a £1.4m HLF bid, including £107,500 development funding
  This project aims to unite and conserve York's valuable city archives on the top floor of York Central Library. Volunteers will be trained in conservation and taught how to lead guided tours, enabling visitors to learn from and enjoy the collections properly for the first time. The archives of York are regarded as one of the most important city archives outside London with items including a trading charter from 1155, law court records dating from the 15th century and materials dating right up to the present day.
• Kew Bridge Steam Museum, Hounslow, London – initial support for a £1.7m HLF bid, including £127,600 development funding
  Project plans include completing the restoration of the impressive Grade I and II listed Kew Bridge Steam Museum, re-displaying and interpretation of its current collections and creating new education, community and visitor facilities. The site is an internationally-recognized museum of steam pumping engines and the oldest waterworks in the world. It houses the world's largest collection of Cornish beam engines, including the Grand Junction 90 Engine which used to pump water to London for nearly a century. 

Notes to editors

• ¹ A confirmed award means that money had already been earmarked by HLF for the project in question and that the full amount has now been secured.
• ² A first-round pass means the project meets our criteria for funding and we believe it has potential to deliver high-quality benefits and value for Lottery money. The application was in competition with other supportable projects, so a first-round pass is an endorsement of outline proposals. Having been awarded a first-round pass, the project now has up to two years to submit fully developed proposals to compete for a firm award.
• * In April 2009 English Heritage was designated by Government as a provider of Official Statistics. Two products produced by English Heritage were defined as official statistics, 'Heritage at Risk' and 'listed buildings'.

Further information 

Please contact Laura Bates or Katie Owen, HLF Press Office, on 020 7591 6027 / 6036. Out of hours mobile: 07973 613 820.