From bringing the Corn Hall back into use as a cultural venue, to improving access to the historic town centre for visitors and businesses, the project has ensured the town’s heritage is at the heart of its exciting future.

Made possible by £1.87million raised by National Lottery players, the project was led by the Diss Heritage Partnership (formed of The Diss Hall Trust, Diss Town Council and Diss Museum) and its completion was celebrated on 25 October 2017.

Diss Heritage Triangle

The project focused on the historic commercial centre of the town known as the Diss Heritage Triangle - the Corn Hall to the West, St Mary’s Church to the East and Diss Museum and Market to the South, with plenty of historic buildings and stories in between.

Here’s what was achieved with National Lottery funding:

• Built in the 1850s and one of the last functioning corn halls in England, Diss Corn Hall has been restored to its former glory and has now opened its doors as an arts and heritage venue.
• The streets have been redesigned to reclaim them for pedestrians and restore the setting for the many listed buildings with new interpretation of the town’s heritage.
• A public wildlife garden and floating boardwalk has been created alongside Diss Mere, creating a new way to access the town centre as well as a new home for wildlife.
• More than 250 volunteers took part in the project and a variety of businesses and supporters in Diss made some amazing contributions.

Stories from Diss

Stories of the people, places and trades of Diss have also been explored for the first time. These include the history of the Diss Ironworks building which was occupied by a wig maker in 1742, a hairdresser a century later and the profile of the Bobby family who opened their first business in Diss in the 1830s and whose last store is still remembered by some older residents.

Interactive maps also reveal how the town has changed over the centuries. Visit the Diss Heritage Triangle website to find out what has been discovered.