Initial support* has also been awarded for projects across the UK in Belfast, Glasgow, Pontypridd, London, Portsmouth and Northumberland.

Carole Souter, Chief Executive of HLF, said: “It’s fantastic to be able to invest in such a breadth of heritage projects - from the traditional to the more modern - and for that investment to be able to reach all four corners of the UK. Heritage can mean so many different things, from a collection of aerial photographs reflecting the changing landscape to a spectacular Gothic cathedral. The Heritage Lottery Fund is passionate about making possible visionary projects like these that will have a huge impact on people’s lives.”

The confirmed grants are awarded to:

• The William Morris Gallery, London – £1.5m – gallery devoted to one of England's best-known designers.

• Cromford Mills, Derbyshire - £2m -  the world’s first successful water-powered cotton spinning mills

• Britain from Above: Aerofilms, UK-wide (Swindon, Edinburgh, Aberystwyth) – £1.7m – an archive of over a million aerial photographs of Britain taken from 1919 to 2006.

• York Minster, York – £9.7m - one of the UK’s most glorious historic cathedrals.

Initial HLF support has been granted to the following projects:

• Nomadic and Hamilton Dock, Belfast – £2.6m HLF bid - the last surviving White Star vessel in the world and only remaining link to RMS Titanic. 

• King’s Theatre, Glasgow – £1.9m HLF bid – conservation of the theatre and celebrating its history though an intergenerational oral history project.

• Ynysangharad Park Lido, Pontypridd – £2.1m HLF bid – restoration of one of the best preserved lidos in the country.

• The New Design Museum, London – £4.9m HLF bid - Britain’s leading contemporary design collection to be re-housed.

• National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth – £1.2m HLF bid – new gallery for one of Britain’s oldest maritime museums

• Hexham Abbey, Northumberland –£1.8m HLF bid – refurbishment of the monastic buildings lost in the Reformation and new learning facilities to engage the community with the Abbey's rich heritage.

Further detail as to the nature of these projects is as follows:

The William Morris Gallery, Waltham Forest, London – confirmed grant of £1.5m
Home to the William Morris family from 1848 to 1856, the Gallery is devoted to one of England's best-known designers and houses vibrant collections illustrating Morris' life, achievements, political works and continuing influence. The collection includes woven and printed fabrics, ceramics, wallpaper and furniture. The project will provide bigger exhibition spaces and education and volunteering opportunities for the local community.

Cromford Mills, Derbyshire – confirmed grant of £2m
Cromford Mills, the world’s first successful water-powered cotton spinning mills, were built in 1771 by industrial pioneer, Sir Richard Arkwright. HLF’s grant will enable extensive repairs and conversion of the Grade I listed ‘Building 17’ (the largest surviving building on site) into a gateway to the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. The Building’s upper floors will also be repaired and brought back into use and new staff will be employed to lead activity programmes for schools, visitors and volunteers.
 
Britain from Above: Aerofilms, UK-wide (including Swindon, Edinburgh, Aberystwyth) – confirmed grant of £1.7m
This fascinating archive comprises over a million aerial photographs of Britain taken from 1919 to 2006. The collection was created by Aerofilms, a pioneering air survey company set up by First World War veterans in 1919. HLF’s support will enable the cataloguing and digitisation of 95,000 images from the earliest part of the collection (from 1919-1953), making it far easier for people to use and enjoy. A programme of online volunteering, local community projects and exhibitions will help raise awareness of the collections for a wide range of audiences.

York Minster, York – confirmed grant of £9.7m
York Minster is one of this country’s most glorious historic cathedrals. The project will conserve the stonework of the Minster's East end and reveal the full glory of the 15th-century stained glass in the Apocalypse section of the Great East Window. New training and volunteering opportunities will be put in place, encouraging people to learn skills such as stone masonry, stained glass conservation and how to become an effective guide.

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, said: "It's wonderful that the Minster has been successful with its application for Heritage Lottery Fund support. The East Window, which tells the whole story of the Book of Revelation in painted glass, is a beautiful and historic work of art, which brings joy to so many people, worshippers, visitors and York residents alike. Indeed the Minster as a whole is a masterpiece which speaks of the glory of God, and the creative imagination of human beings.”

HLF awards £709,600 development funding to a further six projects
The following projects have been awarded a first-round pass and they can now move on to the next stage of their plans to apply for a full grant: 

• Nomadic and Hamilton Dock, Belfast – initial support for a £2.6m HLF bid
SS Nomadic is the last surviving White Star vessel in the world and the only remaining link to RMS Titanic. Designed and built by Harland & Wolff and launched on 25 April 1911, her role was to ferry passengers from Cherbourg to the Titanic on her fateful voyage. The project aims to restore both the SS Nomadic and the Hamilton Graving Dock and use them as learning spaces. Information and artefacts relating to the SS Nomadic and the dock will be brought together telling the story of the shipyards and the wider industries operating during the period.

• King’s Theatre, Glasgow – initial support for a £1.9m HLF bid, including £51,000 development funding
The King’s Theatre, designed by prolific theatre architect Frank Matcham in 1904, is one of the best-preserved examples of his work. The project aims to conserve the theatre and celebrate its role within Glasgow’s thriving cultural scene, while celebrating its fascinating history though a wide-ranging intergenerational oral history project.

• Ynysangharad Park Lido, Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf – initial support for a £2.1m HLF bid, including £75,000 development funding
The Grade II listed lido complex, constructed in 1927, is the largest of its kind in Wales and one of the earliest and best preserved in the country. The project aims to restore the lido to its former glory and once again make it a popular place for fun community activities.

• The New Design Museum, London – initial support for a £4.9m HLF bid, including £300,000 development funding
The Design Museum in Shad Thames near Tower Bridge is home to Britain’s leading contemporary design collection which documents major developments in design through a range of objects including furniture, lighting, vehicles and domestic appliances. The project aims to re-locate the museum to the former Commonwealth Institute in Kensington, bringing the currently empty building back to life and providing a much larger exhibition space for this important collection.

• National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) Telling the story of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth – initial support for a  £1.2m HLF bid, including £108,600 development funding
The NMRN in Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard is one of Britain’s oldest maritime museums and its collections document 400 years of naval heritage. The project will expand the existing 20th Century Gallery and create a new gallery to make more of the existing collections available to the general public, some for the first time.

• The Hexham Abbey Project, Northumberland – initial support for a £1.8m HLF bid, including £175,000 development funding
Hexham Abbey, originally founded during Saxon times (c.674 AD) by St Wilfrid, still retains its 7th-century crypt. Project plans include re-acquiring and refurbishing a large part of the former monastic buildings that were lost to the Abbey in 1537 at the time of the Reformation, and introducing new learning facilities that will greatly enhance the local community’s involvement with the Abbey's rich heritage.

Notes to editors
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. 

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.

Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage.  HLF has supported 33,900 projects, allocating £4.4billion across the UK. 

Further information

Laura Bates at HLF’s press office on 020 7591 6027 / lbates@hlf.org.uk or Katie Owen on 020 7591 6036 / katieO@hlf.org.uk. 

Out of hours mobile: 07973 613820.