Areas, buildings and monuments | The National Lottery Heritage Fund

View as PDF

People walking up steps to a castle with turret

Lincoln Castle. Credit: Colin McLean Photography

Safeguarding our historic buildings, monuments and archaeology for future generations.

Thanks to National Lottery players, since 1994 we have awarded £3.3billion to more than 10,300 area, historic building and monument projects across the UK. See stories from projects we've funded below.

We provide grants for heritage projects from £10,000–£10million to ensure that heritage is valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future.

These projects can help to sustain jobs, support economic growth and protect heritage at risk. They can also bolster local pride, nurture traditional craft skills and help communities enjoy and make use of the places they care about.

What do we support?

Projects we fund include:

investment in places of worship
conservation and repairs to historic buildings and places
finding appropriate new uses for historic buildings
community archaeology projects

Places of worship

Places of worship are among the UK’s oldest and most cherished historic buildings. We want to help congregations become truly resilient and their buildings genuinely sustainable.

Places of worship we fund

Project ideas

Our funding could help people:

repair and transform a historic building at the heart of their community
help volunteers learn building conservation skills
rescue a building on a Buildings at Risk register
undertake a community archaeology project
regenerate a historic town centre or high street
look after and learn about a local war memorial

How to get funding

Our National Lottery Heritage Grants programme is open for applications.

Find out more and apply

A group of children leading on a piece of wood attached to a windmill.

Bourn Mill. Image: Matthew Power Photography.

News

National Lottery support saving at-risk heritage sites for 25 years

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register. Over the past quarter of a century, Heritage Fund support has helped save some of the nation's most-loved heritage from the list.

09/11/2023

People look at stalls at a craft fair inside St Peter's Sudbury

A craft fair at St Peter's. Photo: Allison Burke.

Projects

Regenerating St Peter’s as a cultural hub for Sudbury

St Peter’s Cultural Venue is being transformed into a new arts, heritage and learning space at the heart of Sudbury, Suffolk.

15/03/2018

A flying bat in the roof space of a church

A Natterer's bat flying inside the roof of St Lawrence church, Radstone. Credit: Chris Damant, Bernwood Ecology.

Stories

All creatures great and small: helping church communities care for their bats

The Bats in Churches project helped over 100 ancient churches in England with their resident bats, bringing communities together and learning more about our threatened bat species.

An ariel view of the green space on Gloucester Cathedral grounds with people exploring

The new public green space welcomes visitors to Gloucester Cathedral. Credit Gloucester Cathedral.

Projects

Project Pilgrim: A new life for Gloucester Cathedral

Phase One: The Heart of Gloucester saw Gloucester Cathedral transform into a leader for sustainable development in the city.

20/05/2014

Group of people wearing hard hats in a courtyard of historic building, Alice Billings House in Stratford

Alice Billings House. Includes Newham’s Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz, Taryn Nixon and Selina Papa from the Heritage Fund, Creative Land Trust and Purcell’s team.

News

£800,000 funding awarded to support Newham’s heritage

From restoring an 1880s playhouse to creating a cycling heritage trail, projects across Newham will celebrate its diverse community heritage and create pride in place.

25/10/2023

Alice Billings House in Stratford

Alice Billings House before the project starts.

Projects

Creating Futures at Alice Billings House

After being vacant for over 10 years, Creative Land Trust has acquired the buildings and will bring them back to life with the help of heritage architects Purcell.

12/09/2023

The exterior of a historic building with scaffolding on it.

Work underway at Priory House. Photo: Dunstable Town Council.

Projects

Priory House, Dunstable - Repair and Conservation

Together with Historic England, we are supporting the repair and restoration of the Grade II* listed Priory House in Dunstable.

14/09/2023

A visitor listens through an exhibition headset in front of a display of information about faith

The Faith Museum, Bishop Auckland.

Projects

Restoring and reinterpreting Auckland Castle

This bold heritage-led regeneration project aims to create inspiring experiences and learnings on faith for visitors to County Durham.

23/04/2013

A group of children and adults sit and stand as they pose for a photo while cutting a ribbon.

Local children joined National Galleries of Scotland for the opening of the new Scottish galleries at the National. Credit Neil Hanna

Projects

Celebrating Scotland’s Art: The Scottish National Gallery Project

10 accessible gallery spaces boasting the work of pioneering Scottish artists have transformed visitors’ experience of the national collection.

24/03/2015

An adult talks to a child wearing a head scarf.

Learning Through Landscapes delivered the My School My Planet project. Photo: Simon Hadley.

Blogs

How Walsall’s heritage is thriving

Our Engagement Manager, Natalie Osborne, shares the successful heritage work of Walsall – one of our 13 Areas of Focus.

28/09/2023

An aerial view of St. Conan's Kirk in Scotland.

St. Conan's Kirk, Argyll, Scotland Photo: Andrew Prins

News

£12.2million investment to help save UK’s historic buildings

From the only thatched ice house of its kind to the oldest picture house in Northern Ireland, we have awarded 12 heritage buildings life-saving support.

26/09/2023

A group of people jump into the newly opened pools on a sunny day

People diving into Cleveland Pools at the celebration event in Autumn 2022.

Projects

Restoring Cleveland Pools to the heart of the community in Bath

The oldest surviving open-air swimming baths in the UK have been fully restored and reopened to the public.

26/06/2018