Community heritage | The National Lottery Heritage Fund

View as PDF

A group of people with handmade props and decorations

Act for Action CIC, recipients of a community heritage grant from One Knowsley. Photo: Act for Action CIC.

Celebrating community heritage can help people come together, feel pride in where they live and save stories and traditions.

Since 1994 we have awarded £460million to more than 24,100 community and cultural heritage projects across the UK.

What do we support?

We fund projects that are researching, conserving and celebrating the heritage of a community or place.

These projects could include lots of types of heritage, such as people celebrating living customs or improving a historic green space. What's most important is that the project involves and benefits the community.

Project ideas

Our funding could help people:

research the impact of a historical event on their town, and share their findings through displays, talks and online
investigate the names on a war memorial
crowdsource documents and photographs linked to the LGBTQ+ community, creating an online archive and exhibition
set up an audio trail around a range of buildings, parks and monuments in a town
enable a youth group to research their local history and create an animated film about their learnings

For more inspiration, see the stories below or browse projects we've funded.

How to get funding

If you have an idea for a project, we would love to hear from you.

Explore our available funding

A black and white photo of chinese men who were members of the Chinese Labour Corps

Members of the Chinese Labour Corps.

Projects

Forgotten Faces of the First World War: The Chinese Labour Corps

The Meridian Society and documentary filmmaker Peng Wenlan collected oral histories for a documentary about the Chinese men who worked as labourers on the Western Front during the First World War.

03/03/2016

A child being shown how to make kimchi

Projects

Kimjang, Making and Sharing Kimchi

The practices of a UNESCO-recognised Korean tradition were recorded and preserved for the future and celebrated with the wider community.

15/11/2018

Two people smiling and sitting in camping chairs on an allotment

Project participants enjoying their allotment. Credit: The Birmingham Allotment Project.

Projects

Wotta Lotta Culture – The Birmingham Allotment Project

This oral history project has celebrated the communities at the heart of the ‘allotment capital’ of the UK.

06/08/2021

Two south asian people stand next to a banner with text: Club Kali Where East Meets West made possible with Heritage Fund

In-person and online activities will bring people together to share memories of the club’s past. Photo: Club Kali Network.

Projects

Where East meets West: Celebrating South-Asian LGBTQ+ Heritage through Club Kali Network

We’re helping the UK’s first safe space for LGBTQ+ people of South Asian heritage to preserve and showcase their history dating back to 1995.

08/05/2024

a large ship docked on the river in Grimsby

The Ross Tiger docked outside the Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre in North East Lincolnshire. Photo: Ellen Hunter.

News

£2.5million awarded to first 11 Heritage Places projects across the UK

The grants – ranging in value from £90,000 to £250,000 – will help projects develop resources and plans to bring their ambitions for heritage and communities to life in their local area. These Heritage Places are beginning a decade-long process of change with tailored support from our engagement

17/07/2024

Three people working on the Roma Heritage Project.

The Europia team working on the Roma Heritage Project.

Projects

Exploring and recording Manchester’s Roma heritage

The Roma Heritage Project will work with local people in Manchester to share traditional dishes and record oral histories from Roma communities.

20/02/2024

The left side of the image shows a traditional Traveller wagon, painted with decorative designs, and the right side of the image shows a man leading a pony and trap which a girl is riding

The project held an outdoor fair-style event in June 2023.

Projects

Roma and Irish Travellers: A Shared Story

People from different cultures and backgrounds came together for workshops and celebration events about Roma and Irish Traveller cultural heritage organised by Armagh Roma Traveller Support.

27/02/2023

Three musicians with guitars and an accordion and four women dancers wearing traditional Eastern European dress.

Romane Cierhenia are a family group of Roma musicians and dancers from Poland.

Projects

Roma Empowerment Through Heritage

This pilot project trained volunteers including young Roma people to record heritage and ran a Roma cultural heritage festival.

29/07/2021

A historic black and white photograph of a group of Traveller people with infants selling flowers

Traveller flower sellers in the New Forest in the late 1800s. Photo: New Forest Gypsy Traveller.

News

How we’re helping to save the heritage of community traditions and ways of life

Find out how our funding has been used to ensure the living heritage of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities is preserved and continues to thrive.

11/06/2024

Four people pose with leaflets behind large letters spelling 'Belfast' surrounded by foliage and props

Stella Byrne, our Head of Investment for Northern Ireland, is pictured second from right at the launch of Belfast 2024. Photo: Philip Magowan / Press Eye.

News

We’re supporting Belfast 2024’s year of culture and creativity

Ten projects taking place across the capital are providing opportunities for people to be creative and get involved with heritage as part of a city-wide celebration.

13/05/2024

A group of young people perform an Indian classical dance called Bharatanatyam.

Performers at the Global Roots Festival organised by Knowsley Young Producers.

Blogs

How targeted support has helped Knowsley's heritage thrive

As Knowsley celebrates its 50th birthday, our Engagement Manager, Shanna Lennon, highlights how heritage is thriving in the borough.

13/05/2024

A group of people with handmade props and decorations

Act for Action CIC, recipients of a community heritage grant from One Knowsley.

Projects

Supporting people in Knowsley to explore their heritage

The Knowsley Golden Thread project will champion inclusivity and enable groups, organisations and local communities to drive their involvement in heritage.

22/01/2024