Community heritage

Community heritage

The interior of a 1950s hairdresser's shop. A visitor is having their hair styled by a stylist in vintage clothing. A child sits in a high chair next to the visitor.
Visiting the 1950s hairdresser at Beamish Museum. Credit: Nigel Roddis
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.

An older and younger participant at a workshop
Suffolk Artlink brought people from different generations together.

Projects

Lowestoft Folk: bridging generations

This intergenerational project collaborated with two museums and their dedicated volunteers to delve into local folk heritage.

Two paper lanterns in the shape of houses in an outdoor parade
The Mile Cross estate in Norwich turned 100 years old in 2023.

Projects

The Common Lot's Living Heritage in Mile Cross

Community memories were gathered and shared to celebrate the centenary of England's oldest purpose-built social housing estate, Mile Cross in Norwich.

Ted at his shop in Forest Gate
Ted at Etty & Tyler motor and cycle repair shop in Forest Gate.

Projects

Full Cycle: a history of cycling in Forest Gate

This project will look at the cycling history of Forest Gate in Newham – an important cycling epicentre in the late 19th century close to Epping Forest.

Life-sized statue of a woman in a small, landscaped garden
More than a cell – statue of Henrietta Lacks (1920-1951) by Helen Wilson-Roe in Royal Fort Garden, Bristol. Photo: Bhagesh Sachania Photography.

Stories

Bringing Henrietta Lacks’ story to life in Bristol

Explore how the University of Bristol is spotlighting Henrietta’s controversial contribution to medicine and inspiring future scientists.

If you query is regarding our application portal, please contact our support team.