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.

Groups of older people sitting eating at tables at the Migration Museum
Elders Day event at the Migration Museum.

Projects

Connecting Lewisham to its Migration Heritage

This 18-month project explores and shares the history of migration to the UK, in particular the stories of people who settled in Lewisham.

Obby Oss folk culture costume from Minehead festival. Includes multicolour brightly coloured ribbon and materials.
Obby Oss folk culture costume from Minehead festival. Credit: Centre for Fashion Curation

Projects

Making Mischief: the living heritage of folk costume in Britain

This collaborative project aims to document the colourful, community-based celebrations of Britain's folk heritage and bring it to life at two exhibitions.

Person looking at a brightly coloured globe sculpture
Echoes in the Present, Larry Amponsah in Leeds

Projects

The World Reimagined: Journey of Discovery

A vibrant art education project aiming to transform understanding of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans and its significant global impact.

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