Cultures and memories
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 which help to explore, save and celebrate the traditions, customs, skills and knowledge of different communities.
This cultural heritage is sometimes referred to as intangible or living heritage. This is because it is constantly changing and kept alive when practiced or performed.
We also fund projects which document and share people’s memories. This often involves capturing oral histories and ensuring they are accessible now and in the future.
Project ideas
Our funding could help people:
- research and share oral traditions, such as storytelling or local dialects
- train others in traditional skills and crafts, from dry stone walling and blacksmithing to basket weaving and textile making
- research the origins of culture, such as music, theatre or dance, and create performances influenced by past styles
- share the history and fun of celebrations, festivals or rituals with new audiences, from games and cooking to carnivals and fayres
- capture accounts of traditional knowledge or pass it on, such as woodland management or home remedies
- record the stories of ordinary people through oral histories, for example about growing up, migration or work
- retell people’s memories about a place or event, such as a long-stay hospital, the miners' strikes or the punk movement
How to get funding
If you have an idea for a project, we would love to hear from you.
Projects
The Three Bears 'and other English Tales'
Young people from refugee communities discover the pastimes of Victorian children through nursery rhymes brought to life by Walter Crane.
Projects
From Troutbeck Bridge to Treblinka
A community archaeology project in Windermere will uncover the site of a former Second World War housing complex used to house child Holocaust survivors.
Projects
Young people with disabilities explored disability stories from the First World War
For the Zebedee Troupers – Abled Not DISabled project, young people with disabilities discovered the role disabled people played during the two world wars.
Projects
Celebrating the Spirit of the Cracker Packers
This inspiring community heritage project explores the fascinating lives of Carlisle’s ‘Cracker Packers’ through the ages.
Projects
Bill Naughton's Bolton: A Legacy
A project focusing on Bill Naughton, Bolton’s most famous and successful writer, 25 years after his death.
Projects
Birkenhead's 'Black Chair' Centenary Festival: Community Engagement Project
This project focuses on one of the most poignant histories of the First World War: Birkenhead's 1917 'Black Chair' Eisteddfod.
Projects
Kashmiri Lives
Recording the culture of the Kashmiri community in Greater Manchester through the collection of memories.
Projects
Memories, Communities & Belonging: The Lapsed Clubber Heritage Map of Greater Manchester 1985-1995
Focusing on the raving landscape between 1985 and 1995, this project has created the Lapsed Clubber Heritage Map
Projects
Our Social Networks: Capturing the nature of friendship and intimacy for people with learning disabilities
This Mencap Cymru project captured the history and nature of friendships and relationships experienced by people with a learning disability in Wales.
Projects
Delia Derbyshire 80th birthday electronic music heritage project
A programme of creative and cultural activities will celebrate the late electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire’s 80th anniversary year.
Projects
Her Hidden Histories: drama and performance project
Telling the previously hidden histories of women in Manchester who worked in the male-dominated spheres of policing, transport and politics.
Projects
Fabric of Life
LGBT+ young people in Wiltshire explore fashion and identity.