Cultures and memories

Cultures and memories

Young people reading poetry around a microphone
Routes2Roots project in Birmingham
These are the customs and traditions, skills and knowledge, passed down to us through generations.

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.

Three people stand outside a large closed shed with a sign saying awaiting restoration
Trustees outside the last remaining coracle shed.

Projects

Ironbridge Coracle Heritage

A small group of volunteers set out to preserve the last remaining coracle maker's workshop on the River Severn and started the Ironbridge Coracle Trust.

Victoria Park school pupils and teacher who took in the Memories of Spice from Smethwick project
Victoria Park school pupils and teacher who took in the Memories of Spice from Smethwick project

Projects

Victoria Park Primary Academy - Memories of spice in Smethwick

The role of spices in shaping local culture, cuisine and customs has been captured thanks to a community history project in Smethwick, Sandwell in the West Midlands.

A launch event for Celebrate Cumbria
A launch event for Celebrate Cumbria

Projects

Celebrating Cumbria’s LGBT history

The Celebrate project will collect memories, stories, photographs and objects in order to explore the heritage of LGBT communities in Cumbria.

Volunteer with archaeological find at Abberley dig
Volunteer with archaeological find at Abberley dig

Projects

Revealing medieval Abberley

Volunteers and school children used archaeological techniques to discover the lost heritage of Abberley, Worcestershire.

Footballer Albert Johanneson
Out of Africa project archive image

Projects

Exploring the history of African footballers in the UK

From Ghana-born Arthur Wharton in the 1880s to Togolese Spurs star Emmanuel Adebayor, African footballers have been bringing their incredible skills to the UK's professional football leagues for nearly 130 years.

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