Cultures and memories
![Young people reading poetry around a microphone](/sites/default/files/styles/main_image_desktop/public/media/imgs/R2R%20on%20the%20road%20poetry%20copy.jpg.webp?itok=RJ-Eprwz)
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.
![Painting depicting Attack on the British Squares by French Calvary, Battle of Waterloo, 1815 by Denis Dighton Painting depicting Attack on the British Squares by French Calvary, Battle of Waterloo, 1815 by Denis Dighton](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/pressnews/battleofwaterloo.jpg.webp?itok=sYd1BvPU)
News
HLF backs Battle of Waterloo website
Yet despite heralding almost a century of peace on the continent, the significance of this battle is little remembered or understood. Thanks to a grant of £96,300 from the HLF, a new project will inspire greater awareness of this fiercely fought and narrowly-won battle and create a lasting legacy of
![A lady pinning a flower onto a Sikh soldier in 1916 A lady pinning a flower onto a Sikh soldier in 1916](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/pressnews/sikhsoldiers.jpg.webp?itok=R5Wn99yM)
News
First World War: Stories of the Empire to be revealed
As the Centenary approaches, people of all ages throughout the United Kingdom will be reflecting on the events of the conflict, the experiences of men and women here and overseas, and how the war has shaped the last 100 years. The event is hosted by the Victoria and Albert Museum as part of an
![Soldier and mother. Copyright IWM Soldier and mother. Copyright IWM](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/pressnews/soldier_and_mother.jpg.webp?itok=xUqNkBU-)
News
Lottery boost for Belfast heritage projects
The plans to help young people from North Belfast to learn more about the history and legacy of the First World War received a grant of £10,000. Using artefacts, photos and diaries held by museums and other historical institutions they will explore the local and international contexts within which
![Voluntary Aid Detachment poster. Copyright British Red Cross museum and archives Voluntary Aid Detachment poster. Copyright British Red Cross museum and archives](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/pressnews/vadhomefront.jpg.webp?itok=GOrJnMhc)
News
First World War Home Front volunteers archive to be launched
Among famous names included in the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) indexes are author Agatha Christie, novelist and poet Naomi Mitchison and writer and feminist Vera Brittain. This treasure trove, some 244,000 VAD paper index cards held by the British Red Cross, will now be digitised to create a free
![Building the Miner's Institute in the 1950s Building the Miner's Institute in the 1950s](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/pressnews/fryston.jpg.webp?itok=tvSaf1UX)
News
Fryston Memories launched
It is surprising how such a small place could have such a rich and significant history, this has been captured by using the knowledge and memories of the local community - it's people and places; the famous residents and the everyday folk who lived and worked there; the notable Fryston Hall, ancient
![Black and white photo of sailors](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_body_full/public/media/imgs/landing-blocks/oral-history-report.jpg.webp?itok=LS9gpuOg)
Publications
Oral history projects
Review of HLF's investment in oral history projects, including how this investment helped to deliver HLF's 2002-2013 strategic aims.