HLF launches £3m community heritage fund
Sharing Heritage will build on success of All Our Stories
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has launched a new fund for community groups that want to discover and share their local heritage.
Sharing Heritage will provide funding of about £3m each year to a wide-range of projects across the UK, from local archaeology to researching community’s cultures and traditions and holding festivals and events to commemorate the past.
Carole Souter, chief executive of HLF, said: “Heritage means such different things to different people, and this investment will offer a wealth of opportunities for groups to explore and celebrate what’s important to them in their local area.”
The on-going funding builds on HLF’s community heritage programme, All Our Stories, which ran last year alongside the BBC Two series The Great British Story: A People’s History. Four times oversubscribed, All Our Stories awarded a total of £4.5m to nearly 550 projects exploring local history, customs and traditions.
HLF said the success of All Our Stories convinced it that there was appetite from people to get involved in these types of projects.
The historian Michael Wood, who is HLF’s champion for Sharing Heritage, said: “We have already seen just how much people want to be able to delve into their local history and what those fascinating explorations can reveal.
"I can’t wait to hear about the surprising stories that will come out of this new scheme. It’s the people who own history and this is a great opportunity to share that history with others and future generations.”
All Our Stories was developed in response to HLF’s strategic framework consultation with the public and heritage sector.
Successful applicants included a project exploring the memories of former staff at the Raleigh factory in Nottingham; the experiences of the first Chinese immigrants in Swansea; the changing face of pubs on Salford’s Chapel Street; and memories of living along the canal in Pontcysyllte, North Wales.
More information and an application for Sharing Heritage can be found at hlf.org.uk/sharingheritage
Details of all the projects awarded funding from All Our Stories can see found at hlf.org.uk/AllOurStories
Sharing Heritage will provide funding of about £3m each year to a wide-range of projects across the UK, from local archaeology to researching community’s cultures and traditions and holding festivals and events to commemorate the past.
Carole Souter, chief executive of HLF, said: “Heritage means such different things to different people, and this investment will offer a wealth of opportunities for groups to explore and celebrate what’s important to them in their local area.”
The on-going funding builds on HLF’s community heritage programme, All Our Stories, which ran last year alongside the BBC Two series The Great British Story: A People’s History. Four times oversubscribed, All Our Stories awarded a total of £4.5m to nearly 550 projects exploring local history, customs and traditions.
HLF said the success of All Our Stories convinced it that there was appetite from people to get involved in these types of projects.
The historian Michael Wood, who is HLF’s champion for Sharing Heritage, said: “We have already seen just how much people want to be able to delve into their local history and what those fascinating explorations can reveal.
"I can’t wait to hear about the surprising stories that will come out of this new scheme. It’s the people who own history and this is a great opportunity to share that history with others and future generations.”
All Our Stories was developed in response to HLF’s strategic framework consultation with the public and heritage sector.
Successful applicants included a project exploring the memories of former staff at the Raleigh factory in Nottingham; the experiences of the first Chinese immigrants in Swansea; the changing face of pubs on Salford’s Chapel Street; and memories of living along the canal in Pontcysyllte, North Wales.
More information and an application for Sharing Heritage can be found at hlf.org.uk/sharingheritage
Details of all the projects awarded funding from All Our Stories can see found at hlf.org.uk/AllOurStories