The UK is rich with historic buildings that have decades of stories to tell. But making sure those buildings stand the test of time takes a lot of work and a lot of money. That’s where the National Lottery Heritage Fund comes in, the largest funder for UK heritage – and the fund has just announced a new round of investment for 2025.
Seven lesser-known heritage projects across the country have been chosen to be brought back to life with a total of £27 million in funding. The lucky recipients include Edinburgh’s Old Royal High School, an 1820s Greek revivalist building that sits just below Calton Hill, which will get support of up to £5m. Another £4.7m is being given to Canada House in Sheffield, which was originally built as offices in 1875 but will be restored to become a home for the Sheffield Music Academy and Sheffield Hub.
Colchester’s Jumbo Water Tower, the UK’s last intact listed water tower, is getting £8m to help restore and convert it into a publicly accessible heritage and events space. And over in Bristol, the Grade II-listed Kingsley Hall will receive £4.7m to get renovations done and become a centre for the youth homelessness charity 1625 Independent People.
Palais de Danse is a former cinema and dance hall in St Ives, Cornwall and from 1961 to 1975 was a studio of sculptor Dame Barbara Hepworth. It’s been closed to the public for the past 65 years but in 2015 was gifted to the Tate and with the aid of £2.8m from the National Lottery Fund will be transformed into an immersive recreation of Hepworth’s workshop.
Next up, the Marchwell Studios Project in West Sussex will get a £1.3m grant. This project is making over the former Marchwell Stables at West Sussex County Asylum, aka the birthplace of art therapy. The transformation will include building five studios to support start-ups, a workshop space for youth and community training programmes and a training studio dedicated to protecting at-risk crafts and skills to promote wellbeing and mental health.
Last but not least, the seventh heritage scheme to get funding is Strand Cinema in Belfast – the last standing art-deco picture house in Northern Ireland. It’s getting £768,000 to ensure its survival.
Historic Britain
In other recent heritage news this beautiful heritage railway in Lancashire is getting a £1.3 million revamp, this incredible Scottish bog is the UK’s newest World Heritage Site, these historic buildings are officially at risk and the entire city of Stoke-on-Trent could become a UNESCO World Heritage Site
ICYMI: How to get half-price discounts on millions of rail tickets this week.
Plus: These are the UK’s best places to live in 2025, according to science.
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.