The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has green-lighted more than £21m in funding for a variety of heritage projects across the UK, including the renovation of a World War One social club, construction of Scotland’s first building conservation centre and the creation of an aerospace centre.
Among the projects that have received funding, some of the most notable include:
Bristol Aerospace CentreBristol Aerospace Centre gained the largest slice of the funding pie, with the HLF donating £4.7m to create an Aerospace Centre at Filton airfield, one of the birthplaces of the British aviation industry.
The new centre will tell the story of Bristol’s aerospace industry from 1910 to the present day and into the future, displaying several important heritage collections. It will create a permanent home where people can access Concorde 216, the last British Concorde assembled at the Filton site - which led the design, testing and production of the supersonic airliner.
The total cost of the project is £16m and Bristol Aero Collection Trust has already received significant pledged support from BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Airbus and South Gloucestershire Council as well as a number of local and national charitable trusts and major donors.
Weald and Downland Museum, ChichesterWeald and Downland Museum near Chichester also received significant HLF funding, gaining £4m for its Gateway Project, which aims to transform the way in which visitors experience the open air museum from the moment that they enter the site.
The new “gateway” will be built around the museum’s millpond, providing new orientation and interpretation galleries alongside new ticketing, retail and catering facilities, as well as the construction of an annexe for use as a classroom and venue for community events and functions.
Work will commence on the project during 2015 and it is hoped that the development will be ready for the beginning of the 2017 season.
The Fellowship Inn, London A semi-derelict south London pub originally built for First World War veterans and their families is set to be restored using a £3.8m HLF grant.
Social landlord Phoenix Community Housing has been awarded £3.8m to develop a wide range of new facilities at The Fellowship Inn in Bellingham, Lewisham, including a cinema, live music venue, café, microbrewery, bakery and artists’ studios.
The Fellowship was built in the 1920s as the first-ever pub to open on a London housing estate. It was part of a ‘Homes for Heroes’ development to ease inner-city overcrowding following the First World War and was used by the returning soldiers and their families for clubs, social activities and gatherings. The building was Grade II listed by English Heritage in 2013, as a “remarkably complete example of an interwar public house”.
The Engine Shed, Stirling£3.8m has been granted by the HLF for the construction of Scotland’s first building conservation centre at The Engine Shed in Stirling.
The funding is the last piece in the puzzle for the £8.9m project, which has already secured the rest from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Scottish government’s Young Scots Fund and Historic Scotland.
Stirling Council has already granted full planning permission for the project, which will see the transformation of a derelict building into an education centre for building heritage and conservation in Scotland, creating and delivering educational resources and training on traditional buildings and materials.
Sunderland's Old Fire StationThe transformation of Sunderland’s first fire station is part of a larger plan to build a new cultural quarter in the city.
The Sunderland Music, Arts and Culture (MAC) has been given £2.4m to redevelop the station – built in 1907 but standing empty since 1992 – which will now be brought back to life as a hub for cultural activity. The station will host dance and drama studios, a heritage centre, plus a bar and restaurant.
The Fire Station is the second stage of the MAC’s ambitious plans to create a £10m culture quarter in the centre of Sunderland that it hopes will re-establish the area's previous importance as the Edwardian heart and soul of Sunderland.
Old Royal Naval College, London£2.77m has been earmarked towards a £7m conservation effort to maintain 3,700sq m (40,000sq ft) of paintings in the Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College (ORNC).
Created in the early 18th century, the Grade I listed Painted Hall is one of Europe’s most important architectural interiors and is considered to be the greatest achievement of English Baroque art. Phase I of the conservation saw the west wall and upper hall ceiling restored, while Phase II will see the lower hall, the entrance vestibule and cupola similarly restored.
The Foundation will submit detailed project proposals, based on a feasibility study by Martin Ashley Architects, to HLF at the end of 2015 with a view to starting work on the project in Q3 of 2016.
