Heritage Lottery Fund Announces £47 million Boost For Six Attractions

Six heritage tourism projects in Britain are today celebrating the news that they have, well, won the lottery as the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has announced a £47 million injection,  awarded to existing and potential tourist attractions.

Brecknock Museum

The six projects that are getting the metaphorical champagne bottles out are Flax Mill Maltings in Shropshire which has been awarded £12.8 million, Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire (£10.5 million),  the Windermere Steamboat Museum in Cumbria (£9.4 million),  Knole Mansion in Kent (£7.75 million), Chester Farm in Northamptonshire (£4 million) and Brecknock Museum and Art Gallery which receives £2.5 million).

HLF announced that the grants "will enhance and promote a better understanding of our heritage while contributing to the £26bn UK heritage tourism economy".
Carole Souter, Chief Executive of HLF said that through research it had been discovered that more than a quarter of all UK holiday activities undertaken by UK residents now involve heritage sites. "These projects all offer the public the chance to explore and enjoy our rich and complex history," she said.

The largest award to the Flax Mill Maltings is an interesting one, with the money being used to develop a complex of 18th and 19th Century industrial buildings in Shrewsbury.
This complex includes the world's first iron-framed building, the forerunner to the modern skyscraper. In this case the money will be used to restore the buildings for commercial, community and visitor uses.

Windermere Steamboat Museum in Cumbria has been awarded £9.4m which will provide a  new museum on the edge of Lake Windermere to show the development of 200 years of  boatbuilding in the Lake District and will provide training and apprenticeship opportunities.

The Chester Farm in Northamptonshire, has received £4 million, which will be used to protect a complex of grade II and II* buildings that are currently at risk. The site provides evidence of human activity over 10,000 years.