Historic England to Celebrate Rural and Coastal Working-Class Heritage in the North East

• Rural and coastal community and heritage organisations are invited to apply for funding through Historic England’s Everyday Heritage grants programme, celebrating working class histories
• Historic England will fund new projects to explore untold stories and celebrate the people and places at the heart of our history
• Launched in 2022, the Everyday Heritage grants programme has already supported over 100 projects, celebrating fascinating stories from across England

Applications open on 16 August and close on 7 October

• To apply, visit https://historicengland.org.uk/everydayheritage/

Today (Friday 16 August), Historic England announces new funding for its Everyday Heritage grants programme, celebrating working class histories. This time, with a focus on buildings or places in rural and coastal locations.

From the North Pennines to Berwick upon Tweed grants will be available to fund community-led and people-focused projects that aim to further the nation’s collective understanding of the past. They will need to focus on heritage that links people to overlooked historic places, with a particular interest in recognising and celebrating working class histories.  

So far, the Everyday Heritage grant programme has funded extraordinary projects in the North East ranging from the history of drag in Newcastle’s Pink Triangle to memories of the Easington Welfare Centre in County Durham.

Now Historic England is inviting groups to explore some of the hidden histories of rural locations such as villages, hamlets, farmland, and moors, alongside coastal locations including the seaside, docks, piers and cliffs.

Launched in 2022, the programme has already funded over 100 projects to a total of £1.8 million, celebrating fascinating untold stories from across England. Each grant awarded so far has left lasting legacies for the communities involved.  

Heritage Minister Sir Chris Bryant said: “The Everyday Heritage grants programme helps to uncover forgotten or overlooked stories that have been at the heart of working class communities so that they can be properly celebrated by future generations.

“I am delighted that people living in our many diverse rural and coastal towns and villages will have this opportunity to shine a spotlight on the stories and places that matter to them.”

Sean Curran, Head of Inclusive Heritage at Historic England, said: “Heritage is all around us – it’s the pubs, factories, football clubs and council estates where most people have lived, worked and played for hundreds of years. But often the stories of ordinary people and places aren’t included in the history records and memories of their extraordinary impact on history fade away.

“This programme is all about funding community-led projects that will recognise and celebrate the lives of ordinary people. Over the past few years, projects have surpassed our expectations and now we hope that by focusing on rural and coastal heritage we can help communities uncover even more forgotten histories for us all to learn from and enjoy.”

Previous projects funded by Everyday Heritage grants

Northern Souls: Going Down the Welly, Creative Lives and BBC Radio Tees

Easington Welfare Centre, or ‘The Welly’ as it’s known to local residents, has long been a hub of creativity and social interaction. Providing a distraction from the stresses of pit closures, the Centre offered friendship and support when it was needed most.

A partnership between Creative Lives and BBC Radio Tees, Northern Souls – ‘Going Down The Welly’ revealed personal stories about the social club over the past 60 years, as well as highlighting its importance as a local venue today.

Producer, Rachel Teate spoke to 12 Easington locals about their relationship with The Welly, from those who knew it as children to volunteers who give their time to ensure its survival. The interviews – available on BBC Sounds – demonstrated how the Centre played a key role in Easington’s history.

The Tyne and The Tide Project South, Hand Of, South Tyneside

This project saw students from primary schools in Jarrow come together to explore South Tyneside’s rich coastal history at the historic Grade II listed South Shields Volunteer Life Brigade (SSVLB) Watch House. Volunteers from this community group have been saving lives along the South Shields coastline for over 150 years.

In May, a group of young people from the local area spent five days at the SSVLB headquarters, engaging with the history of the site through workshops and activities. These included taking the SSVLB’s life saving equipment from the late 1800s onto the beach to stage their own rescue mission, exploring archive materials from the Parliamentary Archives, and using drama, music and art to creatively explore and engage with the artefacts found in the Watch House.

Staiths & Me, Dunston Community Centre

Dunston Staiths, on the River Tyne, is believed to be the largest timber structure in Europe. Dunston Community Centre’s project, ‘Staiths and Me’ engaged young people at risk of exclusion or not in education, work or training to re-connect with the Staiths by exploring their local history and making creative responses.

This project has resulted in a suite of AI poems about the Staiths to accompany a film which has been shared online.

You can learn more about some of the past projects Historic England has funded here.  

Everyday Heritage Grants: Celebrating Working Class Histories is one of the cultural projects Historic England is delivering to shine a light on the diversity of the nation’s heritage.   

How to Apply

Historic England is inviting community and heritage organisations across the country to apply for grants of up to £25,000 through its Everyday Heritage Grants: Celebrating Working Class Histories.  

Each project should enable people to share untold stories about the places where they live, encouraging communities to examine and tell their own stories in their own ways.  

Applications open on Friday 16 August and close on Monday 7 October.  

For more information visit https://historicengland.org.uk/everydayheritage/  

Inclusive Heritage Advice Hub

Historic England has just launched a new online Inclusive Heritage Advice Hub. This is part of our commitment to supporting the heritage sector to become more diverse, to engage a wider range of people with heritage, and to recognise and celebrate a more inclusive heritage. The Hub contains digestible information for any organisation working with heritage who want guidance on making their work as diverse and inclusive as possible and will be useful to applicants applying to this grant. Case Studies of the successful projects from this round of the grants will be showcased on here.

Visit the Advice Hub here.