Tag: funding

Warwick Bridge Corn Mill Call for Volunteers

Warwick Bridge Corn Mill Call for Volunteers

mikenevell

A Cumbrian corn mill is calling for volunteers to help secure its future. Warwick Bridge Corn Mill Ltd, a Community Benefit Society (CBS) which runs the mill as a bakery business, is based within the historic corn mill. It uses UK-grown grain and historic machinery to produce flour, bread, and baked goods for the local community.

Warwick Bridge Corn Mill goes back over 850 years, and the current 18th and 19th century listed mill buildings were restored several years ago. However, its current opperating model is not sustainable without more volunteers, and mill is asking for community support to secure its future through volunteering at the bakery and donations.

The Cultura Trust, formerly North of England Civic Trust, acquired the mill in 2015 and raised nearly £2m to purchase and restore the grade II* listed mill back to full operation, thanks to £1.4m from the The National Lottery Heritage Fund, £187,000 from Historic England, and other grants from Cumbria County Council and a range of charitable trusts and donors. A grant from the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) in 1999/2000 had helped establish that a working mill and bakery was a viable proposition, powered by its revived historic water supply. In March 2025, the Cultura Trust handed over the freehold of the historic watermill to Warwick Bridge Corn Mill Limited (WBCML), which has operated the mill as a tenant since 2020.

Further details on how to help Warwick Bridge Corn Mill, and to get involved as a volunteer, can be found here: The Future – A Statement from the Management Committee – Warwick Bridge Corn Mill

The waterweheel at Warwick Brdge Corn Mill. Image courteys of Warwrick Bridge Corn Mill.
The Newcomen Society Launches Small Grants Scheme

The Newcomen Society Launches Small Grants Scheme

mikenevell

The Newcomen Society has introduced a Small Grants programme, aimed at organisations who are working in the field of the history of engineering and technology, and are charities, voluntary organisations, or registered archives holding relevant collections. The scheme will initially run for a year, February 2026 to February 2027, before being reviewed.

The new scheme is intended to fund projects which:

  1. Support the collection, cataloguing and preservation of objects and archives about the history of technology.
  2. Promote the display and interpretation of the history of technology.
  3. Encourage and support the publication and wider dissemination of material about the history of technology in a range of formats such as articles, videos, podcasts, conferences etc.

The minimum grant will be £500 and the maximum £10,000, with applications possible throughout the 12 months of the initial scheme. To download an application follow the link below:

Expressions of interest should be made by email or post to the Hon Secretary, The Newcomen Society, P O Box 79326, London SW1P 9NP Email: cosec@newcomen.com

All successful applicants will be required to submit an end of project report and are encouraged to submit article(s) on their projects for possible publication in Newcomen Links or the International Journal for the History of Engineering & Technology.

Two Industrial Sites on Victorian Society’s Ten Most Endangered Sites List for 2026

Two Industrial Sites on Victorian Society’s Ten Most Endangered Sites List for 2026

mikenevell

The Victorian Society has published its annual list of the ten most endangered buildings in Britain, and this year’s list includes two protected industrial heritage sites. The list is drawn up each year by the Victorian Society, and is selected from nominations made by the public, in order to raise the profile of the buildings it believes are most in need of rescue.

The former Strand Raiwlay Station, Barrow-in-Furness. Image courtesy of Thomas Ollivier & Victorian Society.

The former Strand Railway Station in Barrow-in-Furness, a Grade II listed building designed by the architect EG Paley and built in 1863, is a significant survivor from the earliest phase of the town’s rapid industrial growth. Once at the heart of a transforming settlement, it now stands vacant and deteriorating, its future uncertain.

James Hughes, Director of the Victorian Society, said: “This building is closely tied to Barrow’s remarkable rise as an industrial powerhouse. Its history of adaptation shows exactly the kind of sustainable reuse we should be championing today. What is needed now is a clear commitment to securing its future before further deterioration takes hold.”

The 1911 Grade II* Tees Transporter Bridge, engineer G.C. Imbault, and construction by Sir William Arrol & Co Ltd is an iconic symbol of Teesside’s industrial heritage. It has been closed since 2019 due to serious structural concerns. Spanning the River Tees between Middlesbrough and Port Clarence, it is one of the most recognisable engineering landmarks in the UK. 

Griff Rhys Jones, Victorian Society President, said: “You don’t need me to tell you that people love this bridge. It is a symbol. It is a monument. And more than that it is a link and a potential working part of Stockton and Middlesbrough. Got to be saved. Got to be operational again. If we can find money for new bridges, we can find money for this great survivor and all that it means.”

The full building list for 2026 can be found here: Endangered buildings – The Victorian Society

The Tees Transporter Bridge. Image courtesy of CAV Aerial.

More Industrial Heritage Sites Receive Government Grant Support

More Industrial Heritage Sites Receive Government Grant Support

mikenevell

130 cultural venues, museums, and libraries will receive a share of £127.8 million to protect them for present and future generations. This latest Government support forms part of the ‘Arts Everywhere Fund’. This is in addition to the heritage grants announced earlier in the month which were funded by the DCMS/Wolfson Museums & Galleries Improvement Fund.

These new monies form part of three funding streams administered and delivered by Arts Council England on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport. These are:

  • The Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) which has allocated £25.5 million to support 28 museums to undertake vital infrastructure works, and improve the visitor experience.
  • The Creative Foundations Fund (CFF) which has allocated £96 million to 74 arts and cultural venues to help theatres, performing arts venues, galleries and grassroots music venues address urgent infrastructure needs. 
  • The Libraries Improvement Fund (LIF) which has allocated a share of £6.3 million to 28 library services to help upgrade buildings and technology to better meet the needs of the community.

The industrial heritage museums and sites receiving support are:

  • Baltic Flour Mills Visual Arts Trust, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne – £3,649,800
  • Black Country Living Museum, Dudley – £454,159
  • Greater Manchester Transport Society – £244,000
  • London Transport Museum – £999,999
  • People’s History Museum, Manchester – £2,491,670
  • Port Sunlight Village Trust – £499,999
  • The Brickworks Museum, Southampton – £280,000
  • The Mill Arts Centre, Banbury – £135,000
  • Watermill Theatre, Newbury – £300,000
  • Whitchurch Silk Mill – £210,045

For further details follow this link: Arts Everywhere Funding – GOV.UK

People’s History Museum, Manchester. Image copyright Dr Michael Nevell.

Industrial Heritage Sites to Recieve Grants From the DCMS/Wolfson Museums & Galleries Improvement Fund

Industrial Heritage Sites to Recieve Grants From the DCMS/Wolfson Museums & Galleries Improvement Fund

mikenevell

24 local museums in England have been granted a share of £4 million through the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund. The Fund brings together £2 million in match funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and independent, grant making charity, the Wolfson Foundation. It supports local museums by improving displays, enhancing collection care, and making exhibitions more accessible to visitors.

The five industrial heritage museums that have recieved £1,034,200 from this year’s grant round are:

  • British Motor Museum, West Midlands – £147,700
  • Black Country Living Museum, West Midlands – £272,000
  • SS Great Britain, South West – £46,300
  • National Tramway Museum, East Midlands – £210,600
  • Food Museum, East of England – £357,600

Full details of the all the museums receiving grants here: Local museums receive £4 million to improve accessibility to arts and culture – GOV.UK

The DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund provides capital funding for museums and galleries across England to improve displays, protect collections and make exhibitions more accessible to visitors. For 2025-27, DCMS and the Wolfson Foundation have each contributed £2 million to the Fund, which has benefitted more than 440 projects in its more than 24-year history.

One of the trolley bused that will be renovated at the Black Country Living Museum. Image courtesy of the Black Country Living Museum.

Museum Development Grants – Next Round Opening

mikenevell

The next round of Museum Development grants for the English regions will be opening in the next few weeks. These include Open Grants, Small Grants, and bursaries from the five regional museum development networks in England, with grants ranging from £500 to £7000 depending on the region and type of activity. These are usually designed for accredited museums, or those sites working towards accredition.

Museum Development London are running a free online seminar detailing their grants for 2026-27 on the 23 April. To book follow this link: MDL grants programme 2026-27 coffee morning

Museum Development South East have two Open Grant streams. Round one is currently open and closes on 2 June. Round 2 opens on 21 September and closes on 4 November. For details on both follow this link: Open Grants – Museum Development South East

Applications for Museum Development Midlands Open Grants start on 30 April, with a deadline of 29 June. More details here: Open Grants · MDM

The Museum Development South West Open Grants scheme deadline is 15 April, but applications for their Capacity Grants opens on the 29 April. More details here: Capacity Builder – Museum Development South West

Museum Development North’s Continuing Professional Development Bursaries is a rolling programme, so applications can be submitted at any time from April to 3 December 2026. The scheme may close earlier if all funds have been allocated. Further details here: Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Bursaries – Museum Development North

MDM

SS Great Britain Launches Fundraiser to Complete Museum Renovation Project

SS Great Britain Launches Fundraiser to Complete Museum Renovation Project

mikenevell

The SS Great Britain Trust is looking to raise the final £180,000 over the next six weeks to help complete the major reinvention project of the museum, which lies next to the historic ship in the Floating Harbour. On 23 February, the old Dockyard Museum closed to make way for a refreshed museum scheduled to open in July 2026. This will bring to life the remarkable stories of the passengers and crew who travelled and worked aboard the SS Great Britain. Alongside the revamped museum there will be a new community hub, a safe and accessible space for local groups to gather, research, and host workshops.  

With £1.3m in investment already secured, the Trust are calling on visitors, local businesses, supporters worldwide, and the people of Bristol to get involved and help make the new museum a reality. The Dockyard Museum is being redesigned as an immersive experience focused on the “untold stories” of passengers who travelled aboard the SS Great Britain to destinations including New York, India and the Falkland Islands. The Trust has said that the “much-needed makeover” will “reveal stories from more of the passengers on board the SS Great Britain, but it will also allow today’s audiences to resonate with her history in an entirely new way”.

Further details on how to donate can be found here: All Hands On Deck – SS Great Britain

Eskdale Mill & Heritage Trust Fund Raiser

Eskdale Mill & Heritage Trust Fund Raiser

mikenevell

An online fundraiser has been set up to help the Eskdale Mill and Heritage Trust to raise funds to run community events and support their volunteers in sharing the mill with the public and local community in 2026.

Dating back to at least 1578, and located alongside Whillan Beck in Boot, Cumbria, the stone-built Grade II* listed Eskdale Mill demonstrates 500 years of water power and the traditional craft of corn milling. Last commercially worked during the 1930s to supply animal feed to local farmers, the mill still produces its own flour and has a modern hydro-electric waterwheel making it possible to continue to harness energy through water power. It is the last remaining working water-powered corn mill in the Lake District National Park.

Further details on how to donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/community-events-and-volunteering-in-2026?attribution_id=sl:db5ff4c1-225d-4850-a2ba-60db8108f385&lang=en_GB&ts=1770758294&utm_campaign=man_sharesheet_dash&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=twitter

The Exhibitions Group Awards 10 Grants to Improve Exhibition Accessibility

The Exhibitions Group Awards 10 Grants to Improve Exhibition Accessibility

mikenevell

The Exhibitions Group (TEG) has announced that ten Access Grants have been awarded as part of its pilot grant scheme to improve accessibility to exhibitions across the UK for disabled people. Amongst the recipients are Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust and Wakefield Museum and Castles.

The pilot scheme awarded grants of £1,500–£4,000 to support practical, meaningful work that advances access to exhibitions. The funded projects reflect the social model of disability, and support a wide range of access-focused activity, including co-creation with disabled people, accessible interpretation, physical adjustments, accessible programming, and staff and volunteer training.

The Exhibitions Group helps everyone involved in exhibition making to connect and create relevant, sustainable, diverse and accessible exhibitions with our training, resources, and networking opportunities. 

More details here: https://theexhibitionsgroup.org.uk/news/the-exhibitions-group-awards-10-access-grants-to-improve-exhibition-accessibility/

Shipley Glen Tramway Launches Fundraising Appeal

Shipley Glen Tramway Launches Fundraising Appeal

mikenevell

The Shipley Glen Tramway, near Saltaire in West Yorkshire, is launching a fundraising appeal for £89,000, to pay for vital repairs to the trackway after prolonged damage by the weather. It opened in 1895 linking Baildon with Saltaire and is Britain’s oldest working cable tramway. The tramway has two tracks and a pair of tram cars and runs every Sunday between midday and 16:00.

The site has been run by a charitable trust since 2002. Trustee John Pitcher, speaking to the BBC, said that the electrically-powered funicular had been assessed as safe to continue to operate. However, for the works to be carried out it would have to be temporarily closed. “What has happened, over the years, is that the damp has washed away underneath the tracks actually into the track bed, so the track bed is now a little bit unstable. Over the years we’ve maintained it, and you can stick patches on for so long, but there comes a time when you need a little bit more than an Elastoplast.”

More details on how to donate here: https://www.shipleyglentramway.co.uk/