Three industrial heritage sites have received grants this summer that will help upgrade and presevre their sites. Cromford Mills, the Dockyard Museum in Bristol, and the Long Shop in Leisten, have benefitted from a variety of grants that will help improve their futures.

The Arkwright Society has secured £1.3 million for Cromford Mills from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. This major investment marks the beginning of Cromford Mills: Celebrating Heritage, Creating a Sustainable Future, a once-in-a-generation project to restore and reimagine some of the UK’s most significant Grade I listed 18th-century buildings.  The work will focus on the transformation of the landmark four-storey 1770s Mill, Building 1, which greets you as you walk through the main entrance to the mills. Follow this link: https://www.cromfordmills.org.uk/news/cromford-mills-awarded-major-grant-from-the-national-heritage-lottery-fund-2/

The Dockyard Museum by the SS Great Briain in Bristol will be redesigned as an immersive experience exploring how Brunel’s famous ship changed the world, as well as telling the stories of more than 30,000 passengers and crew who travelled aboard the vessel between 1845 and 1886. This is thanks to £705,000 secured from the Philip Nicholas Trust and £245,000 awarded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Follow this link: https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/1m-spent-complete-reimagining-museum/

AIM has give £14,000 from its AIM Musuem Fundamentals funds to the Long Shop for the redesign and redisplay of ‘Made in Leiston’ gallery. The design and content of the new exhibition is based on audience research conducted over the last two seasons. The new displays will focus on unlocking the social history of the town and the people who lived and worked at the engineering works and town over a 250-year span, and on technological change. Follow this link: https://aim-museums.co.uk/news/first-aim-museum-fundamentals-awards-made/