Four “Heritage Starter” grants have just been awarded to local organisations to support heritage projects, small and large, made possible through the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Over the next 18 months, the programme aims to encourage people from North East Lincolnshire and beyond to consider what they know, or think they know, of North East Lincolnshire, its people and how North East Lincolnshire has been shaped the world.
The first four grants cover history, education and shared heritage.
Tea with Spider T is a research project that will record and showcase the early 20th Century history of vessels on the Humber, including the particularly rare Humber Sloop, Spider T, which worked the Humber from 1926 and is still sailing from Grimsby today.
Hazel Chase, from the CIC behind Tea with Spider T said: “We’re a group of heritage enthusiasts that meet monthly to create records for the future. We look at vehicles, sea-going vessels and a wide variety of artefacts from the Napoleonic Wars to the 1960s, and we can’t wait to showcase our research in the coming year.”
Great British Fish and Chips is another research project. The project uses fish and chips as an entry point to explore notions of cultural and social history, national identity, and migration, among other things. This is a collaborative project between Our Big Picture, visual journalist Olivier Kugler, and journalist and writer Andrew Humphreys.
Paula Denton, from Our Big Picture, the company behind the proposals, said: “This will kickstart a bigger project which will end up in a set of narrative artworks to be exhibited around Grimsby, and elsewhere. The work will ultimately be published in a book by a major UK publisher. We want to gather historical evidence of the role fishing played in the development of Grimsby – from sea to plate – and the impact on our past, present and future communities.”
Documenting my Ability is a project by Amy Dixon, being run in conjunction with Foresight in Partnership with WEA.
Amy Dixon, project leader, said: “We’re delighted to be able to do this project. We’ll be running workshop courses for disabled people in North East Lincolnshire to give them the skills and knowledge to create mini-documentaries of their lives and the 20 years history of Foresight. At the end of the project, we’ll have a showcase event, which will be made available to the public and in an online archive to make sure the heritage is preserved and easily accessible.”
Capturing Cleethorpes Cultures is a project being organised by Capacity Buildings, a not-for-profit organisation based in Cleethorpes. This project will work with communities and local historians to research popular cultural events held in the town.
Paula Grant, from Capacity Buildings, said: “We want to involve as many Cleethorpes residents as possible in this project. We want to create mini-re-enactments of local cultural events and traditions, particularly those involving older residents so they can share their stories and experiences. And we also want to work with younger Cleethorpes residents to re-interpret the customs and traditions to make new ones for future generations to get involved with.”
Cllr Callum Procter, Cabinet member for heritage, said: “I’m really pleased to see several projects already coming forward – we have a really rich history and heritage in Grimsby, and this is a unique time for communities to build on their collective knowledge.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how our community can make the most of this fund, involving local people along the way, and helping them take pride in their own history and heritage.”
Applications are still open for local projects, with a value of between £500 and £10,000, to come forward for consideration, with up to 100% of funding for projects available.
The ‘Heritage Starter Fund’ has been made possible with £250,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and aims to widen audiences for heritage and to ensure that heritage plays a key role in helping communities recover from the impacts of COVID19. North East Lincolnshire was selected for a grant, as an Area of Focus for National Lottery Heritage Fund as an area of low heritage investment and high levels of deprivation.
North East Lincolnshire Council has been working in partnership with Heritage Lincolnshire to develop a new Heritage Network for North East Lincolnshire who have helped the ‘Heritage Starter’ grants to enable community organisations to access funds to explore local heritage.
To find out more about the Heritage Starter Grants, and to access the application form, visit www.nelincs.gov.uk and search for “Heritage Starter”.