Lancaster City Museums awarded National Lottery grant to help support review

Lancaster City Council has received a £68,512 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to support a project that aims to make its museums fit for the future.

In addition to £20,000 from the council’s own reserves, the funding will kickstart a review to develop a suite of options for the City, Maritime, Cottage and King’s Own Royal Regiment museums.

This will include whether development work could increase the accessibility and environmental sustainability of the museums, while preserving the heritage represented in their collections.

To make sure the review includes as wide a range of views as possible, a short survey has been put together to gather people’s views on what they value most, or areas that could be improved.

The online survey is available at https://keepconnected.lancaster.gov.uk/museum-service-review and paper copies can be completed at any of the city council’s museums.

Councillor Catherine Potter, Cabinet Member with special responsibility for the visitor economy, community wealth building and culture, said: “We’re thrilled to have received this support thanks to National Lottery players.

“Arts and culture figure are key drivers of the local economy and the city council wants to ensure a sustainable future for its museums.

“This grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund will help us to access the information and analysis we need so the museums can continue their mission of acting as the district’s custodians of our history and heritage.”

Helen Featherstone, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, added: “We are proud to award this grant to Lancaster City Museums for an important resilience project that will ensure the long-term sustainability of museums across the city.

“Thanks to National Lottery players, this review will explore opportunities to strengthen their offering, improve accessibility and ensure their collections are preserved for years to come.”

 

• Notes to editors

About Lancaster City Museums

Lancaster City Museums incorporates Lancaster City Museum, Lancaster Maritime Museum, The Cottage Museum and King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment Museum. The museums also support the Roman bath-house and Wery Wall site on Vicarage Fields. In 2023 the City Museums celebrated their centenary.

The City Museum is open 10.30am – 4pm Admission is free. (Closed Wednesdays and Thursdays)

The Maritime Museum is open 12pm - 4pm Admission is £3 Adults/£2 concessions/Children and Local Residents Free. (Closed Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays)

Website: www.lancaster.gov.uk/museums

About The National Lottery Heritage Fund

As the largest dedicated funder of the UK’s heritage, The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033.

Over the next ten years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to bring about benefits for people, places and the natural environment.

We help protect, transform and share the things from the past that people care about, from popular museums and historic places, our natural environment and fragile species, to the languages and cultural traditions that celebrate who we are.

We are passionate about heritage and committed to driving innovation and collaboration to make a positive difference to people’s lives today, while leaving a lasting legacy for future generations to enjoy. 

Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund  www.heritagefund.org.uk

 

Last updated: 15 July 2024