A grant of £239,000 has been awarded to help local communities get involved in celebrations to mark the 1900 anniversary of the building of Hadrian’s Wall.
Of the overall amount provided by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, a significant proportion will be made available by English Heritage in Hadrian’s Wall 1900 Community Grants to go directly to organisations and groups along the length of Hadrian’s Wall to mark the festival through events, initiatives and activities. An application process will open towards the end of this month when details will be available on the Hadrian’s Wall 1900 website.
The award will also enhance one of the festival’s landmark projects; Festival of Saturnalia – a wall-wide community celebration that will draw a close to Hadrian’s Wall 1900 Festival in December. Further details of how groups and individuals can take part in Saturnalia will be announced in the summer.
Extraordinary Excavators, an exhibition at Corbridge Roman Town, which aims to bring to life the stories behind the anonymous local labours who helped uncover the site in the years before World War One, will also benefit from the award.
Andrea Selley, English Heritage Territory Director North said: “This award will enable community groups in both rural and urban areas to get more involved in Hadrian’s Wall 1900 and will also allow existing projects to be extended for more people to enjoy. I’m pleased that English Heritage is able to help facilitate the award on behalf of the Hadrian’s Wall Partnership and grateful to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for their continued support of Hadrian’s Wall.”
Bill Griffiths, Chair of the HW Partnership Steering Group, said: “This award is fantastic news and will enable the festival to engage with ever more communities in exploring what 1,900 years of a World Heritage Site means to them. It also demonstrates the strength of the Hadrian’s Wall Partnership, in that different partners are able to work together to attract significant funding like this.”
David Renwick, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “We’re delighted that thanks to National Lottery players we are able to support communities to get involved in Hadrian’s Wall 1900 Festival. The programme will ensure that the local community is strengthened through enabling them to better understand their heritage and history and sharing the stories that really matter to them.
“Hadrian’s Wall is one of many heritage treasures in the north of England and we know that projects like these are a great way of bringing people together and creating pride of place.”
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