I am delighted to announce that more than £3,040,868 of National lottery money has been invested in Daventry's heritage projects since 1994.
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded more than 71 grants to heritage projects in and around Daventry, from exploring local archaeology and restoring local parks and buildings to protecting wildlife and researching local wildlife.
As recently as March 207 HLF awarded £7,000 to the Whilton Local History Society, this was one of the projects exploring the impact and legacy of the First World War beyond 1918. This project involves two small neighbouring provinces Whilton and East Haddon respectively the birthplace and home of Captain henry Reynolds who won both the Militarily Cross and the Victory cross in 1917. The project is succeeding in educating a wide range of people about henry's life and the impact of war on local families. In Whilton on 20 September there will be a ceremony and church service, exactly 100 years since Captain Reynolds won the Victoria Cross at Passchendaele.
HLF has previously invested almost £1.5 million in order to help conserve Kelmarsh Hall. The project called 'Tunnelling through the Past' conserved the previously neglected and hidden 'below stairs' areas of Kelmarsh Hall. 'Tunnelling through the Past' created an opportunity for visitors to understand how the house functioned.
Now HLF is encouraging people in Daventry to apply for grants between £3000 and £10,000 to undertake projects exploring the impact and legacy of WW1. This could be looking at the role the war played in bringing about universal suffrage, the mechanisation of agriculture or the treasure trove of local stories.
Daventry has an incredible rich history and I'm delighted to learn that thanks to the National Lottery local people have been exploring and enjoying that heritage. just like many towns and cities across the UK, the Daventry we live in today was shaped by WW1and so I strongly encourage local people to make use of the money available form Heritage Lottery fund to explore its legacy further.
Sir Peter Luff Chair of HLF said: ''Sadly 'the war to end all wars' was no such thing and so it is right the events of the First World War should never be forgotten. We've been helping across the UK explore an incredible array of stories from 1914-18, but the war had an impact beyond 1918 and we must recognize this. The legacy Ww1 needs to be better understood and so we are encouraging people to come to us with their ideas for projects.''