The Architectural Heritage Fund

15/10/2026

Since 1976, the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) has supported over 2,400 community-led projects across the UK, awarding more than £182 million to breathe new life into our historic built environment.

To mark this 50-year milestone, the UK-wide touring exhibition “50 Years of Reimagining Heritage” is heading to London for its next stop.

The exhibition highlights the inspiring stories of the communities, places, and historic buildings shaping our architectural future.

📍 Where: The London Centre, 3 Aldermanbury, London EC2V 7HH

🗓️ When: 22nd October – 4th November (Tuesday–Saturday, 11am–5pm)

🎟️ Entry: Free admission

🔗 Learn more via the link in the comments

Thank you to our exhibition designers, Seeing Things Creative, for delivering the brilliant presentation designs. The AHF 50th-anniversary celebrations are made possible thanks to support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery players.

📸 Pictured here is Clevedon Pier, Somerset. Credit: Clevedon Pier and Heritage Trust.

15/10/2026

The ‘Saving the Home of Auld Lang Syne’ project, led by Robert Burns Ellisland Trust, will secure the home of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, and conserve, refurbish and enhance it for future generations.

Having previously awarded multiple grants to the Robert Burns Ellisland Museum and Farm, we are really pleased to have provided further support to the project through a loan.

Joan McAlpine, Project Director, said that this support ‘gave [the Trust] great reassurance as a small organisation managing a major complex project’.

Need help breathing new life into a historic building? The AHF has a range of funds, including grants and social investment, available for not-for-profit organisations across the UK who want to bring historic buildings back into use.

More details: 👇
https://ahfund.org.uk/what-we-do/fund/

14/10/2026

Time to raise a glass to Project of the Week 40: The Ivy House 🍻

Originally established as the Newlands Tavern by the Dickason family in the 1860s, this pub was later taken over by Truman’s Brewery.

It was rebuilt in 1937 to a design described by a local newspaper as ‘most modern and elaborate’, complete with a ballroom designed for 150 concert goers - thanks to this, the pub also emerged as an important music venue over time.

Having been saved from closure and demolition in the early 2010s, The Ivy House became London’s first community-owned pub in 2013. Today, residents and visitors alike come to the pub to enjoy its craft beers, homemade pizzas, and a wide range of live events and activities, from gigs and film nights to book clubs and knitting groups.

'Being community owned brings a strong sense of security and pride. It is our pub. The community owns The Ivy House, but The Ivy House drives the community.’

Find out more about this project: 👇 https://ahfund.org.uk/anniversary/the-ivy-house

📸 Photos courtesy of The Ivy House. Pictured here is:
1. The restored sign of The Ivy House.
2. The ballroom at The Ivy House.

13/10/2026

🚨 Funding news!

We are delighted to announce that we have awarded new grants through our Heritage Revival Fund, which is made possible by generous funding from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and delivered in partnership with Historic England.

From a medieval high street to a former Quaker School, the grants will support communities across England to breathe new life into historic buildings.

Read more about the successful projects, including:
⭐ 17-21 Chapel Street, Bradford.
⭐ The Burges, Coventry. Historic Coventry Trust
⭐ Barnsley Civic

Full story ⬇️
https://ahfund.org.uk/what-we-do/inspire/news/heritage-revival-fund-grants

Pictured here is:
1. Barnsley Civic. Credit: James Mulkeen.
2. The Burges, Coventry.
3. Volunteer day at 17-21 Chapel Street, Bradford. Credit: People’s Property Portfolio.

09/10/2026

The latest chapter of Project Tullie is complete, and the Dye Works is preparing to open its doors! 🙌

Tullie is a museum, gallery and community hub situated in the heart of Carlisle’s historic quarter.

As part of Project Tullie – an ambitious, long-term programme of work to transform Tullie over the next 10-15 years – an interconnecting set of Grade II listed buildings at 6-16 Castle Street have undergone an extensive programme of restoration and renovation.

With the transformation of these historic buildings now complete, they will reopen as the Dye Works, providing:
- Accessible community spaces 👥
- A new gallery 🖼
- Flexible facilities for businesses, including a boardroom, long-term office rentals, meeting spaces, and a well-being lounge, with a hot desking/co-working space coming soon 💻 💼

We supported the repair and redevelopment of 6-16 Castle Street into the Dye Works with a Capital Works Grant through the Heritage Revival Fund – made possible by funding from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and delivered in partnership with Historic England. It was a pleasure to attend a launch celebration yesterday evening and to have been one of the first to get to see inside the buildings! 👀

The Dye Works will officially launch tomorrow (Saturday 10 October) with a public open day. A range of free activities will be on offer - including zine making, badge making and poetry writing - and visitors can explore the transformed spaces and learn all about the programme of community, cultural and commercial activity that will take place within.

📸 The exterior of the Dye Works after restoration. Credit: Tullie.

07/10/2026

07/10/2026

06/10/2026

‘From arts and culture to business and innovation, our beautiful and inspiring venue is putting our neighbourhood on the map, locally, regionally, and globally.’

Built in 1870 during a population boom in Kingston-upon-Hull, St Matthew’s Church went on to serve its community for nearly 145 years before closing in 2013.

Local housing provider Giroscope Hull rapidly saw potential in the building and set out on a project to bring it back to life.

Having been reopened as St Matthew’s Community Enterprise Centre in 2025, the former church is now home to a community-led office, co-working and enterprise space, with over 1,600 users already part of the community.

Find out more about this Project of the Week for : ⬇
https://ahfund.org.uk/anniversary/former-st-matthews-church

📸 Pictured here is:
1. The exterior of the former St Matthew’s Church.
2. The opening of St Matthew’s Community Enterprise Centre in 2025.
3. The opening of St Matthew’s Community Enterprise Centre in 2025. Credit: Octovision Media.

06/10/2026

To celebrate our 50th anniversary, we have put together a list of 25 standout projects.

The list includes The Farmer’s Arms at Lowick Green, which we are really pleased to see featured on ITV News. We supported Grizedale Arts in 2021 with steps to restore this listed building purchased during the Covid-19 pandemic. It has now been transformed into a hybrid pub and arts centre serving the rural community.

There’s a nice little shout out to the Old Police Station in Langholm in this piece too, which is another great project that has created affordable housing.

Watch the video here: 👇
https://www.itv.com/watch/news/country-pub-and-arts-centre-recognised-by-architectural-heritage-fund/85dqxtj

Watch the latest from ITV News - Charity Grizedale Arts got the keys to the Farmers' Arms in the South Lakes back in 2021, aiming to turn the listed building a multipurpose education space.

29/09/2026

It’s time for Project of the Week 38, which just happens to be recognised as the birthplace of something most of us use unthinkingly every day… Hint: 🍴

Built in Sheffield in 1879, Portland Works is one of the last remaining working examples of a purpose-built metal trades factory. It is here in this Grade II*-listed site that stainless steel cutlery was first produced back in 1914.

Having ceased production in the 1960s, the buildings fell into decline and later faced the threat of residential conversion. It was a social enterprise comprising of more than 500 community shareholders that swooped in to save the day, ultimately purchasing the site in 2013.

Today, Portland Works is a thriving artisan cooperative, home to over 30 different craftspeople and small manufacturers who make everything from violins and willow coffins to longbows and leather belts to gin and jewellery.

Read more: 👇
https://ahfund.org.uk/anniversary/portland-works

📸 Pictured here is:
1. Cutlery Factory at Portland Works, c.1900. Credit: Portland Works.
2. The front elevation of Portland Works today.
3. Emma Hardy of Hardy Violins, Portland Works tenant. Credit: Joanne Crawford.