Twenty heritage projects across Furness are celebrating after receiving a share of £50,000 to support their efforts.

The grants are being awarded from the Barrow’s Heritage – Micro to Mighty scheme by Westmorland and Furness Council, supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Artists, musicians, bell ringers, cricketers, golfers, rugby players, school children and members of the d/Deaf community are among those whose projects are receiving micro-grants between £200 and £3,000 to continue their existing work or help new ideas off the ground.

Councillor Virginia Taylor, the council’s Cabinet Member for Sustainable Communities and Localities, said: “These Micro to Mighty grants enable people from all walks of life to explore together what life was like here in the past, and to capture memories in all sorts of imaginative ways – whether that’s making a film, writing or playing music, playing a round of golf with an antique hickory wood club or writing a seaside memory on a special piece of paper you’ve learned to make yourself.

“People come together in a shared interest at the workshops, activities and events.

“I am blown away by the number of volunteers and groups dedicating their time, knowledge and passion to these heritage projects.

“It enriches everyone when people of all ages, skills and experience work together celebrating the place where they live.

“There are Mighty benefits for everyone’s wellbeing, including combating loneliness which is a problem for many people nowadays.

“Our Council Plan recognises that the strength of Westmorland and Furness is in its people and this project really shows what that means.

“I’m delighted these grants will help so many worthwhile projects to thrive and so many people to take part.”

The underlying aim of the scheme is to involve a wider range of people in heritage than previously by supporting organisations who are committed to exploring ways of reaching new and less engaged audiences.

The Barrow’s Heritage – Micro to Mighty scheme is made possible with money raised by National Lottery players and builds on the success of a similar programme in 2017 when grants worth £51,000 were awarded to 20 applicants including schools, community groups and arts organisations.

Helen Featherstone, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “It is fantastic to see the progression of the Micro to Mighty community grants in Barrow and how the scheme is helping to engage local people in heritage that matters the most to them.

“Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, we are very proud to continue our support for this programme that will ensure more local stories are preserved for future generations and help to further a sense of pride in place for communities.”

The recipients of the latest grants worth a total of £50,000 are as follows:

• BarrowFull – to explore Barrow’s notable residents and install a multimedia display in two telephone boxes.
• CandoFM radio station – to perform a live heritage play.
• Art Gene – to research, interview and record stories from past attendees of the old technical college, now the Nan Tait Centre in Barrow.
• Bell ringers of St James’ Church, Barrow – to buy a projector, screen and wombel, a portable one-bell simulator which can be rung with a real bell rope to visually and audibly demonstrate what happens inside a bell tower, and to give members of the public a go under expert supervision. 
• Artworks – Art4All – to explore the history of paper making and to hold paper making workshops and host a community event (see case study below).
• Barrow Cricket Club – to install an interpretation board displaying the club’s history and to hold a launch engagement event. 
• Barrow-in-Furness Civic and Local History Society – to host an event to promote the “Furness: Stories Behind the Stones” website and talks/tours, and to upload to the website additional details of gravestones of interest at churchyards and cemeteries across Furness.
• The Dunnerholme Golf Club, Askam-in-Furness – to produce a timeline display board charting the club’s history from its founding to its 125^th year, and to host a competition using the original 1900s hickory golf clubs (see case study below).
• Lindal & Marton Parish Council – to restore the model of an iron ore mine pithead permanently housed in a glass case at St Peter’s Church, Lindal-in-Furness, to create new explanation boards and an audio description, and to hold a launch event to promote the project.
• Friends of South Walney Infants – to involve school children in the history of a shelter on Walney. Freelancers will work with pupils on creative projects and display their work in the shelter. An interpretation board will also be created, explaining the relevance of the shelter to local people.
• Friends of Artspace – to explore the history of Barrow’s music scene, engaging a wide cross section of the town’s population.
• Seahouse Media – to create an album of original songs using the history of Barrow’s working-class life as its subject matter. 
• Ormsgill Stronger Together – to hold workshops, visits and events to research the history and natural heritage of the disused Hawcoat Quarry in Ormsgill and the significance of St Bees sandstone.
• Brathay Trust – to deliver a ‘Heritage roots and green shoots’ project working with a school to create awareness of local heritage and introduce green space as natural heritage at the school. The project will include local activities and a class-based heritage and nature committee.
• Newbarns ward community and residents – to organise a series of local history walks in the Newbarns ward and the creation of history signs. The walks, conducted with local school children, will be led by local historians who will share interesting historical facts about Newbarns.
• Friends of Ormsgill Reservoir – to host an event/workshop to engage the community in the history of Ormsgill Reservoir and encourage people to explore the heritage of allotments.
• Drop Zone Youth Project – to deliver an intergenerational project around the history of Drop Zone’s base, Lakeland House in Barrow, originally a jute mill and then the Lakeland Pennine laundry. 
• Friends of Bram – to develop a piece of land as part of a children’s nursery and community hub for families in need on Barrow Island, with raised beds, a sensory garden, patio, kitchen cabin, Men in Sheds workshop and bicycle repairs. The Friends of Bram also plan to open up a WW2 air raid shelter on the site for educational purposes, and they hope to hold a grand opening for the entire project at the end of March 2024.
• Barrow Raiders – to explore the history of women’s rugby league. 
• Cumbria Deaf Association – to celebrate 130 years of d/Deaf culture by producing a short film celebrating the charity’s history and increasing awareness of the d/Deaf community in Barrow.