Trusts behind a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Museum of Lead Mining are among the recipients of a shared £4.4m in funding for Scottish heritage.
The funding has been awarded by the National Heritage Memorial Fund as part of the Covid-19 Respond Fund to counter the impacts of the pandemic.
New Lanark Trust has been awarded £2.3m to undertake maintenance and repairs across the 18th century Mill Village, which sits alongside the River Clyde.
Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001, New Lanark Trust will use the capital to undertake maintenance of a number of Category A listed buildings on the site, which had been delayed because of the pandemic.
The grant will also enable specific work on the roofs of the School House, Nursery and New Buildings and Long Row to take place.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund said prior to the pandemic New Lanark averaged 320,000 visitors per annum, making it the leading paid visitor attraction in South Lanarkshire. The funding is hoped to support a return to these numbers.
Also awarded funding is Tall Ship Glenlee, a 125-year old ship and one of only five of its kind still afloat today. £1.8m has been awarded to address the repairs backlog that arose due to the pandemic.
Wanlockhead Museum Trust has been awarded £75,752 to support repairs to the historic Miners’ Library, Straitsteps Cottages and Goldscaur Cottage, part of the Museum of Lead Mining. The pandemic forced the museum to close and put their fundraising campaign on hold, with resulting deterioration to the buildings putting the historic structures and collections they contain at risk.
The Scottish Railway Preservation Society has been awarded £144,290 to complete the restoration of a locomotive on long-term loan from National Museums Scotland. The funding will enable the locomotive to run on the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway.
The restoration was being undertaken in other parts of the UK when the pandemic hit, putting the locomotive at risk of not being reassembled.
James Pow, Chair of New Lanark Trust, said: “Whilst the site fully re-opened to visitors in May 2022 the legacy of the pandemic, which limited income and reduced operations particularly around the maintenance of our world renowned heritage assets, needs to be addressed. With this significant funding award, the Trust will be able to accelerate much needed works to ensure the site continues to be conserved with integrity and provides a place where people who live, work and visit can enjoy and learn about the unique heritage the site has to share.”
Dr Simon Thurley CBE, Chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, added: “We’re extremely proud to have provided a lifeline for some of Scotland’s incredible heritage sites and assets through the Covid-19 Response Fund – from historic ships and locomotives to museums – helping them to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic.”
