Bringing James 1st of England back to the future! Hoghton Tower’s Project wins Heritage Lottery Fund support

Today, the Hoghton Tower Preservation Trust has received a grant of £96,300 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for an exciting new project, Project LEAP! The 2 year education and engagement project will be run from Hoghton Tower in Lancashire in partnership with the University of Lancaster’s history department.

The project aims to educate and inspire the next generation by bringing to life a key event in the Tower’s history, the 1617 visit of King James 1st of England, and allowing people to delve deeper into history and discover new information about that time. The project will galvanise interest and create new ways for everyone to discover, learn about and participate in this heritage site. This could be via oral history sessions – capturing the memories of the local community, new technologies – allowing access for all and new ways to learn. There will be opportunities for volunteer-led archival work and bursaries for research – to unearth previously unseen and unknown facts, outreach to schools – taking history to their door, free trips to the Tower and fantastic events, there will certainly be plenty of opportunities for people of all ages and walks of life to get involved, learn new skills and get inspired by history!

The Hoghton Tower Preservation Trust is a charity that works to preserve and restore Hoghton Tower. This ancient building has stood on its hill, between Preston and Blackburn, since it was rebuilt in 1565 and has seen periods of religious strife, war, explosions, royal visits, abandonment and now welcomes thousands of school children and visitors each year.

Commenting on the award, Trustee Elena Faraoni said: “We are thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund. We are confident that this project will help to take the Trusts education offer to the next level and make the Tower’s unique story come to life in new ways. We hope that the exciting opportunities made possible by this funding will attract new groups of visitors from all walks of life, and is in line with our desire to engage future generations to become as inspired by our heritage as we are”

Explaining the importance of the HLF support, the head of the HLF in the North West Sara Hilton, said: “This is an excellent project for people from all walks of life to get involved with this important heritage site in the North West. As well as giving people an opportunity to develop new skills; our National Lottery investment will also help uncover new stories about the fascinating reign of James 1st and preserve them for the future.”

ENDS
 
Notes to editors

Hoghton Tower Preservation Trust, registered charity number 508357

About the Heritage Lottery Fund
Thanks to National Lottery players, we invest money to help people across the UK explore, enjoy and protect the heritage they care about – from the archaeology under our feet to the historic parks and buildings we love, from precious memories and collections to rare wildlife. www.hlf.org.uk @heritagelottery
 
For further information, images and interviews, please contact
Elena Faraoni at Hoghton Tower on 07740 291668 or [email protected]