Heritage Crafts and the Sussex Heritage Trust working together to save endangered heritage crafts from extinction

Heritage Crafts and the Sussex Heritage Trust are delighted to announce another round of grants of up to £2,000 to help save endangered crafts such as brick making, masonry flint knapping and hurdle making from extinction.

In 2023 Heritage Crafts published the fourth edition of its ground-breaking Red List of Endangered Crafts, the first research of its kind to rank the UK’s traditional crafts by the likelihood that they will survive into the next generation. The report assessed 259 crafts to ascertain those which are at greatest risk of disappearing, of which 62 were classified as ‘critically endangered’ and a further 84 as ‘endangered’.

Thanks to a partnership with The Sussex Heritage Trust, Heritage Crafts are offering ring-fenced grants to Sussex-based practitioners of endangered crafts listed on the Red List, administered through the Endangered Crafts Fund. To date they have funded 12 practitioners including a rake maker, a wallpaper maker, and a gilder.

There is a maximum of £2,000 available for each project and Heritage Crafts will work with applicants to develop and support their work. Projects could include investing in more efficient machinery, developing new routes to market, taking on a trainee or apprentice, or other innovative approaches to supporting and promoting endangered crafts.

The Endangered Crafts Fund is now open with a deadline of 22 March 2024. Applications can be submitted online at www.heritagecrafts.org.uk/ecf-apply. Please note that this is a competitive process and not all applications will receive funding. Potential applicants who would like to talk over a project idea are encouraged to contact Tess at tess@heritagecrafts.org.uk.

Mary Lewis, Heritage Crafts Endangered Crafts Manager, said:
“During the energy crisis and cost-of-living crisis our craft skills are at more risk than ever before. We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Sussex Heritage Trust to address the specific challenges craftspeople are facing in Sussex, a region renowned for its craftsmanship and material heritage.”

Helen Reeve, of the Sussex Heritage Trust, said:
“At a time when over 20 building conservation crafts have been identified on the Red List of Endangered Crafts, as at risk, it is more important than ever the Sussex Heritage Trust with Heritage Crafts, continues to support Sussex-based craftspeople.”

For more information about the Endangered Crafts Fund, email Heritage Crafts Grants and Awards Officer Tess Osman at tess@heritagecrafts.org.uk or Sussex Heritage Trust General Manager, Helen Reeve at helen.reeve@sussexheritagetrust.org.uk.