Heritage treasures rescued
Many national treasures have been saved by grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, it has been announced, including Great Dixter, the home of the late Country Life writer Christopher Lloyd

The future of Great Dixter, the 15th-century home of Country Life’s late garden writer Christopher Lloyd, has been secured thanks to a £3.79 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The grant will enable Great Dixter to continue to be a Mecca for garden lovers and student gardeners, and the Great Dixter Trust will be able to provide further training opportunities for both novice and profession gardeners. This is part of the HLF’s latest round of awards, worth £21 million, which were announced today. The other five successful applicants include the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (£4.53 million), which will be able to double its gallery space, and 12th century St James Priory, Bristol (£3 million), which will enhance its drug rehabilitation. The Northern Irish site at Castle Hill and Ranfurley House, Dungannon (£2.24 million) will be redeveloped as a park; ancient hunting forest Epping Forrest (£4.76 million), will have a new interpretive centre and be able to preserve 1,200 veteran trees; and a new museum and archives centre will be created at ‘Experience Barnsley’ (£2.6 million) in Yorkshire. There are also ‘first-round passes’—the initial stage in securing funding—for a conservation project at Sir Walter Scott’s home, Abbotsford House in Scotland, Stouhampton Sea City Museum and Westonbirt Arboretum. HLF chairman Jenny Abramsky comments, ‘During these tough economic times, we still need to enjoy the things which enrich the quality of our daily lives, whether it’s a beautiful garden, a gallery full of wonderful paintings, or a much-loved historic building. Today’s substantial investment demonstrates that heritage is as much about the future as about the past.’
To comment on this article, use the comment box below, or email us at clonews@ipcmedia.com. Read more about the countryside.
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
-
The life that thrives among the dead: How wildlife finds a home in the graveyards and churchyards of Britain
Home to a veritable ‘Noah’s Ark of species’, thanks to never being ploughed, sprayed or fertilised, our churchyards offer a sacred haven for flora and fauna, says Laura Parker.
-
‘What a shame when a dinosaur disappears into the mansion of an oligarch rather than being displayed for all to enjoy’: The ethics of the dinosaur auction
Fancy a stegosaurus in your living room? You can buy one at auction. But the latest luxury good is a paleontologist's worst nightmare.