Historic England

Places grants

Historic England's Places grants fund projects that repair, conserve and care for historic places in England, including listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens and historic buildings in conservation areas. They cover capital repairs, project development (such as condition surveys and feasibility studies), temporary protection of vacant buildings, adaptive reuse and related interpretation. Applications are open all year: you start with a 30-minute expression of interest, and Historic England invites the strongest projects to make a full application. Funding is competitive and no grant sizes are published.

Apply on the funder’s site

You could get: £1,000 – £1,000,000; no fixed round
Deadline: Rolling; apply any time
Effort: Heavy; budgets, references, often several stages

Who can apply

Individuals (such as private owners or leaseholders) and organisations, including UK charities and trusts, educational institutions, public bodies and companies
Organisations must have the legal authority to carry out the project and accept the grant terms
Charities give their registered charity number on the form
The project must be in England, involve an eligible historic asset (see what is funded) and meet at least one of Historic England's grant priorities: helping more people connect with and benefit from the historic environment; using heritage to improve civic pride, prosperity and wellbeing; achieving positive change and a sustainable future for historic places; and tackling climate change
Assets owned by public bodies such as councils, universities, NHS bodies, free schools and academies are eligible only if they are not part of the owner's operational estate
Groups of buildings and public realm in a conservation area are for local authority applicants only
Historic England particularly welcomes projects in the most deprived communities (measured by the English indices of deprivation), partnership projects that build community skills, and projects that bring vacant sites back into use
Grant recipients must be IR35 compliant and follow Historic England's procurement rules
There are no income limits

What it funds

Activities that repair, conserve and care for eligible historic assets:

Capital works, including repair and preservation, with professional fees, non-recoverable VAT and insurance; minor repairs, improvements and alterations only as part of a larger repair project that improves long-term resilience and usability using a whole-building approach
Project development such as research, investigations, testing and monitoring (for example energy audits), condition surveys, management plans, reuse studies, feasibility assessments, material procurement and accessibility audits
Managing scheduled monuments
Standalone maintenance programmes for groups of designated assets or conservation areas, including project design, contractors and volunteer training
Temporary protection of vacant buildings (urgent repairs, security, fire prevention, vegetation and wildlife control)
Adaptive reuse as an essential part of a larger Historic England-funded project
Managed decline (recording and making safe where preservation is not feasible)
Statutory action by local authorities
Acquisition support for local authorities or new owners of properties at risk
Heritage interpretation, such as information panels, as part of capital works

Eligible assets: Grade I or II* listed buildings; scheduled monuments; Grade I or II* registered parks and gardens; Grade II buildings, parks and gardens and other significant buildings within a conservation area; undesignated assets in a conservation area or of equivalent significance; in exceptional cases, Grade II buildings of high community value outside a conservation area.

Projects must meet at least one of Historic England's four grant priorities.

Its current areas of focus are communities in most need, partnership and getting vacant sites back into use.

What it will not fund

Projects outside England
New build projects, even within a historic environment
Routine maintenance and minor repairs such as inspections and clearing gutters
Museum exhibits, artefacts, chattels or mobile assets like steam engines and boats
Work resulting from an insurable event, such as theft of lead roofing
Demolition or reconstruction, unless essential to protect historic fabric or required for structural reasons
Undesignated sites, unless in a conservation area or of demonstrably equivalent significance to designated assets
Activities already funded through Historic England's External Technical Advice budget
Alterations or improvements that are inappropriate to the building's significance, do not improve its long-term resilience or usability, or do not follow a whole-building approach
Work that contradicts Historic England's published technical guidance or specialist advice
Any work started before a written grant offer is made and formally accepted
Assets that are part of a public body's operational estate
Private dwellings, places of worship and commercial buildings, except in exceptional cases with high heritage and community value (places of worship only where lottery funding is not an option because of moral objection, or for emergency stabilisation)
Other ineligible expenditure such as paid-for lobbying, political activities or repayment of debts

How to apply

Check your asset and activity are eligible on the Places page and your project meets at least one grant priority; contact your local Historic England office if unsure
Create a Historic England online account
Complete the online expression of interest (EOI) form (about 30 minutes): project aims, need, benefits, rough cost and timing, and why Historic England should support it; optionally upload up to 3 supporting files
Historic England assigns an officer and aims to tell you within 6 weeks whether you are invited to apply
If invited, complete the full application using the link and guidance emailed to you
If offered a grant, sign a grant agreement and follow its conditions, including procurement rules, monitoring and (for major repairs) public access

If you cannot use the online form, email CentralGrants@HistoricEngland.org.uk to arrange a phone call to complete the EOI verbally.

A declined EOI is final, with no right of appeal.

Local authorities applying for Partnership Schemes in Conservation Areas must contact their local office before starting an EOI.

Have ready

Optional at EOI stage: up to 3 supporting files, such as a map or site plan, a survey or condition report, or photographs of the site
Charity number, company number or UKPRN, depending on applicant type

Further documents are requested only if you are invited to a full application.

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