Eight more grants to help save endangered crafts

A tanner, a shinty caman maker and a flute maker are among the recipients of a new round of grants to help safeguard some of the UK’s most endangered craft skills.

Heritage Crafts has awarded the grants through its Endangered Crafts Fund, which was launched in 2019 to increase the likelihood of at-risk craft skills surviving into the next generation. This round’s grants are funded by a private donor, the James and Lucilla Joll Charitable Trust and the William Grant Foundation.

In May 2025 Heritage Crafts published the fifth 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 285 crafts to ascertain those which are at greatest risk of disappearing, of which 94 were classified as ‘endangered’ and a further 71 as ‘critically endangered’.

The eight successful recipients are:

James Allen, from Wiltshire, to buy a lime tank for the production of traceable vegetable-tanned leather from cattle hides.
Robert Bigio, from London, to train an apprentice flutemaker through making a copy of a historical concert flute.
Britannia Sailing Trust, in Exeter, to train two young people in boat building as part of the restoration of the 110-year-old wooden sailing vessel Britannia.
Hannah Buchanan, from Derbyshire, to buy a plaster lathe for traditional ceramic mould making, and learn to make block and cases for slip casting.
Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, in Kent, to 3D scan a working ‘side traveller’ rope making machine, to enable more effective repair and maintenance.
Ruth Farris and Bea Uprichard, from Macclesfield, to develop new products and routes to market for silk woven at Macclesfield’s historic Paradise Mill.
Little Angel Theatre, in London, to equip a new dedicated marionette-making workshop to practice and teach the craft.
Alan MacPherson, from Inverness, to provide three-phase electricity to increase production of shinty camans and eventually host an apprentice.

These eight projects follow 79 others awarded in previous rounds, covering endangered crafts such as millwrighting, clog making, sailmaking and many more. Previous funders have included the Sussex Heritage Trust, the Pilgrim Trust, the Radcliffe Trust, the Dulverton Trust, the Swire Charitable Trust, the Ashley Family Foundation, the Essex Community Foundation and others, as well as individuals who have donated sums from £5 right up to several thousands of pounds.

As usual the fund was oversubscribed, and Heritage Crafts hopes to work with many of the unsuccessful candidates to identify other funding and support opportunities.

Mary Lewis, Heritage Crafts’ Head of Craft Sustainability, said:

“Every grant from our Endangered Crafts Fund is more than just financial support; it’s a beacon of hope for skills teetering on the brink. These eight projects, generously funded by our partners, aren’t just preserving ancient techniques; they’re igniting new passions, fostering fulfilling livelihoods, and ensuring that the heartbeat of our craft heritage continues for generations to come.”

View the full list of the 87 grants awarded to date

Photo: Hannah Buchanan, potter. Photograph by Will Slater.