£100m investment in Museums and heritage sites across Britain

Cheshire’s Jodrell Bank, the world’s largest medical collection and the Great Central Railway are among a host of projects set to receive new National Lottery investment.

Almost £100m of investment will be split across nine different heritage sites, creating a huge boost for the UK’s scientific, industrial and cultural heritage.

Cheshire’s Jodrell Bank is to receive one of the biggest awards, with over £12m going towards the site, which is home to the Grade I-listed Lovell telescope and is the only remaining site in the world showcasing the entire story of radio astronomy.

Brian Cox, Physicist Professor and TV personality said: “When I was young, visiting Jodrell Bank was one of the things that inspired me to become a scientist. This new project will inspire many more young people to carry on our great tradition of science and engineering.”

Other sites and projects to benefit from the new investment include the world’s largest medical collection in London’s Science Museum and one of the earliest factories atDerby Silk Mill.

The British Library’s rare UK sound collection will also be digitised with the help of the new funding. This will see the nation’s rare, unique and vulnerable sound recordings preserved so that the public will be able to access them online, from extinct birdsong and voices of Kindertransport refugees to accents from all around Britain.

The Great Central Railway between Loughborough and Leicester will become a new railway museum, while Dorset County Museum, the Burrell Collection in Glasgow and London’s Geffrye Museum will also receive new investment. Money has also been assigned for restoration work at Lincoln Cathedral.

To find out more, visit www.hlf.org.uk