Northern Ireland
War Memorials Trust runs the Small Grants Scheme to support the repair and conservation of war memorials anywhere in the UK. The scheme is funded entirely through the charity’s own fundraising.
The scheme can fund up to 50% of eligible costs with a maximum of £2,500 per project. There are no set deadlines for this grant scheme but please note that it may take a few months after submission of an application for a decision to be advised, dependent on the quality of information supplied with the application and volume of applications being assessed.
The scheme can support work on both freestanding and non-freestanding war memorials. However if you are planning a project on a freestanding war memorial in England or Scotland you should consider the alternative schemes first as the funding available is greater.
Small Grants Scheme
- focuses on conservation and repair projects to war memorials
- supports work that restrains the process of decay without damaging or altering the war memorial’s historic fabric, overall appearance, historic or architecturally important features
- also funds the enhancement of and additions to war memorials (e.g. improving disabled access and adding names or other inscriptions)
Eligible works:
Conservation and repair of war memorials
- Urgent and necessary repairs to the memorial’s fabric including structural stabilisation
- Works to improve the legibility of eroded inscriptions
- Reinstatement of lost elements, such as decorative features and inscriptions
- Cleaning, where the surface build-up is damaging the fabric or where surface deposits are rendering the inscriptions illegible
- Works related to ‘hard’ landscaping forming an integral part of a memorial’s design
- Works to building services to war memorial halls
Enhancement of and additions to war memorials
- Works related to ‘soft’ landscaping forming an integral part of the memorial’s context
- Preventive conservation works (e.g. railings, window guards and lighting)
- Addition of new names
- Correction of errors on old inscriptions
- Relocation of war memorial (when at risk or no longer accessible for commemoration and when supported by the local community)
- Upgrading hard-landscaping features where appropriate (e.g. disabled access)
- Upgrading building services to war memorial halls to improve access and comply with legislation (e.g. disabled access)
Surveys
- Condition surveys assessing the current condition and establishing appropriate restoration strategies
Ineligible works:
- General maintenance costs
- Cleaning for purely cosmetic reasons
- Reconstruction not based on firm historic evidence
- Replacements and new features at odds with the war memorial’s design and context
- Work carried out before a written grant offer has been made and accepted
- Creation of new war memorials
The scheme is open to anyone to apply, individuals or organisations. However if you are not responsible for the war memorial we do ask you to provide written proof that you have the custodian’s consent to carry out the proposed works.
Download a copy of the 'Small Grants Scheme guidance notes'.
In order to clarify if this grant scheme is right for your project and to receive an application form, you need to submit an 'Expression of interest form'.
