St. Mary's Guildhall Community Grants

3 children in medieval clothing in St Mary's Guildhall
3 children in medieval clothing in St Mary's Guildhall

In 2020, The National Lottery Heritage Fund generously awarded Coventry City Council a grant in support of the transformation of St. Mary’s Guildhall, which has enabled much needed enhancements to the historic site including greater accessibility, the conservation and redisplay of the magnificent tapestry, and the development of state-of-the-art interpretation facilities.

A further key aim of this funding was to increase opportunities for local communities to experience St. Mary’s Guildhall, and to benefit from greater contact with heritage.

To support this aim St. Mary’s Guildhall, in partnership with Coventry City Council, has launched a grant scheme for organisations to deliver projects that will allow Coventry communities to engage more deeply with St Mary’s Guildhall, and encourage a long-lasting relationship with heritage.

In the first round of the grant scheme, which launched in summer 2023, five awards were made to projects which ranged from a multicultural ball to weaving workshops and Black History inspired digital arts.

Project brief

Funding is available exclusively for projects that meet one or more of the grant priorities:

  • A wider range of people from different backgrounds will be involved in heritage activities.
  • Links in some way to the themes of St Mary’s Guildhall, either through the building, its collections or the stories told.
  • People will be able to develop new skills.
  • People will be able to learn about the past hopefully leading to more engagement with places like St Mary’s Guildhall in the future. 

The funding scheme has a total value of £30,000, with awards available to eligible projects across two application rounds, and in two funding tiers:

Tier 1 Grants will be larger awards, between £2,000 and £8,000. This is for larger projects to which only constituted organisations may apply.

Tier 2 Grants are smaller awards, between £250 and £1,999, to which both constituted organisations, and non-constituted community groups may apply.

Round 2 key dates

  • Round 2 will open on 19 February 2024 with an application deadline of 29 March 2024
  • Applicants should be notified of the outcome of their applications by the beginning of May 2024
  • Successful projects will need to be completed and evaluated by March 2025

Further information about the grants scheme, eligibility criteria and how to apply

The grant scheme is being managed by No Ordinary Hospitality Management, the operators of St. Mary's Guildhall, with grant awards being made by Coventry City Council.

Arts and Culture - general enquiries

Address: PO Box 15
Council House
Earl Street
Coventry
CV1 5RR