The Lancashire Cricket Heritage Experience: Project Update
The Lancashire Cricket Foundation, on behalf of Lancashire Cricket, submitted a £2.3 million project application to the National Heritage Lottery Fund on 29 February 2024, following months of detailed development and consultation work.
The project, which includes the development of a purpose-built interactive Heritage Hub and vibrant Outreach Programme, will look to safeguard and promote the sporting and cultural heritage of Lancashire Cricket, reach and engage new and diverse audiences as well as serve the interests of existing Members and supporters.
Key aims of the project:
- Inspiring our communities through cricket: Engage with local, regional, national and international communities that would not normally visit museum and heritage offers.
- Education and learning: Maximise the learning opportunities offered by cricket to enhance the educational outcomes and life chances of children and young people.
- Making our collections more accessible: Provide public access to our significant archive items, together with supporting media and film in an imaginative, interactive heritage experience that will widen inclusion, access and participation in heritage.
conceptual design
How we will achieve our aims:
- Heritage Hub: Providing a brand-new Heritage Hub situated on the ground floor of the new hotel extension the Hub, which will feature heritage collections, immersive technology, cinematic space, interactive displays, oral histories and hands on exhibits. The Hub will showcase the pivotal role Lancashire Cricket and the ground has played in the community for over 160 years.
- Heritage Trail: Developing a Heritage Trail incorporating the whole stadium, by extending displays into the Pavilion (the existing Members’ area) and onto the second floor of the Player & Media Centre, and transforming the concourse areas at the ground, tunnels and outdoor space to reflect key heritage events and stories and enhance the Heritage Hub experience.
- Outreach Programme: Delivering an Outreach Programme which will incorporate a mobile heritage vehicle and online/virtual offer in order to take Lancashire Cricket out to targeted schools and communities across Lancashire who would not think to visit, widening inclusion, access and participation to heritage.
- Upgrade the existing Lancashire Cricket Library to make the space more welcoming and accessible, creating an archive room and safe storage space for artefacts.
A decision is expected from the National Heritage Lottery Fund in early June and if successful will see us provided with some initial funding to pilot a range of activities over the next 12 months in preparation for a more detailed Delivery Stage application which will be developed and submitted in Q4 of 2025.
If you have any questions on the project please contact Sandy Mitchell (Head of Heritage & Community Wellbeing) on smitchell@lancashirecricket.co.uk