Nautical Archaeology Society Awarded National Lottery Heritage Fund Grant to Protect Sandwich Bay’s Coastal Archaeology
Today, the Nautical Archaeology Society has announced a £199,060 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to protect the coastal archaeology of Sandwich Bay in Kent and establish a self-sustaining community group to actively investigate and promote the unique heritage of Sandwich Bay.
The grant for its Coastal Pasts – Connecting Community with Coastal Heritage at Sandwich Bay project is the largest single grant the Nautical Archaeology Society has received in its 50-year history.
Sandwich Bay has a significant heritage spanning hundreds of years, but it is under immediate and accelerating threat from environmental effects and human activity. Without this funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the eleven wooden wrecks would remain unidentified, and the stories behind the multitude of artefacts that wash up on the beach would remain untold.
Supported for three years by a part-time, locally based Project Officer, the Nautical Archaeology Society’s multi-generational community heritage group will be dedicated to exploring, protecting and recording the coastal archaeology of Sandwich Bay. The project aims to bring these wrecks and artefacts to life virtually, enabling the history of this coastal area to be shared with the wider local community and beyond through online platforms.
The community group’s activities will include regular low-tide walks, artefact identification sessions, training in conservation and photogrammetry, excavation of a shipwreck, school activities, community talks, archival research to identify the wreck, and innovative outreach initiatives including augmented reality to digitally recreate the wrecks.
Those interested in getting involved can visit the Nautical Archaeology Society website. Information on how to apply for the local Project Officer position can also be found there.
This community group project will also act as a pilot study for the Nautical Archaeology Society, creating a roadmap to inspire other communities to undertake similar work in their own local areas to protect threatened coastal and underwater heritage.
Mark Beattie-Edwards, CEO of the Nautical Archaeology Society, said:
“We are thrilled to have received this support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we will be able to connect the local community to the coastal heritage at Sandwich Bay and actively protect it for future generations, for the benefit of everyone.”
Stuart McLeod, Director of England – London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:
“Sandwich Bay is home to a remarkable coastal heritage and, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, this project will help local people explore, record and protect its unique stories. We’re delighted to support the Nautical Archaeology Society in creating a model that can inspire communities across the UK to safeguard their own coastal heritage for generations to come.”
About Nautical Archaeology Society
A registered charity, the Nautical Archaeology Society has been researching, recording and protecting threatened coastal and underwater heritage for the benefit of everyone since 1972.
The organisation believes everyone can benefit from the unique and fascinating resource that is the world’s maritime heritage. It believes that when people are given the opportunity to learn about their heritage and help to research and record it, they come to understand it. When they understand it, they begin to value it — and when they value heritage, they become the strongest advocates for further research and protection.
https://www.nauticalarchaeologysociety.org
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. As the UK’s largest funder for heritage, it is dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in its strategic plan, Heritage 2033.
Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. The fund believes in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and build pride in place and connection to the past.
Over the next 10 years, it aims to invest £3.6 billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.
Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter/X, Facebook and Instagram using #NationalLottery and #HeritageFund.
