The Wordsworth Trust in Grasmere has received a grant of £121,138 from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to help it recover from the pandemic.
More than £300 million has been awarded to thousands of cultural organisations across the country including the Wordsworth Trust in the latest round of support from the Culture Recovery Fund, the Culture Secretary announced today.
The grant will help to sustain the Wordsworth Trust financially while it prepares to launch Wordsworth Grasmere, the new visitor attraction at Dove Cottage in the Lake District. As well as Dove Cottage and its Garden–Orchard, Wordsworth Grasmere includes a new Museum and outdoor spaces that have been opened up for the first time.
Over £800 million in grants and loans has already been awarded to support almost 3,800 cinemas, performance venues, museums, heritage sites and other cultural organisations dealing with the immediate challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. One of these earlier grants helped the Wordsworth Trust over the winter, sustaining its activities and enabling it trial new digital initiatives.
The second round of awards made today will help organisations to look ahead to the spring and summer and plan for reopening and recovery. After months of closures and cancellations to contain the virus and save lives, this funding will be a much-needed helping hand for organisations transitioning back to normal in the months ahead.
Director, the Wordsworth Trust, Michael McGregor, said:
“We are hugely grateful to the Government and to Arts Council England for this funding. Having been closed for so long, the grant will provide essential support to the Wordsworth Trust while it prepares to launch Wordsworth Grasmere this spring. We can now plan with confidence as we look forward to welcoming visitors again as soon as it is safe to do so.”
Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said:
“Our record-breaking Culture Recovery Fund has already helped thousands of culture and heritage organisations across the country survive the biggest crisis they’ve ever faced.
“Now we’re staying by their side as they prepare to welcome the public back through their doors – helping our cultural gems plan for reopening and thrive in the better times ahead.”
Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair, Arts Council England, said:
“Investing in a thriving cultural sector at the heart of communities is a vital part of helping the whole country to recover from the pandemic. These grants will help to re-open theatres, concert halls, and museums and will give artists and companies the opportunity to begin making new work.
“We are grateful to the Government for this support and for recognising the paramount importance of culture to our sense of belonging and identity as individuals and as a society.”
The funding awarded today is from a £400 million pot which was held back last year to ensure the Culture Recovery Fund could continue to help organisations in need as the public health picture changed. The funding has been awarded by Arts Council England, as well as Historic England, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the British Film Institute.
