We are pleased to announce that the Historical Diving Society (HDS) is to receive £100,000 in funding through the Museums Estate and Development Fund (MEND) to help safeguard our nations cultural heritage. The funds have been awarded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports, delivered by Arts Council England. Galleries, museums, libraries and cultural venues across the country, including the HDS, are to benefit from almost £50 million of funding which will improve people’s access to the arts, safeguard cultural assets for future generations and power economic growth through culture.
This award will enable the HDS to make improvements to No. 2 Battery to control the museum’s internal environment thereby allowing better access to the whole Grade II* building and a so protect a nationally important collection of diving artefacts. It will be used for an exemplar project using a green energy heat source to solve an environmental issues
in the Gun Battery. It will eliminate the impact of damp on both the building and the collection and will open other areas of the building not previously accessible to the community. This will also enable the collection to be better showcased.
Arts Minister Lord Parkinson said:
“Culture is the bedrock of society. It brings people together, entertains and informs us, and helps us to understand our common past and shared future.
“Today we are announcing a raft of new funding for treasured cultural institutions up and down the country.
“This will help them to continue their great work, advance our work to level up access to arts and culture so they can be enjoyed by people no matter where they live, and protect these cherished institutions for future generations to enjoy.”
Kevin Casey, our Museum Director, who has spent the last several years doing sterling work fundraising for the Museum said:
“This award will be game changing for the HDS. It is a fantastic opportunity to save an historically important building for Gosport. This is the home of commercial diving which had its roots here almost 200 years ago so Gosport is the logical place to showcase our historically important collection. We are extremely grateful to DCMS to receive this amazing grant as we wouldn’t have been able to carry out this project without it”.
Darren Henley, Chief Executive, Arts Council England, said:
“Our artists, arts organisations, museums and libraries are experts in making villages, towns and cities better places to live, work, visit or play. This investment means they’ll be able to help more people across England to lead happier, more creative lives”.
The Cultural Investment Fund will see £48 million distributed to 63 organisations. It is allocated through three streams:
£24 million through the Cultural Development Fund,
£18.8 million through the Museums Estate and Development Fund, and
£5 million through the Libraries Improvement Fund.
The announcement follows a concerted effort by the government to support the country’s vital cultural organisations.
The Museum Estate and Development Fund helps fund museum and local authority infrastructure projects and urgent maintenance works beyond their day-to-day
