Dean Armond on grants available to celebrate the foundation of the borough in September
Newham Heritage Month returns for a sixth time in 2025 to explore the people and places that have made Newham the unique Borough that it is.
Held in June last year, this year the event will take place in September and this year there will be a party atmosphere to celebrate the foundation of Newham 60 years ago.
The theme is usually decided by a competition organised by the steering group, but this year it was decided to recognise that Newham was created in 1965 and to celebrate the 60th anniversary.
A successful application was made to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and so the programme will have £100,000 of grant funding available for projects that will research the Borough’s period of change from the Essex County boroughs of East Ham and West Ham to Newham, or stories that go back prior to this time and link them to Newham in the present.
The programme will be celebrating everything that has contributed to the Borough’s development over time, from outstanding individual members of the community to special places across the Borough, activist movements, creative minds and iconic moments.
Building on the success of previous years, the programme invites individuals and community groups to come up with projects that celebrate the different aspects of “Newham at 60 – A Borough Like No Other”.
Grants of up to £5,000 for individuals and up to £8,000 for groups and organisations will be made available.
An Inspiration Day on 17 February was held at Stratford Library where the Newham Archives and Local Studies search room is located. Documents and objects from the collection were displayed to provide ideas and inspiration. Access to the Newham Archive resources and support from the Newham Heritage Month Programme Director Jason King and Archivist Jess Conway and her colleagues will provide support for project ideas and explore routes to learn more.
This meeting was followed by an online grant surgery on 19 February to support those considering applying for a grant, providing a chance to ask questions about the application process, funding and more.
Available for public access are a range of resources to find out about the history of Newham and its people including local newspapers, local parish and council records dating from the 17th century to today, school records, electoral registers, historical maps, books, newsletters, and an extensive photographic collection as well as museum artefacts (which are not on display).
An integral part of all projects is to create a record that can be added to the online Newham Heritage Month archive so that others can share in the project.
Past events that featured in Newham Heritage Month can be found here: https://www.newhamheritagemonth.org/past-events/
The project grant submission deadline is Friday, 21 March at 10:00 AM. Successful applicants will be informed shortly afterwards, allowing several months to prepare for NHM 2025 in September.
Grant Application forms and further information can be found online here: https://www.newhamheritagemonth.org
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