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EnglishWhat is Heritage Crafts?
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Heritage Crafts is the UK's national charity for heritage craft skills. It exists to celebrate, support and safeguard traditional crafts, and to push for a national conversation about why those skills matter — both now and for future generations. If you want to understand who is defending endangered UK crafts, where to find working craftspeople, or how to get training support, this is the organisation to know.
What the charity actually does
Its stated mission is to ensure everyone has access to craft skills developed over generations, which it sees as vital to tackling future challenges and to living a fulfilled life through making. In practice that mission shows up as four things:
- Advocacy — making the case for heritage crafts at the highest levels.
- Research and publishing — most visibly the Red List of Endangered Crafts.
- Funding and training — grants and bursaries for makers.
- Recognition — awards and honours that spotlight skilled craftspeople.
The charity is relatively young: it was set up about fifteen years ago and has grown into a national voice. Its Patron is His Majesty King Charles III.
The programmes worth knowing about
The Red List of Endangered Crafts
A published list assessing which UK crafts are at risk. It is the reference point the charity uses to argue for protection, and it underpins much of its advocacy work.
The Skills list
A browsable list of 285 UK heritage crafts, including those deemed at-risk. Useful if you want to check whether a particular craft is recognised as part of the UK's heritage craft landscape.
Training bursaries
Heritage Crafts runs a bursary scheme that makers can apply for. The charity reports having awarded 131 training bursaries to date, and has announced 35 new training bursaries in its latest news. If you are trying to fund training in a traditional craft, this is the scheme to look at first.
The Endangered Crafts Fund
A grant programme for crafts under threat. The charity states it has distributed 95 grants through this fund.
The Makers Directory
A directory of craftspeople, so you can find and support working makers directly. Featured profiles have included a canal art decorative paint artist and a woodturner.
Heritage Crafts Awards
An awards scheme open to nominations, used to recognise people contributing to heritage crafts.
Who it is for
| If you are… | What Heritage Crafts offers |
|---|---|
| A maker wanting training funding | Training bursaries, plus the Endangered Crafts Fund for at-risk crafts |
| Someone researching a specific craft | The Skills list of 285 UK heritage crafts and the Red List |
| Looking to buy from or commission a craftsperson | The Makers Directory |
| Wanting to nominate or recognise someone | Heritage Crafts Awards |
| Wanting to support the work financially | Membership, the Benefactor scheme, or a one-off donation |
How to get involved
- Apply for a training bursary if you need support to learn a heritage craft — check the current application details on the site before preparing anything.
- Browse the Makers Directory to find craftspeople, or the Skills list to see whether your craft of interest is covered.
- Nominate someone for the Heritage Crafts Awards.
- Become a Member to join the craft community supporting the charity's work, or look into the Benefactor scheme if you want to give at a higher level.
- Donate — the charity states plainly that it needs support to continue its work, and describes donations as welcome at any size.
The site also runs a stories section covering events and competitions, such as a five-day ceramic painting masterclass and a calendar photography competition, so it is worth checking back if you follow a particular craft.
The short answer
Heritage Crafts is the body that names which UK crafts are endangered, funds the people trying to keep them alive, and gives those crafts a public platform. Whether you are a maker seeking funding, a researcher checking a craft's status, or someone who simply wants traditional skills to survive, it is the most direct UK entry point to that world.