Lottery fund help for historic sites

The Heritage Lottery Fund also announced funding for a Tudor house in Devon which offers a snapshot of 17th century town-house living and a Grade II* listed building in South Wales which was a finalist in BBC2's Restoration programme.

The largest share of funding, 4.8m, will go to Abbotsford, the home of writer Sir Walter Scott, in the Scottish Borders, and will enable restoration of the house and contents including Rob Roy's sporran and Napoleon's pen case. The restoration work will include a new visitors centre, a learning area in the basement and a wing converted into self-catering accommodation to provide additional income to the property.

Newbridge Memorial Hall, Caerphilly, will receive 2.9m so the building, which was a BBC Restoration finalist, can be restored as a heritage centre where people can learn about the Valleys. The listed building was created as a memorial to those who died in the First World War and houses the largest ballroom in South Wales as well as an Art Deco auditorium.

The Walronds, in Cullompton, Devon, is to receive funding of 1.7m for work to restore the Tudor house, making the ground floor and gardens available for community use.

Wrest Park, Silsoe, Bedfordshire, will be given 1.1m for restoration work to a landscape on a par with Stowe and Stourhead and worked on by famous designers including Capability Brown. The funding will restore the upper gardens and path network, provide better visitor facilities, improve exhibitions and deliver on-the-job training for eight novice gardeners.

The Heritage Lottery Fund also gave initial backing for a further four projects, which received a total of 126,900 to develop their plans: National Memorial Arboretum, Staffordshire; the 13th century Black Gate, Newcastle; St Mary at the Quay, Ipswich; and Croome Court, Severn Stoke, Worcestershire.