The Historic Houses report ‘From Crisis to Recovery: Five Years On from the Culture Recovery Fund’ reveals the lasting impact of emergency funding on the UK’s independent historic houses.
Historic Houses writes:
In July 2020, amid the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government launched the Culture Recovery Fund (CRF), a £1.57 billion investment to safeguard the UK’s heritage, arts and culture sectors. For many organisations, the CRF was a lifeline. The heritage sector received the largest share of funding, with £296 million distributed across museums, heritage sites and historic places. Historic Houses members, which include over 1,450 independently owned castles, gardens and stately homes, received £36.6 million in total. Our new report, From Crisis to Recovery: the Impact of the Culture Recovery Fund on Independent Heritage Five Years Later, reveals how that investment not only helped historic houses survive the pandemic, but also laid the foundations for their recovery and renewal.
The CRF was grant funding from DCMS, made available during the period of the Covid lockdowns. The fund supported three distinct types of support: resource grants (administered by Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund in three rounds), capital grants (awarded through Historic England’s Heritage Stimulus Fund which encompassed two rounds of grants for programmes of major works) and repayable finance (loans arranged through Arts Council England). There were also other funds made available through the Heritage Stimulus Fund, such as the emergency heritage at risk response fund.
Historic Houses represents around 1,450 independently owned historic houses, castles and gardens across the UK. Our members range from icons such as Blenheim Palace, Castle Howard and Alnwick Castle to local gems. In 2024, these places collectively welcomed 19 million visitors, directly employed over 12,000 FTE staff and generated over £1 billion for the UK economy.
We carried out a survey in August 2025 to assess the impact of the CRF, five years on from its introduction in July 2020. Around 90 of our member places received support from the CRF and 35 of them responded to the survey, representing £12.5 million of CRF support. The results were conclusive: CRF support was vital for our members. Many of the respondents described the support as lifeline. When asked how important CRF support had been to their survival, the average answer was 8.5 out of 10. This support has had a lasting impact on the organisations that received funding, protecting hundreds of jobs, facilitating essential repairs and restoration work, and enabling heritage organisations to adapt to the rapidly changing circumstances of the pandemic and beyond.
Key Findings
- 775 jobs protected
- An additional 100 jobs created
- 57% used CRF support to carry out repairs and restoration work
- Respondents were unanimous – the CRF had a lasting, positive impact
- 91% completed the projects within budget
- 93% completed their projects on time
