Made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Architectural Heritage Fund: 50 Years of Reimagining Heritage will showcase the work of the organisation across People, Place and Heritage at The Briggait in Glasgow, following its inaugural opening in Northern Ireland in February. 

Since its foundation in 1976, the AHF has supported 2,432 projects in the UK, with their 1000th loan awarded in March 2026 as well as 3,079 grants. The combined total of financial support awarded to projects in towns, cities and the countryside currently sits at £182,060,862. The anniversary programme will shine a light on AHF-supported projects in every nation and region of the UK, culminating in a celebration of a top 50 projects that demonstrate the enduring power of heritage-led regeneration.

In Scotland, the AHF has made 1,052 funding offers, totalling £43.6 million of investment. This includes 840 grant offers, totalling £8.2m, and 183 loan offers, totalling £34.8m, to 426 organisations developing 629 historic buildings projects, benefitting people in every single local authority area across Scotland.

The exhibition venue, The Briggait, is an AHF supported project and a thriving cultural hub in an historic A-Listed market hall complex in Glasgow’s City Centre. Dating back to 1873, The Briggait is the largest complex of Victorian-era halls in Scotland and is also headquarters for Wasps Studios.

After Glasgow, the exhibition will go on to tour Cardiff (June) and London (October) over the course of the year. Each exhibition will highlight outstanding local projects and the people behind them, with the Glasgow leg including nine Scottish projects: Former Grange Free Church (Above Adventure), Kerrera Old School, Leith Theatre, The Briggait, Fairfield Shipyard, Old Sail Loft Shetland, Ardnamurchan Lighthouse, Law’s Close Fife, City Observatory Edinburgh.  

As well as giving visitors a chance to engage with the AHF’s nationwide work restoring historic buildings and supporting communities - from Jubilee Pool in Penzance, Cromford Mills in Derbyshire, Collective Gallery Edinburgh and Cardigan Market Hall - the exhibition wants to ask questions about the role of restoration in today’s society and the future of heritage in the UK. 

A panel discussion at the private reception on Thursday 30th April will explore this subject. Moderated by Audrey Carlin, AHF Chair of Grants Panel, the panel will include: Elaine Gibb, Partnerships and Learning Manager at the William Grant Foundation, Liz Davidson OBE, Chair of Glasgow Building Preservation Trust, and Joshua McTaggart, CEO of The Theatres Trust.

Architectural Heritage Fund: 50 Years of Reimagining Heritage is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to showcase the AHF’s work across the country.

Matthew Mckeague, chief executive of the Architectural Heritage Fund, said: “For fifty years, the AHF has worked with communities to give new life to historic buildings and to ensure that heritage remains at the heart of regeneration. Our anniversary year will celebrate those achievements while looking ahead to the future, exploring how heritage can continue to drive social value, creativity and local pride across the UK.”

Audrey Carlin, AHF Trustee for Scotland, added: “It’s wonderful to showcase the AHF’s 50th anniversary exhibition at The Briggait, a former fish market that today provides studio space to working artists - one of Glasgow’s most extraordinary examples of heritage-led regeneration. For decades, the AHF has invested in projects the length and breadth of Scotland, and we are delighted to share this spring some of those stories of how heritage can contribute to community renewal.”

Eilish McGuinness, chief executive at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, commented: “A very happy 50th anniversary to the Architectural Heritage Fund. With thanks to National Lottery players, we are delighted to support this touring exhibition as it travels around the UK, celebrating the fantastic heritage that’s been saved in our communities over five decades.

“We are united in our shared vision for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained, protecting our cherished built heritage for everyone, now and in the future. We know firsthand from working in partnership with the AHF across the years, the remarkable impact these projects have on heritage-led regeneration, revitalising our towns and cities and strengthening pride in place. Congratulations to everyone involved on 50 incredible years.”