Creswell Heritage Trust, the independent charity that manages Creswell Crags, is delighted to announce it has been awarded £184,705 from the Museum Estate and Development (MEND) Fund towards essential repairs and improvements across the museum building and wider Creswell Crags site.
The Museum Estate and Development Fund is administered and delivered by Arts Council England on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and supports urgent maintenance work that helps protect the nation’s museum estates.
This funding will play a crucial role in safeguarding access to the internationally significant heritage of Creswell Crags, renowned for its dramatic limestone landscape and unique Ice Age archaeology. The project will enable vital repairs to ageing infrastructure, improving safety, accessibility and the overall visitor experience.
Key elements of the project include the replacement of the ageing steps leading up to the caves, which are used by hundreds of visitors, including thousands of school pupils, every year to access the caves and learn about the lives of people and animals during the Ice Age. Without intervention, continued access to these historic caves could not be guaranteed.
The funding will also contribute towards the replacement of the wooden footbridge that connects the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire sides of the site. The bridge has required numerous repairs over the years, and this investment will allow the Trust to install a new and more accessible structure for visitors.
While this grant represents a major milestone, Creswell Heritage Trust still needs to raise £14,200 in match funding to complete the full programme of work. Visitors may have noticed the Trust’s ‘Care for the Crags’ campaign, which highlights the importance of public support in helping to protect and maintain the site, ensuring continued access to these remarkable places where your Ice Age ancestors survived thousands of years ago.
A dedicated fundraising page has been launched to support the project, and a number of local organisations have already pledged their support through donations and help in kind, including the Gordon Bramah Charitable Settlement, The BNA Charity, Planterior and Lhoist. Members of the public wishing to support the project can donate via:
https://donate.justgiving.com/charity/creswell-crags/donation-amount
Laura Bird, Head of Development at Creswell Crags, said:
“It’s wonderful that we have the support of the Museum Estate and Development Fund, as it means we can make vital repairs to our ageing infrastructure across the site. Without this funding, we simply couldn’t guarantee how much longer access to the caves could be maintained. They are essential to our story and to the survival of our organisation.
The fund also enables us to carry out a great deal of essential maintenance across the site, some of which won’t be immediately visible to visitors, but which will significantly improve the care of our collections and protect the exceptional significance of Creswell Crags for generations to come.”
Photo Credit Briony Canning Photography
Posted on 15 April 2026
