£47m investment in six UK heritage sites

Winchester Cathedral has been awarded £10.5m for urgent conservation works and funding new exhibitions

The Heritage Lottery Fund has announced it is investing £47m in six heritage tourism projects in England and Wales.

The money will go to existing and potential tourist attractions.

They include Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire and the Brecknock Museum and Art Gallery, Powys.

The Heritage Lottery Fund said the grants "will enhance and promote a better understanding of our heritage while contributing to the £26bn UK heritage tourism economy".

Carole Souter, Chief Executive of HLF said more than a quarter of all UK holiday activities undertaken by UK residents now involve heritage sites.

"These projects all offer the public the chance to explore and enjoy our rich and complex history," she said.

First iron-frame

Flax Mill Maltings in Shropshire has received the biggest share with £12.8m being allocated to develop a complex of 18th and 19th Century industrial buildings in Shrewsbury.

The complex includes the world's first iron-framed building, the forerunner to the modern skyscraper. The money will be used to restore the buildings for commercial, community and visitor uses.

Windermere Steamboat Museum in Cumbria has been awarded £9.4m for a new museum on the edge of lake Windermere. The museum will showcase 200 years of boatbuilding in the Lake District and will provide training and apprenticeship opportunities.

The Chester Farm in Northamptonshire, where a complex of grade II and II* buildings are currently at risk, has secured £4m in funding.

The site provides evidence of human activity over 10,000 years.