Did you know that St Helens RFC were founder members of the breakaway Northern Union in 1895, from which the Rugby Football League evolved?

Thanks to a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £19,100, everyone will soon be able to find out much more about the history of the 13-a-side game and St Helens past.  The grant was announced today at the match between Saints and Huddersfield Giants, giving fans something extra to celebrate.

The cash will give a group of young people from St Cuthbert’s Catholic College the chance to explore this exciting piece of history.  They’ll also be giving everyone else the chance to step back in time through booklets and website articles and a heritage time line capturing over 100 years of St Helen's heritage.

“What a fantastic way to explore the roots of St Helens,” said Peter Fellows, HLF’s Casework Manager for the North West.  “The young people involved are going to bring the past to life and celebrate the wining role of the Saint’s over the last century, giving a whole new generation a great sense of pride in their home town."

Gordon Pennington from Saints Community Development Foundation also welcomed the news: “Saints Community Development are delighted to be given this award which will move forward plans to capture and safeguard the heritage of our club and our town. We are excited about working with young people from Parr to develop a unique heritage resource which will be used by groups and schools across the borough."

A few years ago the Heritage Lottery Fund set up Development Teams to encourage applications from those parts of the UK that had received little funding.  St Helen’s was identified as a priority for support.  Since the North West Development Team has worked with local groups to give communities the chance to explore their past. 

Karen Ziesler, from the Heritage Lottery Fund’s North West Development Team, commented:  “St Helens now has a fantastic range of heritage projects and it’s great to see another one come to life.  These schemes have given people the chance to safeguard and explore the past, but they’ve also developed a passion for the past.  Some of our partners and grantees now act as heritage champions on our behalf which is a wonderful legacy from all the hard work.”

HLF will soon be working with other groups in the North West, but there is always potential for more new schemes in St Helen’s like the one announced today.  Anyone inspired by the recent award can get in touch with the North West team to discuss ideas.

HLF can fund not for profit groups who want to run projects involving historic buildings, natural heritage, records, archives, culture, local traditions, oral histories museums and collections.