£84,000 lottery funding boost to restore historic fishing boat in north-east Fife

Cellardyke Trust’s Manx Beauty initiative has been awarded a development grant of £84,000 by the Heritage Fund as part of its £14.8m support for seven projects across the UK. The money will enable plans to be developed and an application for a full National Lottery delivery grant to be made at a later date. If successful, the project will create educational training opportunities and develop practical heritage skills.

The project aims to rebuild a 1937 herring fishing boat to become a working community asset. It was one of two vessels built by the East Fife Boatbuilding Co, in Cellardyke for the Isle of Man government - the Manx Fairy was its sister ship. It launched on June 11, 1937, sailing to the Isle Of Man. The skipper was Lock Horsburgh, a former Pittenweem man who had married in the Isle of Man in 1934.

The trust has already raised over £12,000 in an online fundraiser, and Fife Council has provided a working yard within easy walking distance of the Waid Community Campus.

The vessel has been measured and surveyed, and a scale model built to show audiences involved in the rebuild. The actual boat is covered to protect it, and volunteers have worked to stabilise is to keep it in the safest condition ahead of the rebuild.

Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “These innovative buildings, trailblazing transport and pioneering technologies shaped our modern world and are core to our rich industrial heritage. They are a connection to the past, but these fantastic projects ensure that this heritage lives on in the future, equipping a new generation with the skills to maintain the fabric of this heritage, and creatively using these sites for new and imaginative uses at the heart of their communities. “What unites these projects is recognition of the heritage value of our industrial past, the incredible stories to be told and committed people. We’re delighted that National Lottery funding ensures that this heritage will be valued, cared for, and sustained, for everyone, now and in the future.”