The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has announced it will be providing £17.6m in funding for five projects which explore British history.

£3m has been earmarked to restore Durlston Castle in Durlston Country Park, near Swanage in Dorset, into a centre for visitor exploring the Jurassic coastline in Dorset, which was recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO five years ago.

A further £2.26m grant will allow Grevor Tin Mine – Europe’s largest preserved tin mine – in Pendeen on the Cornish north coast, to be transformed into an industrial heritage centre telling the story of hard rock mining. Nineteen of the mine’s historic buildings will be conserved and one of the buildings, the Top Fitting Shop, will be converted to house a new hard rock mining museum.

The mine was declared a Scheduled Ancient Monument and formed a key part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscapes World Heritage Site in July 2006.

Plans to create a Discovery Centre within Luton’s Stockwood Park Museum have also received a £3.7m boost from an HLF confirmed grant. The centre will focus on the identity, community, environment and history of Luton as well as its urbanisation and transport system. The town’s last tram will be the project’s centrepiece.

Another confirmed grant of £4.7m will help redevelop the £12m Ulster Museum in Northern Ireland, which holds extensive collections of art, history, botany and zoology, geology, archaeology and ethnography.

Plans include a new Hall of Wonders, remodelled history and natural science galleries – detailing society over the past 10,000 years to the present day – and a new rooftop gallery.

The fifth grant comprises £3.8m for South Marine Park in South Shields, South Tyneside, to restore the Grade II-listed traditional Victorian seaside park to its former glory.

Carole Souter, HLF director, said: “This money will support an incredible variety of heritage whose importance has been recognised at a local, national and international level. Each of these schemes is unique and this investment will help protect our heritage for the enjoyment and appreciation of both present and future generations.” Details: www.hlf.org.uk

Photograph: The £12m Ulster Museum in Northern Ireland