Hastings Traditional Jack in the Green AWARDED funding from The NATIONAL LOTTERY Heritage FUND

Hastings Traditional Jack in the Green has been awarded a grant by The National Lottery Heritage Fund towards 2026 and 2027.

We are thrilled to announce that Hastings Traditional Jack in the Green has been awarded a £78,511 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to run a series of special projects over a course of two years and support the costs of staging the event. These special projects include oral histories and short films — to preserve and share the story of this much loved British calendar custom

Hastings holds the largest Jack in the Green event of this kind with up to 20,000 local people and visitors attending annually. The price of staging the event safely increases every year, as do the costs of our free workshops, talks and family-friendly activities.   

This funding will also allow us to run an extensive programme of activities with schools, local community groups and families to share our traditions in music, dance, crafts and storytelling. We will compile oral histories with key contributors, and make short films that we can share with people locally and worldwide to show who we are, what we do and why that is so special. We hope this will encourage even more people to join us in the future, as active participants and to join our team of enthusiastic volunteers.

Check out the What’s On page for information on all forthcoming events, and look out for our popular printed programmes that will be distributed in early April. 

Keith Leech, Chair of Hastings Traditional Jack in the Green said:

We are thrilled to have received this support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players this well loved event is protected for two years, and we are able to develop our programme of activities, and share traditions and celebrations wider than ever before.

Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. Hastings Traditional Jack in the Green is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to host more workshops, record oral histories and short films to capture and preserve the history of this British custom and more!

About The National Lottery Heritage Fund 

The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest funder for the UK’s heritage. Using money raised by National Lottery players we support projects that connect people and communities to heritage. Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. From historic buildings, our industrial legacy and the natural environment, to collections, traditions, stories and more. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.

Further information 

For further information, images and interviews please contact lorna.c@hastingstraditionaljackinthegreen.co.uk