Bletchley Park wins £4.6m grant from Heritage Lottery fund

Bletchley Park Trust has won a £4.6m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

The World War II code breaking centre still has to raise a further £1.7m and has launched the Action Today campaign in order to do this, but once the Bletchley Part Trust reaches this target, the money can be used to save some of its most iconic buildings.

Huts 1, 3 and 6 will be restored and the currently derelict Block C turned into a visitor centre and to house an exhibition.

The Trust said that not "only will this development allow the conservation of buildings of highly-significant heritage value, it will considerably improve the educational offering and visitor experience at Bletchley Park."

The people who worked at Bletchley Park are credited as shortening the war by up to two years. Many argue that Bletchley Park is one of Britain's most important 20th century historical sites. But there was a time that it was in danger of disappearing.

At one point, it was nearly bulldozed to the ground to make way for a Tesco, and its future looked bleak. Then the Trust started a concerted effort back in 2008 to raise awareness of the plight of the Park and its historical significance.

The late Professor Richard Holmes said, "The work here at Bletchley Park... was utterly fundamental to the survival of Britain and to the triumph of the West. I'm not actually sure that I can think of very many other places where I could say something as unequivocal as that. This is sacred ground. If this isn't worth preserving, what is?"

But this is not the first time the Park has had to struggle for money. In October 1941, when the code breakers wrote to Prime Minister Winston Churchill to say they were starved of resources he acted.

Churchill, who famously called the people who worked at Bletchley, "the geese that laid the golden eggs but never cackled" immediately ordered: "Action this day! Make sure they have all they want on extreme priority and report to me that this had been done".

Today, although visitor numbers to the many exhibitions and events held at the Park have rocketed and it is now home to the National Museum of Computing, serious ongoing funding is still needed. This will restore many parts of the estate and keep it running as a World class educational centre.

Stephen Fry, British actor and author said: "Today marks a monumental triumph for the Bletchley Park Trust. This investment from the HLF will finally enable the Trust to do justice to this amazing place in tribute to the tremendous intellectual feat of those who worked there.

"Not only did these people alter the very course of history by helping to secure the allied victory, thereby quietly and modestly providing us with the free world, they also gave birth to the Information Age which underpins the way we all live today. HLF has ensured that recognition for these extraordinary accomplishments is finally in sight.

"Now we must all see that the Trust is given every support it needs in order to raise the match funding required to make this project a wonderful reality".