Stately home's £20m lottery boost

Tyntesfield was bought for the nation in 2002

A project to restore a neo-Gothic mansion received the largest grant in the latest round of lottery funding.

Tyntesfield, at Wraxhall in North Somerset, was bought for £30m by the National Trust in 2002, but needs massive amounts of conservation work.

The Heritage Lottery Fund gave the project £20m, and awarded a total of £76.5m to projects across England.

London's Victoria and Albert Museum was given £9.75m, and the city of Hull received a £7.7m grant.

But there was disappointment for Portsmouth's Mary Rose Trust, as the organisation's bid for a £13.5m grant to build a new home for Henry VIII's flagship was turned down.

'Conservation in action'

The funding for Tyntesfield will help the National Trust restore areas of the Victorian home which have yet to be opened to visitors.

Fiona Reynolds, director general of the National Trust, said: "This is a fantastic day for all the people who have helped to save Tyntesfield.

"Many thousands of people have contributed generously to the project and more have come to view the property and hear the trust's plans to develop Tyntesfield as a centre for conservation in action, where public access, learning and restoration work go hand in hand."

HERITAGE LOTTERY FUND GRANTS The Tank Museum, Bovington, Dorset - £9.6m Museum of Bristol - £10.27m Buxton Crescent and Spa, Derbyshire - £12.5m Summerlea Heritage Park, Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire - £4.78m Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry - £2.8m Hull History Centre - £7.7m The Victoria and Albert Museum, London - £9.75m Tyntesfield, North Somerset - £20m

Among the other venues singled out for grants was the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, which is to be given £9.75m to develop its medieval and Renaissance galleries.

V&A director, Mark Jones, said: "The V&A's medieval and Renaissance collections are among the best in the world and one of the glories of the museum.

"This grant will enable us to show these treasures in exciting new displays, incorporating innovative approaches to interpretation, which will shed new light on this fascinating period."

Hull has been earmarked for a £7.7m grant to preserve its history in a new visitor centre housing the city's extensive archives.

Culture Minister, David Lammy, said: "Hull has a unique and important history in both national and international contexts."

Other beneficiaries include Buxton, which won cash for its plans to restore the town's historic crescent and pump rooms, and Bristol, which secured funding for its new city museum.