# National Memorial Arboretum is most popular National Lottery-funded venue in England

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2014/11/17/national-memorial-arboretum-popular-national-lottery-funded-venue-england/
- Published: 2014-11-17T11:17:11+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**The National Memorial Arboretum, the UK’s centre of remembrance, has been voted
the favourite ‘National Treasure’ in England which has received National Lottery
Funding over the last 20 years.**

The public vote, via Facebook, attracted over 66,000 votes in May 2014. **The Eden
Project** in Cornwall came second, and **The Beamish Museum** in County Durham third.
The public was asked to choose their favourite from a range of iconic venues, landmarks
and facilities that have benefited from Lottery funding.

The Arboretum, part of The Royal British Legion family of charities, has received
more than £8 million of National Lottery funding. Containing over 300 memorials,
including the Armed Forces Memorial, it welcomes some 300,000 visitors a year.

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Sarah Montgomery, managing director of the National Memorial Arboretum, said:

> “The National Lottery has played a significant role in our development and we’re
> now truly honoured that the public has chosen us as their favourite place. Our
> visitors come from all walks of life, and we now welcome over 10,000 school children
> every year”.

The online poll also invited the public to name an individual ‘National Treasure’
for their work for charity. Actor and author **Stephen Fry** topped the poll for
his work as President of mental health charity, Mind, and Patron of Norwich Playhouse
Theatre, which have both received Lottery funding.

The shortlisted individuals were Rizzle Kicks (trained at AudioActive), Esther Rantzen(
founder of The Silver Line Helpline), Colin Firth (star of Lottery-funded film The
King’s Speech) and Jess Ennis-Hill (Lottery-funded Olympian).

## 20 years of the National Lottery

The poll result was announced to mark the 20th anniversary of the first National
Lottery draw, which took place on 19 November 1994. Since then players have raised
over £32 billion for more than 430,000 projects across the UK.

Over £53 billion has been paid out in prizes and more than 3,600 millionaires created
so far.
 

 * **[PDSA & National Memorial Arboretum launch Paws for Remembrance event](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/02/04/pdsa-arboretum-launch-paws-for-remembrance-event/)(
   4 February 2016)**