Four projects - including the major redevelopment of Colchester Castle Museum, Essex - are to receive a share of £10.2m from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

Colchester Castle Museum has secured £3.2m towards the transformation of the attraction into a high-quality exhibition space, featuring recent archaeological discoveries. The Nomadic Trust has also been awarded £3.2m, which will be used for the restoration of the last remaining White Star vessel - SS Nomadic - in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Other confirmed awards include a £1.4m grant towards plans for a permanent exhibition of the life of British composer Benjamin Britten at The Red House in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. Lytham Hall in Lytham St Anne's is the final recipient of a confirmed grant, with £2.4m to fund restoration work to remove the building from English Heritage's 'at risk' register.

Meanwhile, the HLF has also announced that initial support has been awarded to a number of other UK schemes, including a Battle of Bannockburn visitor centre in Scotland. Dorset's Tank Museum; London's Kew Bridge Steam Museum; and York: Gateway to History are also among the heritage projects to receive a first-round pass.

HLF chief executive Carole Souter said: "The projects we are supporting today, from buildings and boats to battlefields and books, help us understand the stories of our past. "The Heritage Lottery Fund is all about the conservation and celebration of what makes us special and key to this is ensuring people are at the centre of everything we fund."

Image: Colchester Castle Museum has secured £3.2m