Museums, libraries and archives

Museums, libraries and archives

Museums, libraries and archives
Museums, libraries and archives tell the stories of our cultural heritage.

Through preservation, exhibition and community engagement, they can bring collections, places and ideas to life. They help us to understand culture, science and history, and give us a sense of place, identity and community.

Thanks to National Lottery players, since 1994 we have awarded £2.6billion to more than 6,100 museum, library, archive and collection-based projects across the UK.

What do we support?

We provide grants for heritage projects from £10,000–£10million for projects led by or featuring museums, libraries and archives.

Our funding supports institutions large and small, including:

  • national, local authority and independent museums, libraries and archives
  • historic libraries
  • community archives and oral history collections
  • institutions with heritage collections

Strategic support for archives

Archives Revealed is the only grant programme in the UK dedicated to cataloguing archival collections. We've invested £5m in the programme as one of our strategic initiatives. 

We're working with The National Archives, The Pilgrim Trust and The Wolfson Foundation to address the significant need to catalogue and open up archive collections across the UK. Read more about what's being achieved with the funding below.

Project ideas

Our funding could help people:

  • create exciting new exhibition and learning spaces
  • attract new and more diverse audiences
  • acquire new items and develop collections
  • improve organisational resilience

For more inspiration see the stories below or browse projects we've funded.

How to get funding

Our National Lottery Heritage Grants programme is open for applications.

Young Muslim Aberdeen

Projects

Young Muslim Aberdeen

A group of local young Muslims explored how their heritage is archived in two major city museums, in a project run by Young Muslim Aberdeen.

British Museum courtyard

Projects

British Museum - Education & Information Centre

Our funding supported the creation of an education and information centre within the Great Court of the Museum, allowing access to this space for the first time since the 1850s.

People taking part in Ask the Audience
People taking part in Ask the Audience

Projects

Ask the Audience

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG) wanted their audiences and offer to better reflect the city’s diversity, and to change the organisation’s culture, putting audiences at its heart.

One of the museum's new galleries
One of the museum's new galleries

Projects

Governor's Residence Access

The Governor’s Residence, part of the Down County Museum, has been made accessible for all visitors, thanks to the National Lottery.

A display in the new exhibition space
A display in the new exhibition space

Projects

Bury Museum and Archive Centre

Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre have a new museum and archive centre, thanks to National Lottery players.

The Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum

Projects

Darwin Centre

A new building was created to house the museum’s internationally-important collection of botany and entomology specimens, dating from the 16th century.

Students attending a project workshop
Students attending a project workshop

Projects

Degrees of Separation, Barnstaple

Primary and secondary school children engaged with the stories of local soldiers during the First World War through workshops with local museums and an artist, culminating in an exhibition and open day event for the wider community.

If you query is regarding our application portal, please contact our support team.