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. See stories from projects we've funded below.

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

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, browse projects we've funded, or explore our recent Dynamic Collections campaign.

How to get funding

Our National Lottery Heritage Grants programme is open for applications.

Find out more and apply

A person stands in front of a thatched building showing a butterfly in resin to a group of school children

Ulster Folk Museum is creating new facilities and ways for people to get involved. Credit: Johnny Frazer.

Stories

New investment is reawakening Ulster Folk Museum

The transformative £50million redevelopment project will help bring people closer to their shared heritage.

Children enjoying an exhibition at Seven Stories, Newcastle upon Tyne

Hub

Dynamic Collections

Our campaign supported collecting organisations across the UK to become more inclusive and resilient with a focus on engagement, re-interpretation and collections management.

An archive image showing a person in a wheelchair holding a sign in front a double double bus. There is a police officer on the left hand side.

The project uncovered Keith Armstrong's photographic archive, who photographed events from within. Credit: Shape Arts.

Blogs

Taking experiences with historic collections outside the archive’s walls

Shape Arts shares how it worked with disabled people to remove barriers, share power and build an archive informed by lived experience.

06/08/2026

A person reveals the Bellville Sassoon pink floral coat and dress from the collection stores

Bellville Sassoon dress and overcoat, part of the Fashion Museum Bath's collection. Credit: David Parry Photography.

Projects

Fashion Museum Bath to become a destination for the south west

04/08/2026

This project will regenerate a historic building in the heart of Bath to house the collection and engage young people and the community.

27/03/2025

three children in a warehouse pose next to a wooden crate storing life size statues of two tourists. The sculptures wear summer holiday clothes and one holds a camera

Edinburgh children visit the National Galleries of Scotland’s art store and explore the artworks. Duane Hanson, Tourists, 1970. © Estate of Duane Hanson. Artist Right Society (ARS), New York / DACS, London 2026. Photographed by Stewart Attwood.

Projects

The Art Works opens up Scotland’s national art collection

We’re helping the National Galleries of Scotland create a free-to-visit collections store in Granton, north Edinburgh, to increase access to over 130,000 artworks.

24/06/2026

A person stands with a box of vegetables grown in the archives garden.

Hannah, Project Officer, with vegetables harvested from the community garden. Credit: Gloucestershire Archives.

Projects

Case study: Gloucestershire Archives’ prize-winning environmentally friendly project

21/07/2026

Joint winner of the Sustainable Project of the Year at the Museums + Heritage Awards 2026, the archive shares how it reduced its carbon footprint and inspired public action.

07/06/2023

The exterior of two eighteenth century buildings, one is black and white with arched doorways and the other is pale yellow with green accents and arched windows

The existing museum at 59 Castle Street (pictured right) will expand into number 57, to make a gallery space nearly four times its current size. Credit: Causeway Coast and Glens Museum Services.

Projects

Reviving Ballycastle Museum – the gateway to a coastal community

25/06/2026

A listed 18th-century courthouse and market building in Ballycastle’s Conservation Area will undergo conservation repairs. Together, they’ll become a dedicated space for exploring local heritage.

09/03/2023

Visitors at the Burrell Community Open Day_021 views some figurines.

Publications

Understanding how UK museums manage collections in storage

We commissioned research to better understand the pressures facing collections storage across the UK and what the sector needs to address them.

A black and white archive image of doctors and nurses in the 1900s gathered around medical equipment in an operating theatre

Medical and nursing staff in one of the original operating theatres of the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, early 1900s. Credit: Collections of Belfast Health and Social Care Trust.

Projects

Bringing 125 years of hospital history to life

16/06/2026

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust is leading a three-year project to mark the 125th anniversary of the Royal Victoria Hospital and establish a social and medical history collection.

27/10/2025

Visitors stand among the Calanais Stones

The visitor centre at Calanais Stones is now open for a preview season. Credit: Marie Martin.

Stories

Heritage sites to visit this summer

From historic ships to archaeological sites, there’s plenty of recently opened heritage attractions to visit.

A group of people smiling stand around a green train

A group of volunteers from the South Wales Miners Museum. Credit: South Wales Miners Museum.

Projects

South Wales Miners Museum: strengthening a volunteer-led museum

29/05/2026

A volunteer-run mining museum in the Afan Valley is building skills, confidence and capacity to secure its future and support its community.

03/03/2026

Two young people looking at collection items on display.

Victoria and Albert South Kensington is transforming its South Asia gallery for the first time since 1990. Credit: Victoria and Albert Museum.

News

We’ve invested £25million to connect young people with heritage

From safeguarding sharks to performing Shakespeare, our latest grants are creating opportunities for young people to explore, learn about and develop in heritage.

20/05/2026

an exhibition space with decorated masks, pictures and labels on the walls

The Beyond Labels exhibition brings together stories and experiences of disabled people in Suffolk. Credit: Simon Lee Photography.

Stories

Suffolk Archives’ inside guide to award-winning community co-creation

The Hold’s latest community engagement on disability history is the result of years of learning from projects and exhibitions that reflect and are driven by local people.