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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 £2.5billion to 6,000 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 in a museum
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.
Visitors line up to get on the Spurn Lightship as it opens to the public. It is docked in Hull Marina against the backdrop of Hull.
Entry aboard the Spurn Lightship is free. Credit: Tom Arran Photo.

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

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

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.
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.
The sun setting over The Royal Observatory
The Royal Observatory. Credit: Chris Gorman / The Big Ladder.

Projects

Transforming the Royal Observatory Greenwich

The 350-year-old site is the UK’s first purpose-built scientific institution. We're funding urgent conservation and significant upgrades to improve the visitor experience.

Shelves full of pamphlets and bookmarks highlighting significant LGBTQ+ writers
Lavender Menace in Edinburgh. Credit: Andrew Thompson.

Stories

Five community spaces that made LGBTQ+ history

Lavender Menace, Edinburgh Founded in 1982, Lavender Menace was the first LGBTQ+ bookshop in Scotland. The shop, and its successor Wilde & West, soon became a hub where people could meet, share experiences and discover LGBTQ+ literature that was hard to find elsewhere. Today it’s been reimagined as
A person using drawing on paper with cut out images of a historical person.
Participants use historical archives to research and develop creative responses to the lives of patients from former psychiatric hospitals.

Stories

New online hub helping partnerships promote wellbeing through archive exploration

Heritage can make a significant, positive contribution to how we feel about our lives. One of our funded projects is sharing a decade of its learnings with organisations across the UK.

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