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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
An elevated view across the busy market stalls of Alnwick towards Northumberland Hall, which runs along the far side of the market square.
Northumberland Hall, in the heart of Alnwick, on market day. Photo: Bailiffgate Museum and Gallery.

Projects

Reimagining Alnwick's Northumberland Hall as a community museum

The Heritage, Creativity and Community project will restore a historic Georgian building and create a new home for the town's award-winning Bailiffgate Museum and Gallery.

A view of the museum and the glass Winter Gardens across the lake of Mowbray Park.
Our grant will improve the visitor experience and how the site interconnects with the surrounding park environment. Photo: Sunderland City Council.

Projects

Transforming Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens

We're supporting Sunderland City Council to rejuvenate a gem at the heart of the city’s cultural scene.

Three wheelchair users protesting about the inaccessibility of public transport. They are in a busy road in London and have stopped a bus. The central figure has handcuffed themself to the bus and the person on the right of the photograph is about to do the same. The central figure also holds a placard that says “2007 WE WILL RIDE 2007”. On the pavement behind them a crowd looks on.
The Disabled People’s Archive is preserving moments of protest and community. Credit: The Disabled People's Archive, Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People.

Stories

Access and activism: the archives preserving disabled people’s heritage

Meet two projects in the north of England opening up their archives to shine a spotlight on the fight for disability rights.
Celebrating dance at Newham Heritage Month
Newham Heritage Month events celebrated the intangible cultural heritage of the borough's communities including Bharatnatham dance. Credit: K J Martin.

News

Celebrating the stories of London boroughs

From Kingston to Barnet, we’ve supported communities across the area to connect with the diverse heritage on their doorstep.
Aerial shot of Assizes Court building in Devizes
Assizes Court, a Grade II* listed building on the Heritage at Risk Register. Credit: Wiltshire Museum.

Projects

Assizes for Devizes: a new home for Wiltshire Museum

The at-risk Devizes Assize Court will be transformed to house some of the UK’s finest Bronze Age archaeology.

A view of the now-destroyed tree at Sycamore Gap on Hadrian's Wall.
Preventing acts of criminal damage to heritage sites is a critical concern. Photo: Gordon Leggett, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Stories

Crime, AI and innovation: what our heritage sector surveys revealed in 2025

Our new UK Heritage Pulse research investigates the impact of crime on heritage settings. It’s the latest insight from our conversations to understand the views and experiences of our sector.
Young volunteers at the wheel of a ship out at sea on a sunny day.
Blyth Tall Ship has created inspiring volunteer opportunities in the north east. Photo: Colin McLean Photography.

Stories

Grantee Q&A: the importance of collaborating, learning and adapting

We asked grantees from the Highlands to the Midlands to share their reflections and advice on the different stages of their journey with us – from application, through delivery, to evaluation.
Visitors walk along the pathway to see the Mary Rose ship.
The Mary Rose was built in 1510-11 at the start of Henry VIII’s reign and was one of his favourite ships until it sank in 1545. Credit: Hufton and Crow.

Stories

How our grant ‘turbocharged’ the Mary Rose Museum’s resilience

A heritage project focused on organisational sustainability strengthened the museum’s future, created new opportunities and deepened relationships with its community and peers.
A remote, contemporary bird-watching tower in the middle of vast wetlands. Across a wooden causeway, two birdwatchers depart the tower.
Forsinard Flows Nature Reserve, in the Flow Country UNESCO World Heritage Site, Scotland. Photo: Euan Myles / RSPB.

News

80 years of UNESCO: how our funding protects globally important heritage sites

Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, we’ve invested more than £1billion in heritage projects of all shapes and sizes throughout the UK’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Biospheres and Geoparks.
A person installing a exhibit at Poole Museum
The museum's collection is reinstalled after the refurbishment project. Credit: BCP Council / Poole Museum.

Projects

Poole Museum reopens as a landmark cultural destination

The transformative £10million redevelopment project marks a new chapter for the museum, with inclusivity at its heart.

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