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

Two young people running through the museum.

Visitors at Windermere Jetty Museum, which is offering free entry as part of the week. Credit: Tom Arran.

News

Special offers and free entry to heritage attractions this spring

National Lottery Open Week is running from Saturday 7 to Sunday 15 March 2026, with hundreds of heritage venues getting involved.

24/02/2026

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.

Three musicians carrying instrument cases cross a zebra crossing on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow

Players from the Scottish Ensemble, one the partners who will use the historic McLellan Galleries on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow following restoration. Photo: James Chapelard.

News

We’ve invested £10million to revitalise historic places and bring communities closer to their heritage

With our support, built heritage projects from Glasgow to Grimsby will bring new life to high streets, pass on new skills and boost pride in place.

17/02/2026

The project will open up iniva's archive to the public. Credit: Francis Augusto / iniva.

Projects

Living Legacies: collaboration, community and radicality

10/02/2026

Institute of International Visual Arts (iniva) is running a four-year project to transform public access to its renowned archive sharing the heritage of ethnically diverse communities.

12/03/2024

Sunlight shines through a rainbow pride flag hung in front of a window above rows of bookshelves

Lavender Menace's archive space. Credit: Sigrid Nielsen.

Projects

Preserving LGBTQ+ literary heritage at Edinburgh’s Lavender Menace archive

This project is continuing the legacy of Scotland’s first LGBTQ+ bookshops, caring for community history and building a sustainable future.

31/01/2023

A black and white photograph of Jonathan Cutbill looking at a bookshelf

Senate House Library is making Jonathon Cutbill’s extensive collection available to access. Credit: Steve Keay.

Projects

Opening up the landmark Haud Nominandum collection of LGBTQ+ literature

05/02/2026

Housed at Senate House Library, Jonathan Cutbill's 30,000 item archive – one of the UK's largest – reveals centuries of LGBTQ+ stories.

12/11/2025

A group of people holding Roman artefacts stand in front of a mosaic wall in the Calleva Gallery

The renamed Calleva Gallery at Reading Museum. Credit: Reading Museum.

Projects

Sharing the stories of Reading’s Roman past

27/01/2026

Reading Museum will relaunch their Silchester Gallery as a more accessible space that showcases Roman life and engages new visitors.

12/03/2024

Two Egyptian cartonnage figures on a table

Egyptian cartonnage figures, part of the collection at The Egypt Exploration Society. Credit: The Egypt Exploration Society.

Projects

Building the future of The Egypt Exploration Society

21/01/2026

Our support is helping to transform the home of Egyptology in the UK into an accessible, innovative and sustainable heritage centre.

18/06/2024

A close up of Cromwell's Watch, shown in a silver case.

It is one of only two watches thought to have belonged to Cromwell, the other being in the British Museum. Credit: Simon Hill, The Cromwell Museum.

Projects

Bringing Oliver Cromwell’s watch home to Huntingdon

20/01/2026

The Cromwell Museum secured the small pocket watch for its permanent collection following a public appeal and is now sharing its story with new audiences.

08/05/2025

Digitising tape reel recordings on a machine

A digitising machine transfers old recordings to a digital archive. Credit: Sounds of the South West.

Projects

Saving the sounds of the South West

20/01/2026

A three-year project by Bristol Archives is protecting more than 8,000 rare and at-risk audio recordings.

12/03/2024

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

09/01/2026

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.

06/03/2024