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

Blogs

Teen Digital Takeover: getting young people into museums

Today is the Kids in Museums Teen Digital Takeover: when young people take over the social media accounts of museums, galleries and heritage sites across the UK. The 2018 Audience Agency Museums Audience Report identifies 16-24 year-olds as one of four key museum audiences. However, it also

16/08/2019

Stories

Why working with communities can be 'transformational' for museums

Through including LGBT+ people in conversations about their heritage, one National Lottery-funded project has helped improve representation in Glasgow's museums.

News

Opening up collections: LGBT+ heritage at the V&A

Stuart Hobley, our Director of England, London & South, met with: Joseph Galliano, co-founder of charity Queer Britain, which is working to establish the UK's first national LGBT+ museum Dan Vo, LGBT+ tour co-ordinator at the V&A In the film below, Joseph explains how understanding our past helps us

25/07/2019

News

National Lottery Awards shortlist announced

Nominations have been drawn from the past quarter of a century to celebrate The National Lottery’s 25th Birthday.

24/07/2019

Stories

'Astronaut wanted': the story of Helen Sharman's unique spacesuit

Helen Sharman was the first Briton in space. But before she could even start her training, she had to have a spacesuit made just for her.

Stories

Four artists on how heritage has inspired them

As the Luminary installation opens at the National Lottery-funded Crossness Pumping Station, we spoke to four artists who combine old and new in their work.

Blogs

Why communities are essential to sharing the stories of Pride

These significant and inclusive events raise the profile of all sorts of LGBT+ lived experiences, celebrate activism and build stronger alliances. They increasingly involve people of all ages, cultures and faiths in publicly sharing differing identities. Alongside Stonewall’s 50th anniversary this

05/07/2019

News

Million insects saved as part of £8million of National Lottery funding

A million bugs Oxford University Museum of Natural History’s British Insect Collection has over a million specimens from the 18th century to today, including some that are now extinct. Spanning nearly the entire history of British entomology, the collection is vital in understating the extent and

26/06/2019

News

National Lottery funding for three volunteer-led projects in Scotland

Three new projects in Scotland, with volunteering at their heart, have secured significant support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

25/06/2019

News

Blackpool’s first museum leads the way in heritage-led regeneration

A new museum for Blackpool has been awarded a £4million National Lottery Heritage Fund grant as part of a £10m package of grants, giving heritage-led regeneration and tourism a boost across the North.

24/06/2019