Museums, libraries and archives

Museums, libraries and archives tell the stories of our cultural heritage.

Through the objects, collections, film, documents and oral histories they hold they help to give us a sense of place and identity.

Thanks to National Lottery players, since 1994 we have awarded over £2.2bn to more than 5,600 museum, library, archive and collection-based projects across the UK.

We have awarded over £500,000 to more than 1,700 projects in UK archives and libraries.

What do we support?

Our funding supports institutions large and small, including:

national and local authority museums, libraries and archives
historic libraries
community archives
institutions with heritage collections

Project ideas

Our funding could help people:

revitalise buildings and provide new purpose-built facilities
create exciting new exhibition and learning spaces
refurbish specialist libraries, archives and galleries
attract more diverse audiences
interpret and open up acquisitions
develop collections

How to get funding

Our National Lottery Grants for Heritage programme is open for applications, with refocused priorities for 2021-22. Find out more and apply.

Martha having a costume fitting

Projects

Opening up the story of Northern Ireland's railways to everyone

Disability charity Destined Ltd are improving access to the Foyle Valley Railway Museum.

12/03/2020

Young girl interacting with a dragon puppet during a PAMIS story telling session

Projects

Learning Together: making collections accessible through multi-sensory stories

The stories behind exhibits at four of Scotland’s leading heritage attractions are being brought to life for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

18/12/2018

Projects

Digitising the legacy of disability champion Leonard Cheshire

256 sound tapes that record the memories of people who have lived, worked and volunteered at Leonard Cheshire Disability since the 1950s will be preserved and made available to the public.

21/03/2019

Photo credit: Simon Callaghan Photography

Stories

Museum of Oxford wins Sustainable Project of the Year

Queering Spires exhibition honoured for its commitment to sustainability at the Museums + Heritage Awards.

Stories

Heritage grant helps fund Plymouth's new cultural and heritage destination

Thanks to a £14.8million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund a major new cultural and heritage venue in Plymouth, The Box, is ready to open its doors.

An infographic showing a map of the UK and a pie chart with a breakdown of grants by heritage type

News

Heritage Emergency Fund supports hundreds of organisations across the UK

Our Heritage Emergency Fund helped more than 950 organisations across the UK to cope with the challenges of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.

17/09/2020

Dr Habib and Stephen Welsh with project participant, Urussa

Blogs

South Asian Heritage Month: truth-telling and transformation

As South Asian Heritage Month ends, it’s a good time to look at how more UK museums are considering ways of deepening engagement with South Asian communities and heritage.

18/08/2020

Alistair McNaught

Blogs

Making heritage websites accessible to all

When producing our new guide to online accessibility, Alistair McNaught’s research identified how heritage organisations can make their online content open to all. He tells us more.

06/08/2020

Exterior of Ditchling Museum with sign saying 'it's good to be back'.

Stories

Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft: adapting in difficult times

Now open again, Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft discovered new ways to engage communities and increase resilience during lockdown.

Matthew Mckeague, CEO of the Architectural Heritage Fund

Blogs

Partners and pioneers – building back after the pandemic

Town centres are struggling – after the pandemic, innovative partnerships and investment in heritage can help them flourish again.

28/07/2020

Stories

When the museums open up again

As heritage attractions are given the go-ahead to reopen, we spoke to six museums, which, thanks to National Lottery players, have been helped by our £50m Heritage Emergency Fund.

News

Six projects chosen for Sustainable Project of the Year

Six heritage projects across the UK have been shortlisted for The National Lottery Heritage Fund's inaugural Museums + Heritage Sustainable Project of the Year Award.

01/07/2020

What do we support?

Project ideas

How to get funding

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