Museums, libraries and archives

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.

Projects
Weston Park Museum restoration project in Sheffield
Our grants to Weston Park Museum are all about making Sheffield's impressive collection of archaeology, natural sciences, social history and visual art more accessible to the public.

Projects
Hidden voices: uncovering Reading's LGBT heritage
The project explored the heritage of Reading's LGBT community and created an archive of historic and recent stories to preserve them for future generations.

Projects
Personal experiences of volunteer nursing during the First World War
A nurse's wartime scrapbook has inspired this project to commemorate the valiant efforts of medical staff during the First World War.

Projects
Proud to be Derbyshire – A pictorial history celebrating the heritage of Derbyshire CCC
The Cricket Derbyshire Foundation created a visual archive to promote the heritage of cricket across Derbyshire.

Projects
Ashmolean Plan
A new extension was added to the museum’s Grade I-listed Cockerell building, providing conservation and teaching facilities, and expanding education and outreach services.

Projects
Woking Museum Arts & Crafts Centre
Woking Museum Arts and Craft Centre, now known as The Lightbox, was conceived by a local community group in 1993 to establish a museum of Woking’s local and social history.

Projects
New Shetland Museum & Archives
Part of Lerwick’s original waterfront was transformed into an environmentally-conscious heritage attraction using sustainable materials and traditional craftsmanship.

Projects
Kelvingrove New Century Project
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum has undergone major refurbishment to relaunch the site as a world-class facility.

Projects
New Devon Record Office
The Devon Record Office holds judicial, administrative and ecclesiastical records from 11th century to the 20th century.

Projects
Working The War
A group of young people researched the personal stories of families who worked in the local torpedo factory during the First World War.

Projects
Bradford film history and heritage uncovered and explained
A group of young people from a local school worked with Bradford UNESCO City of Film (BUCF) to plan and deliver a heritage project alongside Bradford Industrial Museum, National Media Museum and Yorkshire Film Archive.

Projects
Battle of Waterloo Bicentenary Exhibition
The 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo gave the Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum the opportunity to rejuvenate their collection.