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 or browse projects we've funded.

How to get funding

Our National Lottery Heritage Grants programme is open for applications.

Dramatic performance by students at Royal Holloway College
Dramatic performance by students at Royal Holloway College

Projects

Frank went to the Front

Supplies of Horlicks to the troops and the evocative paintings of war artist Paul Nash were just two of the discoveries in this First World War centenary project.

A school party being shown around Houghton Hall, Norfolk
A school party being shown around Houghton Hall, Norfolk

Projects

From Russia with Love: The Return of the Houghton Masters

From Russia with Love was a learning programme about the Walpole Collection of masterpiece paintings at Houghton Hall, based on the highly successful exhibition, Houghton Revisited.

Project participants attending one of the intergenerational workshops
Project participants attending one of the intergenerational workshops

Projects

Back to School: Lessons to Learn

The Scottish Council on Deafness (SCOD) created a series of workshops on the educational experiences of older D/deaf people.

Children exploring an exhibition at Bury Art Museum
Children exploring an exhibition at Bury Art Museum

Projects

Cotton Threads: Bury's Industrial Links to Slavery

A local museum and archive worked together to reach wider audiences by developing an exhibition exploring the transatlantic slave trade through the papers of a Victorian cotton spinner.

Visitors observing a typewriter on display at the museum
Visitors observing a typewriter on display at the museum

Projects

Write Here, Write Now', Birmingham

The Birmingham Pen Museum has been expanded, with a new activity space to help bring its unique heritage to life for future generations.

Last Post: Remembering The First World War display
A display from the Last Post: Remembering The First World War project

Projects

Last Post: Remembering The First World War

This project focused on increasing access to First World War archival material held in The British Postal Museum and Archive.

Bristol Aerospace Centre
Concorde is displayed at the Bristol Aerospace Centre

Projects

Bristol Aerospace Centre

Providing a rare insight into the history of British aviation at Filton, the Bristol Aerospace Centre project tells the story of one of the birthplaces of aviation in Britain.

The Dylan Thomas Centre
The Dylan Thomas Centre

Projects

Dylan Thomas Exhibition

The City and County of Swansea (CCS) celebrate the centenary of Dylan Thomas’ birth through the redevelopment of the Dylan Thomas Centre.

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