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
Buckingham County Museum, Aylesbury - Roald Dahl Children's Gallery
Buckinghamshire County Museum led on a project to create a hands-on children’s gallery based on Roald Dahl’s characters.
Projects
Governor's Residence Access
The Governor’s Residence, part of the Down County Museum, has been made accessible for all visitors, thanks to the National Lottery.
Projects
Restoration of Galloways Pump Engine
The Galloways Hydraulic Pumping Engine has been restored and is now on display to the public.
Projects
Bury Museum and Archive Centre
Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre have a new museum and archive centre, thanks to National Lottery players.
Projects
John Fieldhouse Building - Royal Navy Submarine Museum
The main museum building at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum was extended to enable more of the collections to be displayed to the public.
Projects
Darwin Centre
A new building was created to house the museum’s internationally-important collection of botany and entomology specimens, dating from the 16th century.
Projects
Degrees of Separation, Barnstaple
Primary and secondary school children engaged with the stories of local soldiers during the First World War through workshops with local museums and an artist, culminating in an exhibition and open day event for the wider community.
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.
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.
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.
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.