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
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.

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.

Projects
Armagh Observatory - Telescopes and Domes
Armagh Observatory is the oldest working observatory in the UK, it houses a unique collection of historic instruments and archives.

Projects
Huntingdonshire’s Heritage: The Norris Museum development project
The Norris Museum, home to a treasured collection of artefacts relating to the history of Huntingdonshire, has been restored.

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.

Projects
Aspire (Constable 'Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows')
Our grant helped secure John Constable’s Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows for the nation.

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.

Projects
Lindisfarne Gospels Durham, 2013 and beyond
This project was to host the Lindisfarne Gospels and St Cuthbert Gospel at Palace Green Library in Durham.

Projects
Childhood at Osborne
Families are now able to step back into the world of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s children at Osborne on the Isle of Wight.

Projects
Marking the First World War Centenary at York Castle Museum
The York Museums and Gallery Trust transformed the upper floors of a Grade I listed prison building into exhibition space and introduced an ambitious four year programme about the First World War.

Projects
The Staffordshire Hoard Gallery
Public interest in the Staffordshire Hoard has been unprecedented. A temporary display at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery attracted more than half a million visitors in 12 months.

Projects
Redeveloping the Green Howards Museum
The Green Howards Regimental museum received almost £1million to redevelop its galleries and put on a series of family activities.