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
V&A at Dundee
From the architecture of Robert Adam to the fashion of Bill Gibb, Scotland has an outstanding creative heritage stretching back centuries in studio, industrial and technological design.

Projects
Blyth's Ship Building Heritage
In just four years, Blyth Tall Ship grew from a germ of an idea and a patch of derelict quayside land, to an inspiring start-up business supporting boatbuilding skills.

Projects
Sharing Stories - a people's museum for Daventry
Daventry Town Council oversaw the development of a Grade II listed Georgian town house into a cultural and historical hub for the local community.

Projects
Crime on the homefront: policing Bishop's Stortford during the First World War
The issue of crime on the home front has often been neglected. This project will focus on the impact of the First World War on crime in Bishop's Stortford and surrounding areas.

Projects
Egham Museum Magna Carta 800 Project
Celebrating the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta, this project delivered a programme of activities and events with the local community.

Projects
Roman Sussex: saving a remarkable treasure
Brighton’s Royal Pavilion and Museums used HLF funding to save a rare treasure hoard, building a valuable network for local museums in the process.

Projects
Exploring the sport heritage of Manchester’s Jewish community
The Manchester’s Sporting Jews project explored and celebrated the sporting heritage of the Jewish community in Manchester.

Projects
The Renaissance Globe Project
The Museum of the History of Science in Oxford illuminated the astonishing history of globe-making for thousands of children and families.

Projects
'Feeding the Nation': A Celebration of the Women's Land Army
Yorkshire Museum of Farming worked with volunteers to create an exhibition for their previously unseen Women’s Land Army Collection.

Projects
Tynemouth World War One Commemoration Project
Volunteers and local residents have gathered information on 1,700 local men from Tynemouth, all of whom died in the First World War.

Projects
K K McArthur Centenary 1912-2012
100 years on, Ballymoney celebrated the Olympic marathon victory of one of its most famous sporting sons with an exhibition, public performances and workshops.

Projects
Bournemouth in Wartime Exhibition
This project, led by Bournemouth Natural Science Society, created a temporary exhibition as part of Local History month to commemorate Bournemouth's role in the Second World War.