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, 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.

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.

Children on balcony of wooden playhouse

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.

Volunteer at the Hands on Here exhibition at York Castle Museum
Volunteer at the Hands on Here exhibition at York Castle Museum

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.

The Staffordshire Hoard Gallery with objects on display in glass cases
Inside the Staffordshire Hoard Gallery Birmingham Museums Trust

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.

Children viewing First World War objects at a Green Howards Museum outreach event
Children viewing First World War objects at a Green Howards Museum outreach event

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.

A group of people standing outside the V&A Dundee building

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.

A man teaches a young woman
A volunteer helps a young person learn engineering skills. Photo: Blyth Tall Ship.

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.

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