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 £2.6billion to more than 6,100 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.

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.

'Write Here, Write Now', Birmingham

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.

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.

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.

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