1. Home
  2. What Is Heritage?
  3. Museums, libraries and archives

View as PDF

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.

Find out more and apply
The inside of the PItt Rivers Museum, a large open indoor space with exhibition cases
The Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford

Blogs

Final weeks to apply for Dynamic Collections grants

Our lead on museums, libraries and archives reflects on our Dynamic Collections campaign as it comes to an end, and our long-term commitment to supporting heritage collections.
Four young people chatting and looking at a display of a small historical model settlement
Curating for Change Fellows at the Museum of London. Credit: Museum of London

Stories

How to make recruitment fair and open to all

Curating for Change – the National Lottery-funded work placement programme for D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent curators in museums – is challenging the heritage sector to consider equitable recruitment.
A person standing in front of a glass display of pride flags, t-shirts, leaflets and other memorabilia in a glass case
Mark Etheridge, Curator of LGBTQ+ History in front of 'Wales is… Proud' display.

Stories

Wales is Proud: a look into a national LGBTQ+ collection

Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum of Wales is actively collecting objects, documents, photographs and oral histories to fully represent the LGBTQ+ community and lived experience in Wales
Person painting a rickshaw on display in the South Asia Gallery at Manchester Museum
Rickshaw being painted as part of the South Asia Gallery at Manchester Museum Manchester Museum

News

Hello Future: Manchester Museum to reopen following ambitious transformation

Supported by National Lottery players, the museum will offer visitors the chance to see never-before-displayed collections, explore unique co-curated galleries and learn about extraordinary projects and research.
Colourful illustration of water works building with celebration fireworks drawn by Quentin Blake
Quentin Blake's illustration of the Engine House building, the new home of the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration. Credit: Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration.

Projects

Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration

Historic waterworks are to become the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration thanks to over £3.75million in funding.

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