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

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.

16/02/2023

Outside in the stunning setting of Glencoe

News

£1.4million to transform the Highlands’ Glencoe Folk Museum

The community-run museum is set to enhance its visitor experience and bring the village of Glencoe’s unique heritage alive for current and future generations.

16/01/2023

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.

29/11/2022

The Peacemakers Museum.

Projects

New Peacemakers Museum explores community journey from conflict to peace

A new community heritage museum has opened at the Gasyard Centre in Spring 2024.

26/11/2019

People in period costumes with children in front of an old train

Tour guides at the Foyle Valley Railway and Transport Museum posing with visitors. Credit: Destined

Stories

Why you should involve people with lived experience in your heritage project

An interpretive centre run by people with learning disabilities is showcasing Derry/Londonderry’s historic railway heritage and highlighting the importance of inclusion.

The Science Museum in London had the highest score in the Heritage Access 2022 benchmark tool for online access information.

Stories

Report: museums and heritage sites need to improve online accessibility information

A research project led by charity VocalEyes is calling for organisations to create a more inclusive environment for disabled visitors online – committing to equality, inclusion and anti-ableism.

Videos

Dynamic Collections: behind the scenes at Pitt Rivers

How the historic Oxford museum "queered its collections" and changed the way it worked, forever.

Two people smiling and standing in front of a museum entrance

Heritage Fund colleagues Mwiche and Alisha at the David Livingstone Birthplace

Stories

A brave new tribute to a famous Victorian explorer

How an independent museum in Scotland is preserving and re-examining the legacy of the nation’s most renowned explorer and anti-slavery campaigner

Storm Troopers and Darth Vader surround a model of the Millennium Falcon

Millennium Falcon Exhibition

Stories

The National Lottery Awards 2022 are open! Who will you vote for?

Nominations for Project of the Year recognise outstanding National Lottery funded projects that are making a difference for people and heritage across the UK.

a group of people look at objects from a historical archive laid out on a long table

The Natural History Society of Northumbria holds over 16,000 items related to wildlife and nature in the north east of England. Photo: NHSN.

Projects

New Voices for North East Nature

The Natural History Society of Northumbria (NHSN) are collecting and sharing new stories about how a connection with nature has helped people in times of need in the north east of England.

16/08/2022