Museums, libraries and archives

Museums, libraries and archives

A person handles large parchment documents in an archive room, with shelves of archive boxes in the background
Black Cultural Archives. Credit: Kois Miah
Museums, libraries and archives tell the stories of our cultural heritage.

Through objects, collections, film, documents and oral histories they help to give us a sense of place and identity.

Thanks to National Lottery players, since 1994 we have awarded £2.4billion to 5,900 museum, library, archive and collection-based projects across the UK. See stories from projects we've funded below.

We provide grants for heritage projects from £10,000–£10million to ensure that heritage is valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future.

What do we support?

Our funding supports institutions large and small, including:

  • national and local authority museums, libraries and archives
  • historic libraries
  • community archives
  • institutions with heritage collections

Project ideas

Our funding could help people:

  • create exciting new exhibition and learning spaces
  • attract more diverse audiences
  • interpret and open up acquisitions
  • develop collections

For more inspiration, see the stories below or browse projects we've funded.

How to get funding

Our National Lottery Heritage Grants programme is open for applications.

A young participant demonstrates wartime medical techniques to a young visitor
One of the young participants demonstrates wartime medical techniques to a young visitor

Projects

Wartime Medicine and Innovation

Young people investigated the medical developments from the First World War and the impact they have on their lives today.

Two volunteers handle objects from the collection with a visitor
Object handling sessions enable visitors to engage more closely with the collections

Projects

In Touch - Museum Volunteer Accreditation Programme

Two museums worked closely with local agencies and community groups to open up volunteering opportunities to people who would not usually engage with heritage.

An icon of a hammer and chisel

Projects

Valence House Redevelopment Project

The Valence House Museum received a grant of £1,843,000 to enhance the Grade II* building and its surroundings, improve access, and create learning and involvement activities as well as new resources.

Signs of our times: A sign language history of the Deaf community in Northern Ireland,

Projects

Deaf Heritage

More than 150 Deaf volunteers worked to research, record and preserve the history of the Deaf community in Northern Ireland for the first time.

Ware Museum
Ware Museum

Projects

Phase 2 Extension to Ware Museum

The Ware Museum has been extended and refurbished, to allow visitors more space to explore its collections and learn about the history of Ware and the surrounding area.

Coal mining machinery that has been preserved as part of this project
Coal mining machinery that has been preserved as part of this project

Projects

Cutting Edge Heritage - Conserving the Past for the Future

The National Coal Mining Museum for England (NCMME) led on this project to increase access to a unique coal mining collection and photographic archive.

Visitors at Topsham Museum

Projects

Topsham Museum Boat Gallery

The project focused on building an extension to Topsham Museum to house four historic local boats and providing access for the public.

The Royal Museum, Scotland

Projects

Revitalising Edinburgh's Royal Museum

This project helped revitalise the Royal Museum, transforming the public use of the building, while remaining sensitive to its original Victorian architecture.

An actor in traditional dress standing on the Jurassic Coast

Projects

Jurassic Coast Gallery

The 95-mile stretch of Dorset’s Jurassic Coast is England’s only natural World Heritage Site – at the heart of which is palaeontological gem, Kimmeridge Bay.

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