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.

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.

Books in Armagh Library

Projects

Armagh Public Library Conservation Project

Armagh Public Library is a Grade A listed building and one of the city’s key tourist attractions. It houses regionally and nationally important collections of books, manuscripts, prints and coins.

Outside view of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

Projects

Ashmolean Museum Early 20th Century Gallery

The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford is one of the world’s leading museums. In 2009, it benefitted from a multi-million pound redevelopment project, which saw its display space completely transformed.

April Ashley exhibition
April Ashley exhibition in situ at Liverpool Museum

Projects

April Ashley exhibition and heritage education project

‘April Ashley: Portrait of a Lady’ shared the hidden history of the trans community – those whose gender identity and/or expression differs from the sex they were assigned at birth – with 1.2million visitors.

Children dressed in Tudor costume playing skittles in Barley Hall
Children dressed in Tudor costume playing skittles in Barley Hall

Projects

Barley Hall - Learning & Leisure

Give children a history book and they might struggle to understand the full picture, give them a mop cap to wear or a stick and hoop to play with and they will immerse themselves in their own medieval world.

Visitors at the Heaton Avenues exhibition
The Heaton Avenues in Wartime exhibition

Projects

Heaton Avenues in Wartime

Heaton Avenues in Wartime uncovered 10 hidden stories of local residents during the First World War.

Participant as a VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) nurse in front of a green screen with an image of a First World War hospital
Participant as a VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) nurse in front of a green screen with an image of a First World War hospital

Projects

Yours Sincerely

Young people reinterpreted the changing roles of women during the First World War, through letters, films and an exhibition.

a black icon depicting ocean waves

Projects

A Day on the Beach

A group of young volunteers worked with local people to preserve the heritage of North Tyneside's beach resorts.

Image icon showing a simple outline of a tree

Projects

Rings of Time

A project devised by a group of 25 young people after the old Horse Chestnut tree in the grounds of their community centre was felled.

Handling fabrics
Handling fabrics at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

Projects

Young curators in Birmingham discovered west African textiles

Students from Birmingham universities worked with Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery to create an exhibition to showcase and explore the museum’s West African textile collections.

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