Museums, libraries and archives
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.
Projects
Mass Observation Archive: Exploring life in Britain from 1930s to 1950s
The University of Sussex’s Mass Education project inspired a range of people from local schools and communities to engage with a unique social history resource.
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.
Projects
Refurbishing the British Galleries at the Victoria & Albert Museum
This exciting project at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) saw the major refurbishment of its British Galleries.
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.
Projects
Pontypool Townscape Community Project
This two-year project was designed to involve and engage the local community of Pontypool with their local area.
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.
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.
Projects
Heaton Avenues in Wartime
Heaton Avenues in Wartime uncovered 10 hidden stories of local residents during the First World War.
Projects
Yours Sincerely
Young people reinterpreted the changing roles of women during the First World War, through letters, films and an exhibition.
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.
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.
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.