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. 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.
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.
Projects
Heritage Highways: engaging with the Richmond Borough Art Collection
Young people worked in teams to create new interpretation, helping shape the way visitors engage with the Richmond Borough Art Collection in the future.
Projects
Building Sights
Young people from across Nuneaton and Bedworth worked with the local charity, Mercurial Arts, the Borough Council and English Heritage, to create their own unique listing system and identify and record the buildings and sites important to them.
Projects
Improving the visitor experience at Horniman Museum and Gardens
The project enabled the museum to increase public access to more of its collections.
Projects
Armagh County Museum Public Access
The project helped improve access to the Grade A listed building that houses a regional museum for the County of Armagh.
Projects
The Science Museum's Wellcome Wing
Our funding supported the creation of a new 10,000sqm wing to showcase contemporary science and technology themes.
Projects
Royal Naval Museum Development Plan
The project was to restore, expand, develop and re-design the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth.
Projects
Gloucester Rugby Football Club Community Heritage Project
Volunteers from the Friends of Gloucestershire Archives captured, shared and celebrated the long history of Gloucester Rugby Football Club.
Projects
Fashioning Africa
Meaningful relationships were built with local communities and diverse experts in this Collecting Cultures project, which saw new ways of working trialled and access widened.