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.

One of the museum's new galleries
One of the museum's new galleries

Projects

Governor's Residence Access

The Governor’s Residence, part of the Down County Museum, has been made accessible for all visitors, thanks to the National Lottery.

The Hydraulic Pumping Engine with instrument panel
The Hydraulic Pumping Engine with instrument panel

Projects

Restoration of Galloways Pump Engine

The Galloways Hydraulic Pumping Engine has been restored and is now on display to the public.

A display in the new exhibition space
A display in the new exhibition space

Projects

Bury Museum and Archive Centre

Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre have a new museum and archive centre, thanks to National Lottery players.

The Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum

Projects

Darwin Centre

A new building was created to house the museum’s internationally-important collection of botany and entomology specimens, dating from the 16th century.

Students attending a project workshop
Students attending a project workshop

Projects

Degrees of Separation, Barnstaple

Primary and secondary school children engaged with the stories of local soldiers during the First World War through workshops with local museums and an artist, culminating in an exhibition and open day event for the wider community.

Dramatic performance by students at Royal Holloway College
Dramatic performance by students at Royal Holloway College

Projects

Frank went to the Front

Supplies of Horlicks to the troops and the evocative paintings of war artist Paul Nash were just two of the discoveries in this First World War centenary project.

A school party being shown around Houghton Hall, Norfolk
A school party being shown around Houghton Hall, Norfolk

Projects

From Russia with Love: The Return of the Houghton Masters

From Russia with Love was a learning programme about the Walpole Collection of masterpiece paintings at Houghton Hall, based on the highly successful exhibition, Houghton Revisited.

Project participants attending one of the intergenerational workshops
Project participants attending one of the intergenerational workshops

Projects

Back to School: Lessons to Learn

The Scottish Council on Deafness (SCOD) created a series of workshops on the educational experiences of older D/deaf people.

Children exploring an exhibition at Bury Art Museum
Children exploring an exhibition at Bury Art Museum

Projects

Cotton Threads: Bury's Industrial Links to Slavery

A local museum and archive worked together to reach wider audiences by developing an exhibition exploring the transatlantic slave trade through the papers of a Victorian cotton spinner.

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