Museums, libraries and archives
Through preservation, exhibition and community engagement, they can bring collections, places and ideas to life. They help us to understand culture, science and history, and give us a sense of place, identity and community.
Thanks to National Lottery players, since 1994 we have awarded £2.5billion to 6,000 museum, library, archive and collection-based projects across the UK. See stories from projects we've funded below.
What do we support?
We provide grants for heritage projects from £10,000–£10million for projects led by or featuring museums, libraries and archives.
Our funding supports institutions large and small, including:
- national, local authority and independent museums, libraries and archives
- historic libraries
- community archives and oral history collections
- institutions with heritage collections
Project ideas
Our funding could help people:
- create exciting new exhibition and learning spaces
- attract new and more diverse audiences
- acquire new items and develop collections
- improve organisational resilience
For more inspiration, see the stories below, browse projects we've funded, or explore our recent Dynamic Collections campaign.
How to get funding
Our National Lottery Heritage Grants programme is open for applications.
Projects
Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter
Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) has had a complete revitalisation, creating a major 21st-century attraction.
Projects
Manchester City Art Gallery Project
Manchester Art Gallery was revamped and provided with more space, better facilities and increased access.
Projects
The Pre-Raphaelite Experiment: re-interpreting the Pre-Raphaelites for 21st Century Manchester
The project aimed to engage new audiences for the Pre-Raphaelite Collection, and record their interaction with the paintings.
Projects
1944 We Were Here: African American GIs in Dorset
Sharing stories of families and the community in Dorset during 1944 as they prepared for the D-Day landings in France.
Projects
Re-telling the Story: Mappa Mundi & Chained Library exhibition, Central
This project aimed to make both the Mappa Mundi and Chained Library accessible to a wide range of people and involve audiences in an interactive way.
Projects
Weston Park Museum restoration project in Sheffield
Our grants to Weston Park Museum are all about making Sheffield's impressive collection of archaeology, natural sciences, social history and visual art more accessible to the public.
Projects
Hidden voices: uncovering Reading's LGBT heritage
The project explored the heritage of Reading's LGBT community and created an archive of historic and recent stories to preserve them for future generations.
Projects
Personal experiences of volunteer nursing during the First World War
A nurse's wartime scrapbook has inspired this project to commemorate the valiant efforts of medical staff during the First World War.
Projects
Proud to be Derbyshire – A pictorial history celebrating the heritage of Derbyshire CCC
The Cricket Derbyshire Foundation created a visual archive to promote the heritage of cricket across Derbyshire.
Projects
Ashmolean Plan
A new extension was added to the museum’s Grade I-listed Cockerell building, providing conservation and teaching facilities, and expanding education and outreach services.
Projects
Woking Museum Arts & Crafts Centre
Woking Museum Arts and Craft Centre, now known as The Lightbox, was conceived by a local community group in 1993 to establish a museum of Woking’s local and social history.
Projects
New Shetland Museum & Archives
Part of Lerwick’s original waterfront was transformed into an environmentally-conscious heritage attraction using sustainable materials and traditional craftsmanship.