Museums, libraries and archives

Museums, libraries and archives

Museums, libraries and archives
Museums, libraries and archives tell the stories of our cultural heritage.

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.

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.

Young people in Nuneaton explored buildings in their area
Young people in Nuneaton explored buildings in their area. Image: Mercurial Arts Ltd.

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.

Exterior of Armagh County Museum

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.

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