Museums, libraries and archives
![Black Cultural Archives. Credit: Kois Miah A person handles large parchment documents in an archive room, with shelves of archive boxes in the background](/sites/default/files/styles/main_image_desktop/public/media/imgs/Raleigh%20Hall%20development%20for%20Black%20Cultural%20Archives%20-%20Black%20Cultural%20Archives%202%20copy.jpg.webp?itok=dKXj4Ndc)
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
V&A at Dundee
From the architecture of Robert Adam to the fashion of Bill Gibb, Scotland has an outstanding creative heritage stretching back centuries in studio, industrial and technological design.
Projects
Blyth's Ship Building Heritage
In just four years, Blyth Tall Ship grew from a germ of an idea and a patch of derelict quayside land, to an inspiring start-up business supporting boatbuilding skills.
Projects
Sharing Stories - a people's museum for Daventry
Daventry Town Council oversaw the development of a Grade II listed Georgian town house into a cultural and historical hub for the local community.
Projects
Crime on the homefront: policing Bishop's Stortford during the First World War
The issue of crime on the home front has often been neglected. This project will focus on the impact of the First World War on crime in Bishop's Stortford and surrounding areas.
Projects
Egham Museum Magna Carta 800 Project
Celebrating the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta, this project delivered a programme of activities and events with the local community.
Projects
Roman Sussex: saving a remarkable treasure
Brighton’s Royal Pavilion and Museums used HLF funding to save a rare treasure hoard, building a valuable network for local museums in the process.
Projects
Exploring the sport heritage of Manchester’s Jewish community
The Manchester’s Sporting Jews project explored and celebrated the sporting heritage of the Jewish community in Manchester.
Projects
The Renaissance Globe Project
The Museum of the History of Science in Oxford illuminated the astonishing history of globe-making for thousands of children and families.
Projects
'Feeding the Nation': A Celebration of the Women's Land Army
Yorkshire Museum of Farming worked with volunteers to create an exhibition for their previously unseen Women’s Land Army Collection.
Projects
Tynemouth World War One Commemoration Project
Volunteers and local residents have gathered information on 1,700 local men from Tynemouth, all of whom died in the First World War.
Projects
K K McArthur Centenary 1912-2012
100 years on, Ballymoney celebrated the Olympic marathon victory of one of its most famous sporting sons with an exhibition, public performances and workshops.
Projects
Bournemouth in Wartime Exhibition
This project, led by Bournemouth Natural Science Society, created a temporary exhibition as part of Local History month to commemorate Bournemouth's role in the Second World War.