Museums, libraries and archives
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. 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.
Pobl yn cymryd rhan yn yr orymdaith
News
Crowds flock to celebrate Swansea art gallery reopening
Hundreds of people joined in an exciting parade along the streets of Wales’ second city over the weekend as Swansea’s Glynn Vivian art gallery reopened following a multi-million pound restoration.
Samantha Bannerman, currentGwnaeth Samantha Bannerman, curadur ar hyn o bryd yn Amgueddfa Ymddiriedolaeth Cadwraeth St Andrew yn Fife, drawsnewid ei bywyd yn diolch i swydd dan hyfforddiant
News
£10m skills boost for heritage careers
A £10m fund to train the next generation of heritage craftspeople, specialists and entrepreneurs was unveiled today by Sir Peter Luff, Chair of HLF.
News
Uncovering the secret life of artist Mary Watts
Artist Mary Watts' life and work were overshadowed by those of her husband, the great Victorian artist GF Watts. A new gallery is devoted just to her...
Syr Peter Luff, Cadeirydd Cronfa Dreftadaeth y Loteri
News
New measures to support heritage organisations, skills and young people
HLF's Chair Sir Peter Luff has announced a series of measures to boost skills, support organisations through change and give young people a key role in shaping the UK’s heritage.
Amgueddfa Llandudno
News
Llandudno Museum celebrates Welsh Museums Festival in style by securing Heritage Lottery grant
As Welsh Museums Festival Week gets under way there is more reason than usual to celebrate in Llandudno as the town’s museum has secured a major grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to enhance the all weather heritage attraction in Wales’s premier holiday resort.
Gerddi Aberglasney, Sir Gaerfyrddin.
News
£2.6million Heritage Lottery grants for Wales’ churches, wildlife and wells
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) is investing £2.6million in projects across Wales. The National Lottery funding will provide much needed support for Wales’ heritage.
Painting depicting the Battle of Waterloo
Blogs
Bringing Waterloo to Life
As the nation marks the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo, David Huse, CEO of Waterloo 200, talks about why it’s so important the battle is remembered.
Pupil of Humberview School, Ontario, Canada visiting the Exhibition
News
Outpouring of love for Dylan’s words
2014 was the year the world celebrated the life and work of one of Wales’ most famous poets and Swansea’s most famous son, Dylan Thomas, one hundred years on from his birth.
News
Heritage groups offered free coaching to hone fundraising skills
Wales’s museums, libraries and other heritage and environmental organisations are being offered the chance to give their fundraising a major boost.
Noson agoriadol yn y Whitworth. 'Blakean Abstract' gan Cornelia Parker 'Blakean Cemegol' - tân gwyllt gyda meteor y tu mewn (a osodwyd i ffwrdd gan Breath of a Physicist).
News
Let's celebrate
HLF Chief Executive, Carole Souter, talks about National Lottery funded projects drawing in new audiences just months after opening.
Artist's impression of the new V&A Dundee museum
News
£4.5m funding boost for V&A at Dundee from Heritage Lottery Fund
V&A Museum of Design Dundee has today been awarded an additional £4.5m by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) at a meeting of its UK Board. The funding is in addition to the grant of £9.4m (of which £8m was for capital) awarded in January 2014.
News
Images of Egypt and Palestine
Awarded through HLF’s Our Heritage programme, the project will focus on collecting and making accessible images of Egypt and Palestine as they would have been seen by people during the First World War. To mark the Centenary of the First World War, a series of roadshows in England and Wales along