Museums, libraries and archives

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.

Find out more and apply

The Hold volunteers at their stand at Suffolk Pride

The Hold volunteers at Suffolk Pride

Projects

The Hold": A Suffolk Archives Service for the 21st Century"

Suffolk Archives' latest project sets to uncover and share the hidden LGBTQ+ stories from Suffolk's history.

19/04/2016

Performers in servants' attire at Duckie’s Lady Malcolm’s Servants’ Ball

Duckie’s Lady Malcolm’s Servants’ Ball at Bishopsgate Institute. Credit: Holly Revell

Projects

Re-enacting the 100-year-old Lady Malcolm's Servants' Ball

A collective of performance artists re-enacted Lady Malcolm’s Servants’ Ball; a firm fixture of the queer scene in London almost a century ago.

10/12/2014

Museum of Oxford's Queering Spires exhibiton. Display post it notes with comments and memories from visitors.

Stories

Case study: Queering Spires - a history of LGBTIQA+ spaces in Oxford

The organisation The Museum of Oxford is dedicated to telling the story of Oxford and its people. The project The temporary exhibition, Queering Spires aimed to tell the untold stories of hidden queer spaces in the city of Oxford. The local authority-run museum wanted to focus on the principles of a

Visitors having picnics outside of Braemar Castle

News

£1.9m to help Highlands heritage

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has invested £1.9million to support the development of three spectacular Scottish heritage sites.

14/01/2021

Landing Craft Tank LCT 7074 in its new location in Portsmouth

News

Last surviving D-Day landing craft opens in Portsmouth

Six-year project to restore ship and open it up to the public is completed thanks to £4.7million National Lottery support.

12/12/2020

Projects

COVID19: Museum of East Anglian Life

The open-air Museum of East Anglian Life relies on volunteers to care for its 17 historic buildings and three kilometres of woodland and nature trails.

10/08/2020

Martha having a costume fitting

Projects

Foyle Valley Transport and Railway Museum

Disability charity Destined Ltd are improving access to the Foyle Valley Railway Museum.

03/03/2020

Young girl interacting with a dragon puppet during a PAMIS story telling session

Projects

Improving access to museum heritage for people with learning disabilities

The stories behind exhibits at four of Scotland’s leading heritage attractions are being brought to life for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

17/12/2018

Projects

Digitising the Leonard Cheshire Sound Archive - preserving and raising awareness of Leonard Cheshire History

256 sound tapes that record the memories of people who have lived, worked and volunteered at Leonard Cheshire Disability since the 1950s will be preserved and made available to the public.

21/03/2019