Heritage Grants
Date awarded
Location
City Centre
Applicant
National Library of Scotland
Award Given
£17700000
Our funding enabled the preservation and promotion of the John Murray Archive, a record of a 200-year-old publishing dynasty, considered one of the most important collections of 19th century thought and achievement.
The archive contains manuscripts, private letters and business papers from authors who shaped the modern world through their writings on politics, society, travel, exploration and science.
Our grant also funded the development of library facilities to showcase the archive to its fullest. The existing south reading rooms were adapted and renamed the John Murray Reading Room, dedicated to the study of the archive and associated themes. The board room was redeveloped to become a multi-purpose events and exhibitions space to display highlights from the archive, such as the personal letters of authors including Lord Byron, Jane Austen, Charles Darwin and David Livingstone.