Applications closed on 1 October 2026.

Many funders run the same grant every year, so check the funder’s site for a new round. The details below are what the funder published when it was open.

The National Manuscripts Conservation Trust

National Manuscripts Conservation Trust Grants

Grants for the conservation of manuscripts, documents and archives of national importance, awarded since 1991 to non-national archives and record offices, specialist libraries, universities and museums. Grants are typically £500 to £10,000, though around a quarter now exceed £10,000 and the largest recent award was £25,000; up to 100% of project costs can be met, but applications are stronger with co-funding. Two deadlines a year, 1 April and 1 October. Institutions in receipt of direct government funding are not eligible.

Check the funder’s site

Open grants like this

Grants you can apply for now, for the same kind of work or place.

You could get: £500 – £10,000
Deadline: Closed; the deadline has passed
Effort: Moderate; full application with documents

Who can apply

Non-national archives and record offices, specialist libraries, universities and museums — record offices, libraries and other similar publicly funded institutions, including local authority, university and specialist record repositories
Institutions receiving direct government funding are not eligible
Private owners of manuscripts may apply if public access is permitted, proper storage exists, they commit to continuing preservation, and they guarantee to repay the grant if the material is sold
The material must be owned by the applicant or legally deposited with them, and be of national importance or significance requiring specialist conservation; each borderline case is considered individually and the Secretary will discuss it beforehand
Grants are paid in two equal instalments, half on award and half on completion with a satisfactory final report, and the project must be completed within five years
Material cannot be sold or pledged without 60 days' notice to the NMCT, and if sold with consent the NMCT may reclaim the grant or 10% of the sale proceeds, whichever is greater
Public acknowledgement of the grant is required in exhibitions, websites, social media and publicity

What it funds

The conservation of a single item or an entire collection:

Repair, binding and preservation measures
The fees of a commercial conservation studio
Salaries for staff or interns doing the conservation work, and backfilling the role of existing staff who do it
Expendable materials
VAT where the applicant cannot reclaim it
Inventory or summary lists where these are the first stage of conservation
Digitisation where it is part of the conservation project and for preservation purposes

Projects with a training component are prioritised.

What it will not fund

Capital equipment
Digitisation primarily to increase access, or as a project in its own right
General arranging and cataloguing
Public records under the Public Records Acts
The institutional archives of the applying organisation
Loan collections
Photographic material
Audio-visual material
Printed material
Institutions in receipt of direct government funding

How to apply

Read the FAQs to check that both your institution and the material are eligible, and contact the Secretary, Nell Hoare, to discuss a potential application — the trust invites this
Download the application form from the Forms page of the website
Complete and submit it by 1 April or 1 October, or the nearest working day where the date falls at a weekend

trustees take expert advice from The National Archives, the British Library and the national libraries of Wales and Scotland, which may include a visit to inspect the material and discuss your institution's strategy for its archives

Have ready

The completed NMCT application form, downloaded from the Forms page

the trust publishes its Grant Conditions and Final Report form on the same page; the final report is submitted by email to the Secretary at the end of the project.