National Manuscripts Conservation Trust

Since the NMCT was founded in 1990 it has awarded grants of nearly £3.5m which have enabled the conservation of hundreds of musical, literary, architectural and other vital historical documents that would otherwise have been lost or faced an uncertain future. 

They welcome applications from non national archives and record offices, as well as specialist libraries, universities and museums. They have two grant deadlines a year, April 1st and October 1st - you can find out how to apply and can download application forms from their website. 

The National Manuscripts Conservation Trust, founded in 1990, offers grants for the conservation and preservation of manuscripts and archives.  Since 1990 we have awarded grants of over £3.7m towards projects with a total value of over 7.2m.    Thanks to our grants many thousands of manuscripts and archives across the UK are accessible to the public and researchers. 

The next deadline for the submission of applications is 3rd April 2023 with the decision in mid-June. If you want to plan ahead, the deadline after that is 1st October 2023. 

We welcome grant applications from non-national institutions such as county record offices, museums, university archives, cathedral archives and libraries and specialist collecting institutions.  The collections to be conserved should be of local, regional, national or specialist significance.  We like projects that include a training element (e.g. conservation placement or internship, training for volunteers etc) but this is not obligatory.  Our grants can cover conservation, binding and other preservation measures, including digitisation providing it is part of a wider conservation project.   

Among conservation projects recently made possible thanks to our funding are: 

• Demotic Papyrus 9, c513BCE. John Rylands' Library; 
• Lichfield MS 33 Armorial of the Garter, c1580. Lichfield Cathedral; 
• The Dudley Glass Collection Archive.  Stourbridge Glass Museum; 
• The archives of the National Union of Mineworkers. University of Warwick; 
• The Minute Book of the Haddington Cordiners 1610-1702. East Lothian Archives; 
• Diocese of Bath and Wells Probate Accounts 1577-1748. South West Heritage Trust; 
• Historia di Tlaxcala (MS Hunter 242;16th century). University of Glasgow; 
• The Lambeth Palace Library Early Manuscript Sequence (MSS 1 – 590). Lambeth Palace Library; 
• A medieval Processional, and a Commonplace Book from Castle Acre. Norfolk Museums Service. 
• The Plymouth Estate Surveys. Glamorgan Archives. 
• Archbishop J. G. Beresford (1772-1862) Archive. Armagh Robinson Library. 

Applications must be submitted on our application form, which you can download from our website: www.nmct.co.uk.  

If you have any queries about whether your project is eligible or about our application process you are most welcome to contact Nell Hoare, it is easiest to contact her at [email protected].  Nell can also give advice on other sources of grant if you need additional funding for your project. 

NMCT is the only grant giver solely focused on manuscript conservation and we are keen to spread the benefit of the funding that we have available, so do consider applying.