More objects celebrating Newton Abbot's history are to go on show
The museum has a collection of 17,000 objects, with some currently having to be stored off site
A new accessible state-of-the-art museum store is being created at Newton Abbot Museum, following a £818,653 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Museum Curator, Dr Charlotte Dixon, said: "The current museum store is not accessible to the public with narrow corridors not large enough to house the museum’s collection of 17,000 plus objects.
"An extension to the museum will enable better access and for the collection to be housed in one bespoke space.
"Currently some artefacts are stored in offsite rental units.
"The project will make a fundamental change to the level of care, community access and space provided for the stored collections by building a single-story extension to the museum to house an environmentally innovative and accessible collections store.
"With community engagement very much at the heart of this project, a programme of engaging behind-the-scenes community activities will be delivered.
“The museum prides itself on being an accessible and inclusive place to visit, but unfortunately this isn’t currently reflected in the collection stores.
"This grant will enable the construction of a brand new, sustainable and accessible store with space to run community activities enabling visitors to experience behind-the-scenes in the museum and to engage further with the history of the town through the objects we care for. It will ensure the collection is preserved now and for future generations.
“Following a year of consultation with the public we have taken on board and adapted plans for the building and the range of exciting and unique activities that we will be running throughout the three year project and beyond.
“We are excited to start this project and will soon be fundraising to support the grant. We look forward to sharing progress and to welcoming you into our new store soon.”