West Berkshire Museum to get £2.2m revamp

The refurbishment work is expected to take about a year

The West Berkshire Museum is to be given a £2.2m revamp.

The refurbishment work includes restoring its 17th Century cloth hall and creating a link building to enlarge its exhibition area by a third.

The museum in Newbury, which features Iron Age artefacts and an art collection, has closed for the year-long work to take place.

Volunteers have checked and packed almost 20,000 artefacts and collection material in preparation for the work.

West Berkshire Council, which owns the museum, said the work was due to start on 13 May.

Funding has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund, who awarded a grant of £1.2m.

The remaining £1m has been raised by West Berkshire Council, Greenham Common Trust and the Headley Trust.