Plans to move Worcester soldier history gallery given £243k

The Mercian Regiment Museum said the money would be used towards plans to relocate the military history display

Plans to relocate a museum gallery about more than 300 years of a county's military history have been given £243,200 in lottery funding.

The funds will help relocate the Worcestershire Soldier Gallery to a different building, The Mercian Regiment Museum (MRM) said.

The proposals would see it move from the Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum to The Commandery.

The aim was to create a new "cultural asset", a spokesperson said.

The Commandery was the Royalist headquarters during the Battle of Worcester in 1651.

Relocating the display into the ground floor of the building would link the history of soldiers from the city and county over four centuries, they added.

The money from the National Lottery Heritage Fund will be used by the MRM in partnership with Museums Worcestershire and the Worcestershire Yeomanry Trust.

It would go towards drawing up their plans to then apply for a full grant for the work in summer 2025, MRM curator Dr John Paddock said.

"The Worcestershire Soldier will cast fresh light on the lives, achievements, tragedies, and triumphs of the generations who preceded us and to whom we owe so much," he added.

The aim was to get more visitors into The Commandery as well as to see the Worcestershire's Soldier story, Dr Paddock said.