Maidstone Museum's new £3.7m extension officially opens

The new £3.7m East Wing enables Maidstone Museum to display more of its collections

A £3.7m extension to a museum in Kent, partly funded by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant, has been officially opened.

The new East Wing at Maidstone Museum offers an extra 40% of space to display collections and exhibitions.

It has divided opinion, with some people applauding the gold extension and others saying it is too modern.

The museum and its art gallery has a large collection of 660,000 objects, ranging from a 2,700-year-old Egyptian mummy to a chair used by Napoleon.

The East Wing extension was designed by Hugh Broughton Architects.