Trowbridge Museum reopens after £2.5m refurbishment

Museum manager Hannah Lyddy said it was exciting to reopen to the public after the long closure

A museum has opened its doors to visitors for the first time since 2018 after a £2.5m refurbishment.

Trowbridge Museum in Wiltshire had planned to reopen last year but the work was delayed due to Covid-19.

A new floor tracing the history of technology and weaving through the ages has been added during the refit.

"A museum is nothing without its visitors so we're just thrilled to be able to welcome people back," said manager Hannah Lyddy.

A host of new exhibits are on show

Trowbridge Museum features exhibits from over 2,000 years of the town's history, with a particular focus on how it was shaped by becoming a major producer of West of England woollen cloth.

A community launch was held on Saturday ahead of its first week open from Monday.

The work was supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the improved facilities will mean the venue can host more groups and school visits.

The reopening is the culmination of three years of work to fully refurbish Trowbridge Museum

"We didn't have our new lift so there were lots and lots of stairs for us to walk every object up. We've got about 25,000 objects and those stairs seem to last forever," said Nikki Ritson, in charge of collections and exhibitions.

"When we were opening the boxes it was really exciting to see objects that perhaps we'd forgotten that we had."

A new floor has enabled the museum to expand its exhibition space

The museum has a host of new exhibits and an entire new floor which was previously closed off and used as a storage area.

"This floor is going to be completely new to people. It hasn't been seen by the public since around 1982 when this site closed as a working woollen cloth mill," said Ms Lyddy.

"We've now taken it on, restored it and hopefully its now back to its former glory."