ARTEFACTS from the British Museum and the V&A in London may soon be on their way to the display cases of a museum in Chippenham thanks to public funding from the Arts Council England.

Chippenham Museum is creating a new exhibition space with a £48,000 grant, which will allow the museum to improve security and buy six new state-of-the-art display cases.

“We received a £48,000 grant from the Ready to Borrow scheme and the idea is that we can update our security and our facilities so that we can borrow objects from museums such as the British Museum and the V&A,” Chippenham Museum curator Melissa Barnett said.

“It will allow us to show objects and material connected to Chippenham which are stored in national museums and to bring their story back to the town.”

The new exhibition space, which is due to be open before the end of the year, will be put to the test in November when local artists and craftspeople, such as Howard Hodgkin and Robin Tanner, will have their work displayed.

The museum will also be loaned several satirical prints about the town from the British Museum for its Little Bath exhibition, which will celebrate the best of the town’s Georgian history.

The exhibition space will also be available for community use and will allow the museum to offer a more varied outreach programme. It is also the first stage in the development of the ground floor, which will include a new shop and entrance onto the Market Place.

“The shop and the entrance will be moved to the Market Place and it will be part of a rebrand so we hope to encourage more people to visit and enjoy our town museum and what it has to offer,” Ms Barnett added.

Staff and supporters of the museum, which will remain open throughout the development, have embraced the decision to bring the building into the 21st century.

Chippenham Town Council leader Councillor Sandie Webb said: “These development works are a crucial element for the future progression of the museum as it will enable more exhibition opportunities of work from national institutions”

To keep up to date with the progress of the project email heritage@chippenham.gov.uk or follow Chippenham Museum on social media.