Guests celebrate Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery restoration work

Guests attended the celebration event last night - exactly one week before the attraction in Shrewsbury's Square finally opens to the public.

The £10.5 million project to overhaul the former Music Hall was originally due to be completed in November 2011 but has been delayed by major structural issues.

Councillor Keith Barrow, leader of Shropshire Council, was on hand at last night's event to unveil a plaque marking the end of the restoration project.

The new facility will open to the public from 10am on Tuesday, while the visitor information centre and cafe bar on the ground floor will open the day before.

Exhibition spaces begin on the ground floor with the Prehistory and Roman Galler,y which includes artefacts including an ornate silver mirror discovered at nearby Wroxeter.

There is also a section dedicated to Admiral John Benbow, with the exhibition featuring a performance of music about Shrewsbury's naval hero from Shropshire male acapella group The Men from Off which was filmed in the neighbouring Admiral Benbow pub.

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Admission charges of up to £4 for adults will apply for the rest of the museum and art gallery.

The building also has conference room space, which will be able to hold weddings.

The new museum is expected to attract around 50,000 visitors a year – double the number who visited the free-to-enter Rowley's House museum it is replacing.

But even with charges for entry, Shropshire Council expects it will have to subsidise the venue to the tune of £200,000 per year.

Workmen are still on site ensuring the final few jobs are completed in time for the official opening to the public on Tuesday morning.

Exhibits on famous Shropshire figures including Charles Darwin and Admiral Benbow are now in place, while artwork from Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin adorns the walls of the temporary exhibition gallery inside the building.

Shropshire's rich heritage and history is explained through thousands of artefacts and artworks laid out across the three buildings that make up the museum complex.

The scheme was mired in controversy during the building after substantial construction delays and plans to charge for general admission. But it is hoped the new museum will act as a major draw for tourism, with bosses hoping to attract thousands of visitors each year.

The visitor information centre has been put on the ground floor along with the new stop. cafe bar. One retail unit at the front of the site is yet to be let.

Exhibition spaces begin on the ground floor with the Prehistory and Roman Gallery. This space, which will be free to enter for all visitors, features a replica roundhouse designed with the expert help of Time Team archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson.

It also includes some of the nation's most treasured Roman artefacts, including an ornate silver mirror discovered at nearby Wroxeter.

On the first floor of the Vaughan's Mansion section are galleries looking at the medieval, Tudor and Stuart periods. The county's role in the English Civil War is a key feature, with artefacts such as muskets and cannon balls on show and information about Charles I's time in Shropshire.

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