£500,000 for Much Wenlock Museum

A Shropshire museum which marks the county's inspiration for the modern Olympic Games has been awarded a grant of more than £500,000 to pay for an overhaul.

Managers of Much Wenlock Museum have scooped £520,800 from the Heritage Lottery Fund so they can improve it ahead of next year's Olympic Games.

Work was due to begin at Much Wenlock Museum today and will see changes and improvements to the museum, its collections and facilities.

The museum holds the archives of William Penny Brookes, widely regarded as the pioneer of the modern Olympics.

The Much Wenlock resident founded the Wenlock Olympian Society in 1850 and held the first Wenlock Olympian Games in the same year.

He was also a highly regarded doctor, justice of the peace, botanist, and a keen advocate of the benefits of physical education.

This later inspired Baron Pierre de Coubertin to visit him and subsequently found the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894.

Anticipated visitor levels to Shropshire and Much Wenlock during the 2012 Olympic year are expected to double from 25,000 to 50,000 due to Much Wenlock's heritage connection.

Anne Jenkins, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund for the West Midlands, said the improvement project would broaden the appeal of Much Wenlock Museum.