The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded £704,500 to Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG) towards the creation of a permanent gallery to display objects from the Staffordshire Hoard.
The grant means BMAG is a step closer to raising the funds it needs to build the proposed gallery, which is due to open in September 2014.
The space will display up to 300 items from the Anglo Saxon treasure trove, which was discovered in a field in Staffordshire in 2009 and is the largest hoard of its kind in the UK.
The hoard numbers 3,500 gold and silver pieces, with several additional items declared part of it earlier this year after being discovered in the same area.
The gallery will tell the story of the hoard, from how the objects were crafted and used to the story of their rediscovery and conservation.
A number of objects from the hoard have been on temporary display at the museum since 2010, attracting more than 590,000 in that period.
Birmingham Museums Trust director Simon Cane said: “We are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund is giving its support to this transformational project. The Staffordshire Hoard is our Tutankhamun; an internationally significant cultural and historical asset of such magnitude that it deserves the very best in its display.”
Reyahn King of HLF said: "For locals and visitors to have access to a new permanent display in Birmingham is fantastic news for both tourists and locals alike with the resulting investment it will bring to the city.”
Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum
HLF has also awarded a grant of nearly £500,000 to a world war one centenary project at the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum in Gloucester.
The grant will enable the military museum to revamp its displays of its 25,000-strong collection and create special exhibitions looking at less well-known stories, such as the role of women in the conflict.
The grant means BMAG is a step closer to raising the funds it needs to build the proposed gallery, which is due to open in September 2014.
The space will display up to 300 items from the Anglo Saxon treasure trove, which was discovered in a field in Staffordshire in 2009 and is the largest hoard of its kind in the UK.
The hoard numbers 3,500 gold and silver pieces, with several additional items declared part of it earlier this year after being discovered in the same area.
The gallery will tell the story of the hoard, from how the objects were crafted and used to the story of their rediscovery and conservation.
A number of objects from the hoard have been on temporary display at the museum since 2010, attracting more than 590,000 in that period.
Birmingham Museums Trust director Simon Cane said: “We are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund is giving its support to this transformational project. The Staffordshire Hoard is our Tutankhamun; an internationally significant cultural and historical asset of such magnitude that it deserves the very best in its display.”
Reyahn King of HLF said: "For locals and visitors to have access to a new permanent display in Birmingham is fantastic news for both tourists and locals alike with the resulting investment it will bring to the city.”
Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum
HLF has also awarded a grant of nearly £500,000 to a world war one centenary project at the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum in Gloucester.
The grant will enable the military museum to revamp its displays of its 25,000-strong collection and create special exhibitions looking at less well-known stories, such as the role of women in the conflict.
