The Lightbox Woking, Surrey

What I always want to know when I visit somewhere new is: "What is this place famous for?" Not just local celebs, but real history: what was built here; who lived and died here; what dark stories are hidden behind the identikit high street shop fronts?

Every town has these stories in spades and every self-respecting local history museum should be telling them. And Woking is now attempting to in the Lightbox, its new museum and gallery.

Strolling though the maze of Legoland buildings that blight the town centre, the eye craves something architecturally adventurous. Follow the signs to the Lightbox and you get it - the new museum literally shines out.

It was designed by Marks Barfield Architects and although the site is not ideal - a slither of land between a busy dual carriageway and the Basingstoke Canal - it is easily accessible from the town centre.

Most people will approach the gallery from this side and their first view will be of the silver and gold aluminium tiles that clad the exterior. The architects drew inspiration from fish scales and snake skin for the tiles, but although the colours reflect this, the form does not - no undulating shapes here, just straight up and down boxiness.

The cedar-wood panelling on the front of the building contrasts with the glittering tiles and has been left untreated so it will weather with time. Inside you can immediately see where the "light" bit of the name comes from.

The interior is illuminated by natural light that falls onto the staircase that runs the length of the building. The stylish cafe, with its indoor and outdoor seating, helps to create a welcoming first impression for visitors.

From regiment to mixers

The first sight of the collection is in Woking's Story galleries on the first floor. Geographical context comes first with a large map of the local area and an inset video screen showing still images from five localities. This does create a sense of place - if a slightly boring one. The video on Goldsworth Park for instance contains shots of: "houses", "flats", "church" and more "houses".

The accompanying text explains how Woking grew from little more than a point on a railway line to the town it is today. The text uses an editorial-style: headline followed by standfirst and then a body of text - which can be a good way into the information although most of it is a bit on the dry-side.

The next few sections cover what you would expect in a local history gallery: work and play, industry, and the local regiment. There are enough objects - just - to illustrate these stories, but the museum has only been collecting since 1993, so presumably the displays can be beefed-up later. What has been collected, in abundance, is oral history.

There are at least half a dozen clips available for each subject. But the thing about oral history is that it must be used thoughtfully and selectively to work well. Here there are too many clips and most of them are too long.

A technical problem - the recordings don't stop playing once the handset is returned to its cradle - is made worse by the fact that the volume is too loud. I saw several people holding the handsets well away from their ears or stopping listening halfway through for fear of being deafened.

There are some interesting stories to tell and some of them have been unearthed. Among the things that Woking is famous for is being the home of Ken Wood (of Kenwood chef fame) and there is a great display of the mixers alongside contemporary advertising.

Woking is also the home of the Brookwood Asylum; the largest cemetery in Europe; and the first purpose-built mosque in the UK and the museum doesn't shy away from tackling these stories.

But with each one you feel the surface is only being skimmed, which is a problem throughout this gallery. Objects and facts are provided; oral history and contemporary accounts are there, but there is a superfluity of statements and a distinct lack of narrative.

For example in the display on the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment there are objects relating to Lieutenant Ronald Russell who was a prisoner of war in the second world war. Among the ephemera is a photograph of his family and a touching note from his young son begging his daddy to come home soon. But that's where the story ends - we're not even told whether he arrived back safely.

On the same floor is a temporary exhibition space that opened with Animated Adventures, the story of the Aardman Studios- a good popular choice with local connections, as the company's two founders studied at Woking Grammar school.

The gallery is a decent size and double height, although its not clear whether this is an architectural conceit or there is any purpose behind the tall space. Going up to the second floor, at the top of the staircase a huge window allows visitors to look back down into this space - and on to the tops of the dusty display cases. It is hard to see how this space will be used.

There is more exhibition space on the second floor, this time filled with an exhibition on the making of the Lightbox that takes an innovative approach, using photography, site maps and plans to illustrate the development of the museum.

From here I went in search of the next gallery assuming there was more. There isn't. The perplexing thing about this building is that it's a bit like the Tardis in reverse; big on the outside, but not an awful lot of display space inside.

Art collection loan

The Lightbox also has a substantial art collection on a three-year loan from local business man Chris Ingram. His collection of more than 400 works includes pieces by Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth, but all that's on show at the moment are less than half a dozen sculptures dotted around the museum. This will be temporarily resolved when some of the art collection goes on display next year, but it seems a shame that there is no room for a big permanent display of art.

There are some lovely design touches throughout the museum, from the coloured glass which casts candy-coloured stripes to the main atrium to the oversized designer chairs where visitors can lounge, but you do wonder if all this style comes at the expense of substance.