Chelmsford council has been given £1.44 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund to revamp some older parts of the Museum.

Following public consultation last year, the new displays will be partly based on the local story of how Chelmsford has developed into a city, and the local personalities who have helped along the way.

Part of the ground floor will be converted to a café overlooking the Rose Terrace, where visitors will be able to enjoy hot drinks and meals all year round. The surrounding park will also be upgraded, with better signs drawing attention to its history, plants and wildlife.

Chelmsford council’s cabinet member for leisure, councillor Julia Jeapes, said: “The Council has already invested nearly £5 million in the new museum extension, but we always knew that the older galleries such as archaeology, natural history and the decorative arts would need redisplaying. The Victorian building, which is Grade II listed, also needs money spent on its infrastructure, on things such as heating and lighting.”

“Without the National Lottery funding it would not have been possible to make the changes. I also want to acknowledge the Friends of the Museum and our wonderful volunteers who are contributing and working with us to make this transformation happen.”

The work will begin in the new year and once complete, visitors will be able to enjoy fascinating new displays as well as the old favourites. The displays will be linked to the parkland that surrounds the building, giving explorers plenty to find both indoors and out.

The older part of the Museum, also known as the Victorian House, will close in early January 2018 until spring 2019 so the old displays can be removed. However, the modern extension, housing collections from Marconi, Hoffmann, the Essex Regiment and Essex Yeomanry, other industrial artefacts and interactive displays, will remain mostly open throughout the redevelopment. There will be a few limited closures, which will be announced in advance.

The Heritage Lottery Fund is the largest dedicated funder of heritage in the UK, awarding £7.7 billion to over 42,000 projects since 1994. It funds developments and ventures all over the country, from archaeology to wildlife conservation.