Dorset County Museum has been awarded a grant of £11,349,200 to realise a dramatic new vision for its buildings, facilities and collections.

The Tomorrow’s Museum - Making Dorset Proud project will see four new galleries created at the Museum site in Dorchester, allowing more of the museum’s nationally significant collection to be displayed to visitors.

Among the gems in this collection, which spans 185 million years of Dorset’s history, are over 20,000 specimens from the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, and the largest Thomas Hardy collection in the world, including a dress worn by his wife, Kate Hardy, thought to be described in Tess of the D’Urbervilles.

[quote=Dr Jon Murden, Director of Dorset County Museum]"For the first time, we will have the space to do justice to our amazing collections, whilst ensuring they are safely preserved for future generations to enjoy.”[/quote]

This grant will also allow new research and conservation spaces, as well as a public gallery where visitors can oversee the inner workings of the museum and its staff.

Dr. Jon Murden, Director of Dorset County Museum, said: “We are overjoyed that the HLF have given us this opportunity. For the first time, we will have the space to do justice to our amazing collections, whilst ensuring they are safely preserved for future generations to enjoy.”

Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive of HLF, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, our major investment in Dorset County Museum will enable it to tell more effectively the story of Dorset, spanning more than 200 million years of history. Treasures of national significance such as a rare first edition of Charles Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species’, and the largest Thomas Hardy collection in the world, will be able to be seen and understood by many more visitors, in a truly remarkable setting.”

Dorset County Museum will launch a fundraising campaign next month to raise the final £1.6million needed to put the plans into action.