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Dewsbury Museum re-opens on Monday, August 2, after an extensive programme of development, refurbishment and restoration.

Work has included the installation of a lift in a new three-storey tower, giving visitors with mobility problems access to all floors of the museum in Crow Nest Park, Dewsbury. The tower also houses new visitor facilities.

In addition, a disused area of the museum has been transformed into a new education room for visiting groups of schoolchildren and adult learners. The building is also the first of Kirklees’ museums to have a biomass boiler which burns wood pellets and produces low carbon emissions.

Original features such as wood panelling, ornate ceiling work, fireplaces and mullioned windows have been revealed during the work which was supported by the Council’s capital programme. Because the museum is a grade 2 listed building of special architectural interest with parts dating back to the 16th Century, they have had to be repaired carefully using historic materials.

When the museum reopens its, visitors will be able to once again enjoy its popular toy gallery and recreated 1940s classroom as well as take another look at Area Committee funded local history exhibitions - 'Dewsbury Greats’, ‘Transforming Thornhill Lees’ and ‘The Life and Times of Patrick Bronte in Dewsbury’ - which are now permanently housed there.

Many famous people have connections with the town of Dewsbury. These individuals come from the worlds of entertainment, literature, sport, business and politics. Others have performed great acts of bravery.

The 'Dewsbury Greats' exhibition, produced by Kirklees Museums and Galleries, looks at some of these people, all of whom have left a lasting impression on this town. Among the notable names are Patrick Stewart and Anthony Newley from the worlds of entertainment, Baronesses Boothroyd and Lockwood from the political sphere, and sporting greats Mike Stephenson and Eileen Fenton. In addition the exhibition features local heroes Wallace Hartley, bandleader on the Titanic’s doomed voyage, and Dewsbury’s two Victoria Cross winners. There also some surprising famous names with ancestral links to Dewsbury.

‘Transforming Thornhill Lees’ looks at the industrial past of the Thornhill Lees area, recalling the stories of the people and the businesses that made the area internationally famous. The exhibition was the culmination of nearly two years of work and research by a group of local residents and Kirklees Museums and Galleries staff.

‘The Life and Times of Patrick Bronte in Dewsbury’ was created for last year’s Bronte Dewsbury 200 celebration to mark the arrival of Patrick Bronte in Dewsbury. The exhibition explores his life, work and impact on the town at a pivotal time in Dewsbury’s industrial life and heritage. It was shown at Dewsbury Minster during the celebrations and has also been displayed in Dewsbury library.

Still to be unwrapped will be the museum’s new ‘Discovering Dewsbury’ gallery which blends historic stories, archives and collections with modern day images of Dewsbury people and the stories behind the aspects of their local heritage and identity that mean the most to them.

The gallery links into the ‘Significant Places’ project in which local people were photographed in their ‘significant places' in and around the town.

Some of the photographs and related stories form a new touring exhibition. Images from 'Significant Places' will be featured in the ‘Discovering Dewsbury’ gallery which opens to the public on Monday, August 23. They will sit alongside panels and objects that look at various historical themes - Life and Loss, Knowledge and Power, War and Peace, Work and Play, Town and Village and Comings and Goings.

"The people of Dewsbury have been very patient waiting for the museum to reopen. Its listed building status has meant that much of the work has had to be done using historical materials and processes which are unavoidably lengthy. However, it means that the public will be able to appreciate more of the building's beautiful original features as well as benefit from modern facilities such as the lift and an eco-friendly boiler," commented Cllr Mary Harkin, Kirklees Cabinet Member for Communities and Leisure.

"Also, it is fitting that the three local history exhibitions that have been shown at other venues in the area have been brought together to complement the new Discovering Dewsbury gallery."