Wrexham in Wales has received more than £2.7 million in National Lottery funding for the ‘Museum of Two Halves’ project, which includes a new football museum.
The development involves creating two separate museums in the current Wrexham Museum building – a refurbished museum for Wrexham and a national football museum for Wales.
Per a press release from Wrexham County Borough Council, the new football museum will showcase the town’s sporting heritage, displaying objects including John Charles’ debut shirt and a cap awarded to Billy Meredith.
Funding from the National Lottery will allow the museum to purchase a significant Welsh football collection previously held privately.
Paul Roberts, Wrexham county borough council lead member for partnerships and community safety, said: “This is huge news for Wrexham. The new museum is set to become a major new national attraction for the city, drawing new visitors from all over Wales and beyond, and playing a key role at the heart of Wrexham’s burgeoning tourism and cultural offer.”
The funding, he added, will “help us transform one of our city’s landmark buildings into a world-class venue where the rich history of our county borough will be celebrated alongside the eventful story of Welsh football, preserved for future generations to discover and enjoy for years to come”.
“A major new national attraction”
The museum received the funding as part of a £7.6m boost to unique collections in the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s latest round of funding.
Other museums in this round include the Diving Museum in Gosport, the Leach Pottery Museum in St Ives, the Museum of Aberdeenshire, the Egypt Exploration Society and the Lancashire Cricket Heritage Experience.
Eilish McGuinness, chief executive of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “From Aberdeenshire to Cornwall, our latest investment in museums shows the incredible diversity and brilliance of our museums, with collections of local, national and international significance.”
Work started on the Museum of Two Halves last month.
The post Wrexham’s new football museum gets National Lottery funding appeared first on Blooloop.