Trowbridge Museum and Art Gallery will get £114,000 to help pay for its move to Courtfield House.

The grant, from the Arts Council’s Renaissance Strategic Support Fund-ing, will be phased over two years and go towards finding professional help in planning, as well as fundraising, for the move.

The museum is hoping its transfer in 2016, from premises in The Shires Shopping Centre, to get more space for exhibits.

Curator Clare Lyall said: “I’m really happy, as this will help take our expansion forward and its great to know the Arts Council felt we were a worthwhile investment.

“The money will be used to get in people with more expertise than us to help with our application to the Heritage Lottery Fund.”

The museum will get £55,000 during this year and £59,000 next year.

Mrs Lyall said: “Courtfield House offers a unique building, involved in wool and cloth production, which allows us to tell a more complete story of Trowbridge’s heritage and it will help us also because we are currently running out of space.

“Everything is one step at a time, so we don’t know how much the expansion will cost, but we estimate it’ll be a couple of million pounds.

“One of the big things we want to do is offer more artwork and we hope to loan some from galleries across the country.”

If the move to the grade II listed Courtfield House, in Polebarn Road, takes place, the transfer of exhibits from their current home will be phased.