Visitors flocked to the Pewsey Heritage Centre for a glimpse of its revamped displays at the reopening on Saturday.

They enjoyed an array of performances from local groups, including music by the Pewsey Male Voice Choir and the Pewsey Belles and First World War sketches by Pewsey Vale Amateur Dramatic Society’s junior group.

There were also a number of activities put on by the Wiltshire Museum Service to keep the youngsters occupied, as well as a village-wide treasure hunt.

The chairman of the Pewsey Heritage Centre trustees, Paul Cowan, said: “We had a much better turnout than we expected. At one point we couldn’t get everyone through the doors.

“Everyone seemed to have a good time. There were families and visitors who had come from a long way away and were just passing through the village and saw there was something going on; you name, it they were here.”

The centre has been closed for almost two-and-a-half years and this was the first time members of the public had been able to see the museum since it underwent a £120,000 refurbishment.

The revamp was funded by the Redcliffe Homes community benefit contribution scheme.

Work on the museum will continue throughout the summer and it will have a grand opening on September 20.

Improvements include new displays and items, a new roof, heating, better signs and longer opening hours.

The museum details the social, agricultural and industrial history of the Pewsey Vale over the last 200 years and is run entirely by volunteers.

Mr Cowan said: “People said that it’s totally different now to what it used to be like.

“The displays have been really modernised and now you can actually walk round the machines and see what they would have done, whereas before they were quite cramped together.”

The new opening hours for the museum are Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm.

To find out more about the museum or to volunteer, call Mr Cowan on 07855 361600 or email paul_cowan@hotmail.co.uk