After 117 years in the city centre, the Museum of St Albans shut its doors on Saturday (20) with a fond farewell.

The museum in Hatfield Road is moving to a new home in the Town Hall in late 2017 as part of a £7.75 million project which will include a gallery.

Saturday saw hundreds of well-wishers flock to the building to join St Albans Mayor, Cllr Salih Gaygusuz, for a farewell event.

Resident artist Lyndall Phelps was there for the closing celebration of her installation, Abundance.

Over her summer residency she transformed the top floor gallery into an evolving sculptural installation that celebrated historic St Albans industries with a modern twist.

Some of the earlier visitors were the lucky recipients of one of the 117 goodie bags used to mark the number of years the museum has been open.

The Museum of St Albans has been dedicated to the history of the district with Verulamium Museum concentrating on its Roman heritage.

Cllr Annie Brewster, the council’s portfolio holder for sport, leisure and heritage, said: “Closing the Museum of St Albans to the public is a hugely significant stage of the planned redevelopment of the museum’s service.

“Work is underway to bring this about and to raise funds to transform St Albans’ Grade II listed Town Hall into a fabulous new museum and contemporary art gallery. Lyndall’s work has given everyone a small insight into the scope of future exhibitions that can bring our historic collections to life using various art installations.”