The St Albans museum and art gallery project has been given a £50K boost by Arts Council England.
The cash from the government-funded organisation will go towards renovating the museum’s assembly room.
St Albans council’s portfolio holder for culture, Annie Brewster, said: “I am thrilled Arts Council England is supporting our inspiring project and has provided this grant.
“The council has been a wonderful supporter of our museum service for many years and they are fully behind St Albans creating something very special in the heart of our historic city.
“We want to make the double height assembly room a spectacular feature of the project.
“It means we have now raised £1.3 million and are in sight of achieving our ambitious target of £1.7 million.
“I urge anyone who wants to donate to this great project to get in touch.”
The assembly room will be used for a range of events once the museum is completed next year.
The council says this will include art exhibitions, theatre, music, dance and events as part of the city’s cultural festivals.
Located on the first floor of the building, the assembly room is the largest room in the Grade II listed building.
It was originally designed as a ballroom, with high ceilings, decorative cornices, and a balcony overlooking the street.
Area director for Arts Council England, Hedley Swain, said: “We’re really pleased to be able to support St Albans museum and art gallery with National Lottery funding as it creates a space dedicated to arts activity.
“It is really important that more people have access to wide variety of great arts and culture and this project is a great way to achieve that.”
St Albans council has set a fundraising target of £1.7m for the £7.75m project.
So far, they have received donations from Heritage Lottery Fund; the Wolfson Foundation; the John Apthorp Charity; the Garfield Weston Foundation; and Boultbee LDN, who own the Maltings.
Details of sponsorship opportunities can be found at the St Albans Museum and Galleries Trust.
To find out more about Arts Council England, visit www.artscouncil.org.uk
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