Staff at the Oxfordshire Museum are celebrating a double cash boost of more than £600,000 to finance major restoration.

The Woodstock-based centre will receive a £591,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to pay for the conversion of an old workshop into an education facility and the appointment of a education officer for five years.

The grant will also enable the conversion of the Oxfordshire Museums Store into a workshop extension and the replacement of machinery with up-to-date equipment.

The Friends of the Oxfordshire Museum, which has more than 300 members, is giving £50,000 to improve education facilities.

County museums and heritage officer Martyn Brown said: "This grant will allow us to complete the repair and restoration of all the historic buildings on the museum site at Woodstock, following Lottery-funded work that began in 1998.

"The appointment of a museum education officer is a dream come true.

"We have been struggling to offer the range of learning opportunities for children and adults that we would like and now we can really move forward with school visits, holiday activities, and adult classes."

Friends of Oxfordshire Museum chairman Jennifer Griffin added: "We now look forward to a bright future serving members of the community with interesting, informative lectures, workshops, activities catering for all age groups and tastes."

Heritage Lottery Fund senior grants officer Michelle Howard said: "This grant will enable Oxfordshire Museum to open up its collection to a much wider audience and ensure that they understand and enjoy it to the full."